When it comes to coffee options in the US, the cup really does runneth over. Sharon McKinley spills the beans.
A t 5.30am in a Seattle coffeehouse, bleary-eyed commuters are placing their orders. A doppio, a triple-tall breve latte and a redeye are served up in quick succession. Across the country in Boston, it’s 8.30am and thirsty business people are seeking a fix to keep them going. Out come a large medium-roast drip with cream, a turbo with half-and-half and a split-shot with a splash of soy.
Anne Marie Kurtz, head of global coffee and tea education for Starbucks, has spent 18 years studying the US’s love affair with coffee. “Twenty years ago the specialist coffee industry was very young; people weren’t really aware of the options available,” she explains. “These days they’re much more educated.”
Choice isn’t the only factor that makes the ordering process in the States so mind-boggling. Most regions have their own coffee lingo – or “tribal knowledge”, as Kurtz calls it – which any barista worth their salt will know like the back of their hand. So how do you place an order the American way?
Quick fix
If you want to beat that sluggish feeling after a long flight but don’t have time to drink a whole cup, straight-up espresso is the way to go. Order a solo for a single shot or a doppio for a double shot. If you want to drink espresso California-style, order it over ice for a refreshing pick-me-up. Or if you can’t live without your latte or cappuccino but want it shorter and stronger, ask for it dry to have it with less milk.
No frills
For straightforward coffee, your best bet is to order a drip: plain old run-of-the-mill brewed coffee. Generally, when you ask for a drip you’ll have to serve yourself and most places will have a choice of roasts lined up in a self-service area. Lighter roasts tend to be sharper and more acidic than dark roasts and they also contain more caffeine. Drip coffee is often referred to as Joe, which harks back to naval slang, or Java, which refers to the coffee beans.
Eyes open
Need to stay awake? In the west it’s known as a redeye, in the south they call it a shot in the dark, in Alaska it’s a sludgecup, in California a sledgehammer and in the north-east a turbo. People just love to come up with new names for what is, essentially, fortified coffee. Take a simple brewed drip coffee, add a shot of espresso and say goodbye to your jetlag. Variations include a blackeye, which is made with two shots of espresso, and a deadeye, which is made with three.
To your health
Ask for a regular coffee in the north-east and you’ll most likely get a good-sized helping of double cream and sugar with it, so be aware of healthy options before you order.
Cream can be replaced with half-and-half, a common dairy product made with half double cream and half whole milk. Breve denotes the use of half-and-half as opposed to double cream.
Most US coffeehouses use 2 per cent milk as their standard. This is higher in fat content than UK semi-skimmed, which is about 1.5 per cent. For fat-free milk, ask for your drink to be skinny. Most places will provide sweetener and sugar-free syrup options if you want your coffee flavoured without the calories.
Sleep easy
Don’t want to be up all night? In the north-east they call it unleaded, in the west they call it a harmless and sometimes they just call it a pointless, but for an after-dinner coffee that won’t turn you into an insomniac, decaf is the way to go. Another option is a split shot, a half-caf espresso drink, or to ask for your coffee wet, which means with extra milk.
Local knowledge
Regional specialities to look out for include coffee served with chicory root in New Orleans, bourbon coffee in Kentucky, traditional cowboy coffee in Montana – which contains a broken eggshell to help settle the grounds – and sweet cherry coffee in Michigan.
Order like a pro
So you’ve reached the head of the line – what do you say? Ask yourself these six questions to get the perfect coffee:
- Do you want it “for here” or “to go”?
- How much caffeine do you want?
- What size of cup?
- Do you want any variation in terms of flavouring?
- What kind of milk would you like?
- What kind of drink is it?
- Any last-minute customisation, such as no foam or extra hot?
And here’s how it should sound: “I’ll have a for-here double-tall sugar-free hazelnut soy latte with extra foam.”
