This is a glossary with the most common coffee brewing related terms. You will find explanations of some geeky terms used in the industry, as well as popular terminology, as used by us the simple coffee lovers.
We recommend you to visit our other coffee glossaries, the Coffee Equipment Terms Glossary, and the Coffee Dictionary, which is a compilation of the most important terms from the other dictionaries.
If you need a new coffee word explained, just ask for it, and we will do our best to put it online ASAP.
A long black is a style of coffee, most commonly found in Australia, New Zealand and Brazil. It is now becoming available in the UK, predominantly in London. A long black was supposedly created in Italy to please American tourists …
Coffee tamping is the action of compacting ground coffee in an espresso portafilter with a tamp, prior to brewing. A tamp can be either handheld or attached to the espresso machine. A handheld tamp normally has a wooden handle and …
Coffee grinding is a critical step in the process of brewing coffee. Without grinding, the extraction of soluble solids, caffeine, and oils would be impossible even at high brewing temperatures. During grinding, the whole coffee beans are turned into small …
A portafilter (or group handle) attaches to the grouphead of semi-automatic and piston-driven espresso machines, and carries a tamped puck of coffee grounds within its basket. It is usually made of brass for better heat retention, but often is made …
A coffee percolator is a type of pot used to brew coffee. The name stems from the word “percolate” which means to cause (a solvent) to pass through a permeable substance especially for extracting a soluble constituent. In the case …
Frappuccino is a trademarked line of blended coffee beverages sold by Starbucks. It consists of coffee, blended with ice and other various ingredients, usually topped with whipped cream. Frappuccinos are also sold as bottled coffee beverages in stores and from …
A dallah is a metal pot with a long spout designed specifically for making Arabic coffee. In particular, it is used in Saudi coffee tradition. Examples of coffee brewed with a Dallah would be Qahwa, a typical Arabic coffee, as …
Foam is an important aspect of coffee preparation, and it determines, or validates quality in some coffee drinks.
A screen filter is a type of filter using a rigid or flexible screen to separate sand and other fine particles out of water. Typical screen materials include stainless steel, polypropylene, nylon and polyester.
Coffee beans contain carbon dioxide immediately after roasting. The degassing starts right after roasting and is the process of seeping out the gasses from the beans. A lot of the CO2 leaves the beans in the first 24 hours after roasting; that is about 40%. Lighter roasts degass slower, whereas dark roasts degass faster. Gasses in the coffee beans are a sign of a freshly roasted coffee.
Filtration is commonly the mechanical or physical operation which is used for the separation of solids from fluids (liquids or gases) by interposing a medium through which only the fluid can pass. Oversize solids in the fluid are retained, but the separation is not complete; solids will be contaminated with some fluid and filtrate will contain fine particles (depending on the pore size and filter thickness).
A coffee filter is a utensil used during coffee brewing, for filtering coffee grounds from the brewed liquid. It is usually made of disposable paper with filaments approximately 20 micrometres wide. The fine paper screen only allows to pass through particles less than approximately 15 micrometres. This enables it to trap the coffee grounds that are bigger. The small water particles and the fines can flow through, resulting in clear coffee.
Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that acts as a stimulant drug. Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the seeds, leaves, and fruit of some plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants, as well as enhancing the reward memory of pollinators.
Arabic coffee is a general name that refers to the two main ways coffee is prepared in many Arab countries: Turkish-style, and Saudi Coffee. The Turkish coffee brewing method is common in the Levant, but brewed without the addition of sugar. Cardamom is often added, or it is served plain قهوة سادة qahwah sādah (lit. “plain coffee”).
A coffee roasting company, or a coffee roaster for short, is a company that buys green coffee beans and roasts them. A coffee roaster sells various single origin or blends of coffee beans.
A coffee brewing method is a distinctive coffee preparation method, with specific brewing parameters, and using specific coffee making equipment. Some of the brewing parameters that can be altered to suit a coffee brewing method are: Water temperature during brewing …
A heat exchanger is a piece of equipment built for efficient heat transfer from one medium to another. The media may be separated by a solid wall, so that they never mix, or they may be in direct contact. They …
Coffee culture describes a social atmosphere or series of associated social behaviors that depends heavily upon coffee, particularly as a social lubricant. The term also refers to the diffusion and adoption of coffee as a widely consumed stimulant by a …
A coffee cup is a container that coffee and espresso-based drinks are served in. Coffee cups are made of porcelain, ceramic, or tempered glass and they can have a handle for portability. Ceramic and porcelain provide insulation, maintaining the beverage hot. Tempered glassware needs a double wall construction in order …
Temperature control is a process in which change of temperature of a space (and objects collectively there within) is measured or otherwise detected, and the passage of heat energy into or out of the space is adjusted to achieve a …
