The One on Gourmet Coffee (Part 2)

Stoner pointed out I should spell out the difference between espresso, latte and cappuccino. So I'm gonna do just that. Thanks Stoner!

Espresso

Comes in shots (sounds like something notti), this is not for the faint hearted. Served usually in a petite cups, it is much stronger and definitely more potent than your regular black coffee. Good for a quickie drink, that is when you find your date boring and just want to finish the drink, and perhaps have the alertness to look for another one in the IRC later that night :p

Latte

Steam your milk till it's frothy and let it settle first, then fill your latte glass till the level of the upper handle, add a dash of foam, and lastly a shot of espresso. Voila! You made your first glass of latte, congratulations. Latte basically means "milk" in Italian, which makes sense because you're adding more volume of milk than coffee into your glass. More suited for people who wants to drink milk, or just a tinge of coffee in their drinks. It is really too weak for STB's taste.

Cappuccino

To make a good cappuccino, you need to be very skilled in steaming your milk. Refrigerated cold pasteurized full cream milk will be the best as it can be frothed more easily. Once you get your foam up and milk settled, fill your cappuccino cup with one shot of espresso, cover the cup with foam till its flat. Next, pour a bit of milk at the center of the cup till the foam is about half an inch above the brim, giving the "cap" in cappuccino. Lastly, sprinkle a generous layer of cocoa powder on the cap, and give yourself a pat at the back. It is up to you to determine how "dry" you want your cappuccino to be, dry will mean less milk and thus stronger coffee. Oh, and remember to ask your date "Is there something you wanna tell me?" after drinking your cap.

There you have it, three basic gourmet coffees, of course then you can exercise your creativity and add your own customization to the coffee, very much Starbucks-style, some of the tips:

1. Additional shot of espresso, less milk will obviously make the coffee stronger
2. Use soy milk or low-fat (skimmed) milk to make your coffee healthy
3. Decaf if you want to enjoy the taste of coffee and yet want to sleep at night, you can't really taste the different (trust me even STB has been fooled by his ex by taking in a cup of decaf instead of regular)
4. Add ice to make it iced latte or iced cappuccino of course, always add ice into the cup first before anything!
5. Add different flavored syrup to your latter or cappuccino, there are a lot of possibilities out there: from the time-tested chocolate syrup to hazelnut to even ceylon tea. Recommended brand of syrup is Da Vinci and Monin, bartender's favorite.
6. Add whipped cream instead of foam, always STB's preferred choice!

Ok, hope you're inspired enough to start your own cafe now, or at least buy a new full fledged coffee machine for your house. Go ahead, pamper yourself, you deserve it. Any more enquiries like milk steaming techniques, please feel free to direct them to me. 

Sotongball hopes to conduct classes on coffee tasting and making to promote the awareness and goodness of the caffeinated drink that is the most popular beverage around the world sometime after he retires...