A guide to coffee terminology
The world of specialty coffee can seem complicated and difficult to understand so we’ve created a beginners cheat sheet to help you find your way.
| Green Beans | The raw product before it's been roasted |
| Origin | Where the beans are from |
| Single Estate | Coffee produced by one farmer |
| Blend | A selection of different origins, blended together |
| Processing | How the beans are separated and prepared after being picked as a cherry |
| Grinding | The grinder, grinds the whole beans into small particles, ready to extract in the espresso machine |
| Dose | How much coffee is going into the group handle |
| Shots | Espresso shots, usually measured in grams |
| Extraction | How fast or slow the shot is pouring |
| Yield | How much espresso is in the shot |
| Ristretto | A restricted shot of coffee about two thirds of a regular shot |
| Microfoam | The tiny velvety bubbles in the textured milk |
| Latte Art | The beautiful patterns baristas create as they pour milk into espresso |
| Profile (Roast) | Roast profiles are usually shown as a graph that has time and temperature as its two axes |
| Profile (Flavour) | The notes and nuances we use to describe an origin or blend |