Okay unless you are a true coffee love, then we understand that there may be some words, terms or terminology that you may come across with that you are unsure about. That’s why we have created this “Glossary Of Terms” page to help you get a better understanding of the terms that are commonly used within the coffee industry.
Barista – this is an italian word for “the bar person”. This word is mainly used for the coffee maker, but the barista can also make cold and hot beverages, as well as alcoholic drinks if working in a licensed business.
Backflush / Backwash – this is a word describing the cleaning procedure perform at the end of each day to clean up the residue inside the group head of the machine. It can be done with or without chemicals.
Blind Filter – This is commonly used in the backflush (clean up) process.
Caffe – An Italian word for “Coffee”.
Crema – This is the caramel like colored foam that appears on the top of the espresso.
Decaffeinated Coffee – This word is used to describe a coffee that has had most of the caffeine removed from the drink.
Doppio – An Italian word for “Double”.
Doppio espresso – This is known as a double shot of espresso, normally around 50-60 ml, poured in between 25-30 secs and through a double filter basket.
Dose – Used to describe the amount of ground coffee that are dispensed from the blade or burr grinder.
Extraction – Also known as “pour” and this term is used to describe the process of water flowing or travelling through the group head and packed group handle for an espresso.
Knock Tube / Bang Box / Waste Tube – These a terms used to describe when coffee grounds are disposed and no longer used.
Piccolo – An Italian word meaning “little” or “small”.
Piccolo Latte – Combined with the above meaning, this phrase simply means a “small caffe latte”.
Ristretto – An Italian word meaning to “hold back” or “restrain”.
Ristretto Caffe – An espresso that is stopped short and is poured 15-20ml within 16-20 secs.
Syrup – a flavor in thick liquid form that is used to add to a cup of coffee. (e.g caramel, hazelnut, vanilla etc)
Want to add more to this list?
If you have any other coffee terms that you believe belongs on this page, then why not drop us a message and we will add them to this glossary asap. Let’s face it, the world is an enormous place. Different countries have different cultures so how they treat, process and brew their coffee can be somehow different to others, let alone the words they used to describe different stages or even general things. So if you know something that we don’t, then don’t be shy! Otherwise check out our exclusive guide to coffee.
