Coffee Terms

Barista is the Italian term for Bartender commonly used to refer to coffee house employees who prepare and serve espresso based beverages.  Sometimes this term is simply used to refer to the operator of an espresso machine.

A burr grinder (sometimes referred to as a Burr Mill) is a device that is used to grind coffee. A burr grinder uses rotating flat or conical metal/ceramic disks with sharp ridges (or burrs) to evenly grind the coffee beans. 

The advantage of this type of grinder over a “whirly blade” grinder is that the grains of coffee are all ground to a very consistent fineness. This is very important when trying to pull a good shot of espresso. As well, good burr coffee grinders will grind at a low enough speed to keep the beans from overheating and disrupting their taste profile.

Coffee is a brewed beverage, made from roasted seed commonly known as Coffee Beans, which come from the coffee plant. Coffee can be served hot or cold in 1000s of different ways. Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world today.

The Coffee Bean is the seed of the Coffee plant.  The seed comes from the reddish or purplish fruit of the Coffee plant, often referred to as Coffee cherries or coffee berries,  and is green in colour when harvested.  Where a coffee bean is harvested from and how it is roasted has a great impact on the taste of the coffee.

Also known as a Burr Mill or Burr Grinder. Click here for more information.

Demitasse is a type of cup in which coffee is served and comes from the French term “demi de tasse” which means half cup.  A Demitasse is typically what espresso is served in and generally holds 3-4 oz of liquid.

 Frothing is the process by which milk is aerated by way of steam, usually from a steam wand that is a part of most espresso machines, and bubbles are created in the liquid.  The result is the light foam you find atop a nice cup of cappuccino.

Kopi Luwak, also known as Civet Coffee, is coffee derived from Indonesia where the coffee berries pass through the digestive tract of the Asian Palm Civet.  Through this process the coffee beans remain intact and the proteins that are responsible for the bitter taste of coffee are broken down. 

Yep, you heard right. The civet cat eats the coffee berries and poops out the hard beans. The beans are then collected from the poop, washed, dried, and roasted.

Kopi Luwak can range in price from $100-600 USD due to its rarity as only about 1000 lbs make it into the world market every year. However, about 10x this amount is sold every year. Yes, most of the coffee sold as Kopi Luwak is a scam, folks.

As well, we’ve had Kopi Luwak several times as well as green beans to roast as well as brewed coffee. Seriously, it is no big deal. The coffee may be a novelty but it is really pretty non-descript. Good story, but meh…