Glossary: Coffee and tea
Beans, leaves, roasting and brewing.
A
- Arabica
- A coffee species (Coffea arabica) that supplies most of the world's coffee and is known for a delicate acidity and complex aroma.
B
- Brew ratio
- The ratio of ground coffee to water used in brewing.
C
- Cappuccino
- An espresso drink with hot milk and milk foam, traditionally in roughly equal parts.
- Cold brew
- Coffee steeped in cold or room-temperature water for many hours.
- Crema
- A light-brown, fine-pored layer of foam on a freshly made espresso.
D
- Darjeeling
- A tea-growing area in north-eastern India at the foot of the Himalayas, known for fine black teas.
E
- Decaffeination
- A process that removes most of the caffeine from green coffee or tea.
- Espresso
- A coffee drink made by forcing hot water under pressure through finely ground coffee.
- Coffee extraction
- The dissolving of flavours and compounds from ground coffee by water.
F
- Filter coffee
- Coffee in which hot water runs through ground coffee in a filter and drips into a pot or cup.
- First crack
- The audible cracking of beans during roasting that marks the transition to a drinkable roast.
- First flush
- The first harvest of the tea season in spring, best known for Darjeeling.
- Flat white
- An espresso drink with finely steamed, velvety milk and only a thin layer of foam.
- French press
- A coffee pot in which ground coffee steeps in hot water and is then pressed down with a mesh plunger.
- Fruit infusion
- An infusion of dried fruit and fruit pieces without tea leaves and without caffeine.
G
- Green tea
- An unoxidised tea whose leaves are heated early and stay green.
K
- Coffee cherry
- The fruit of the coffee plant, which usually contains two seeds that later become coffee beans.
- Coffee blend
- A mix of coffees of different origins or varieties intended to achieve a consistent flavour profile.
- Herbal infusion
- An infusion of dried herbs or plant parts that does not come from the tea plant.
L
- Lungo
- An espresso pulled with more water for longer, giving a larger, milder drink.
M
- Grind size
- The fineness of ground coffee, which must be matched to the brewing method.
- Matcha
- A finely ground powder of shaded, steamed green tea leaves that is consumed whole.
- Moka pot
- A stovetop brewer in which steam pressure forces hot water upward through coffee grounds.
N
- Washed processing
- A processing method in which the fruit pulp is removed and washed off before the beans are dried.
O
- Oolong
- A partially oxidised tea that lies between green and black tea.
P
- Pu-erh
- A fermented tea from China's Yunnan province that is often pressed and aged.
R
- Ristretto
- A particularly short, concentrated espresso made with less water.
- Robusta
- A coffee species (Coffea canephora) that is hardy and high-yielding, contains more caffeine and gives a strong, bitter flavour.
- Rooibos
- A caffeine-free infusion from the needle-like leaves of a South African shrub, usually sold as tea.
- Roast level
- A measure of how far coffee has been roasted, from light with more acidity to dark with roast aromas and bitterness.
- Roasting
- Heating of green coffee beans, during which colour, aroma and flavour develop.
S
- Black tea
- A fully oxidised tea with a strong flavour and a dark cup colour.
- Portafilter
- A metal handle with a basket that holds the coffee grounds and locks into the group head of an espresso machine.
- Single origin
- Coffee that comes from a single country, region or even a single farm.
T
- Tamping
- Pressing the ground coffee in the portafilter flat with a tamper so that water flows through evenly.
- Tea grades
- Trade terms such as Orange Pekoe or Broken that describe leaf size and shape of tea.
- Tea plant (Camellia sinensis)
- An evergreen plant whose leaves give black, green, white tea, oolong and pu-erh.
- Natural processing
- A processing method in which whole coffee cherries are dried before the outer layers are removed.
W
Z
- Steeping time
- The time tea or coffee steeps in hot water before it is poured off or removed.