Ever felt confused when deciding on your morning caffeine hit? With such a wide choice of ways to enjoy the world’s favourite brew, sometimes menus need demystifying. From latte to lungo and all points in between, we explain what’s in each type of coffee, how different styles are made and how to pronounce the trickiest of the bunch.

This is the base of many coffee variants and is the best drink to order if you want to appreciate the origin and quality of the coffee beans. An espresso is a single shot of coffee and should have a brown-tinged crema or head. It’s drawn under hefty pressure at around 88°C (190°F) for between 20 and 30 seconds. Crucially pronounced ess-press-oh, rather than ex-press-oh.

Never ordered after 11am in Italy, this drink starts with a base of double espresso, then equal parts steamed milk and foamed milk. Typically, it's topped with chocolate sprinkles but it's entirely optional. Pronounced cap-oo-chee-no.

This translates from Italian simply as ‘milk’, and rightly so. To an espresso base (60ml), typically around 300ml of steamed milk is added. The milk is steamed by blasting very hot milk from a ‘wand’ into a circulating milk jug. This forces air into the milk and creates a velvety smooth texture. Pronounced la-teh.

Like a latte, a mocha combines an espresso base with lots of steamed milk and the addition of either chocolate syrup or chocolate powder. It could conceivably be called a hot chocolate with the addition of an espresso shot. Pronounced mock-ah.

Not always listed on the menu, this is simply warm (not hot) frothed milk, without any coffee whatsoever. It keeps the little ones happy while you enjoy a much-needed caffeinated drink. Pronounced baby-chee-no.

One for the summer months, the frappe is served in a large glass and combines a cold shot of espresso, sugar syrup and around five ice cubes. These are blitzed in a blender to produce a coffee foam on top with some slushy ice left rather than obliterated. Pronounced frap-eh.

This is the Italian name for a double espresso. Importantly it’s made using double the quantity of coffee grounds, rather than twice the volume of water. Pronounced dop-ee-oh.

Literally translated from Italian as ‘dirty’ or ‘marked’, the macchiato is a single espresso topped with a dash of foamed milk. Pronounced mack-ee-ah-toh.

Not to be confused with a latte, the café au lait is a French take on the latte but differs by using a base of French-press (or cafetière) coffee rather than espresso. It’s topped with burnt or scalded milk, rather than steamed. This typically produces a more bitter cup. Pronounced caf-eh-oh-leh.

Popular in Spain, the cortado starts with a single-shot espresso base topped with a just a small amount of steamed milk and a very small layer of foamed milk to finish. Think of it as a 50:50 version of a latte. The drink is often served in a small glass. Pronounced cor-tah-doh.

Translated from Italian as ‘long’, the lungo is a single-shot espresso that has more water drawn through it by the barista but the same amount of coffee grounds. The resulting volume is about three times that of an espresso and while it does reduce the intensity of the coffee, the longer extraction time tends to bring out the more bitter coffee oils. Pronounced loohng-oh.

Not to be confused with coffee and cream, the caffè crema is a very long drawn espresso – a lungo plus some. It is usually served in a wide-rimmed cappucino cup. Pronounced caff-eh cray-ma.

Another one for sunnier climes, this is a cooled single espresso served over ice cubes. As with a traditional espresso, the idea is to drink it quickly, all the more important here so the ice doesn’t dilute the rich flavour. Cold espresso does tend to draw out the bitterness though. It translates from the Spanish for ‘coffee with ice’ and is pronounced caf-eh con ee-ell-oh.

A ristretto, or ‘restricted’ coffee translated from Italian, is a shorter espresso, typically just 60% of the size of a single espresso. The result is a slightly sweeter coffee with little of the bitterness extracted. Many cafes tend to only pour a double ristretto: two coffee shots extracted for less time than espresso. Pronounced ree-stret-oh.

A dessert and a digestif, this is a single espresso shot poured over a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Often the pleasure of pouring is left to the diner. Popularised in Italy, it translates as ‘drowned’, denoting the ice cream drowned in coffee. Pronounced aff-oh-gah-toh.

Think of this as a beer-like coffee, similar in appearance to Guinness. Served cold without ice, cold-brew coffee is drawn through a draft system, nitrogenated and poured directed from tap to glass. The effect is a cascading foam pour that creates a smooth texture and refreshing summer drink. Pronounced niy-troh.

Even before you’ve had your daily caffeine fix, you’re probably able to pronounce this one but do you know what makes it different to an Americano? In a long black, hot water is added to the cup first and then a double shot of espresso tops it off. The result is a longer coffee but with the crema retained at the top.

Much debated whether it originates from Australia or New Zealand, the flat white is like a latte but with a reduced quantity of steamed milk. Some versions replace steamed milk with ‘microfoamed’ milk – a technique resulting in a very dense, rewarding foam. Baristas may also increase the espresso shots while maintaining the milk volume.

The name is thought to have been coined in Italy after Americans stationed there took to diluting espresso to make it more like the US coffee they were used to. An Americano is simply a double espresso shot which is then diluted with hot water, resulting in no crema head.

New to the scene is this cold-brew coffee topped with sparkling water, soda or tonic, given a citrus twist from orange or lemon and served long over ice in a highball glass. Add sugar to taste (ideally syrup). It tastes like a cocktail minus the alcohol.

For the best cafetière, French press or plunger coffee, medium-coarse ground coffee is added to a preheated cafetière with hot but not boiling water. The brew is steeped for a few minutes, the plunger pressed down and the black coffee poured into a cup. It tends to make a high caffeine, bitter, almost sandy cup.

The Aeropress is similar to a cafetière but much quicker, easier to clean and great for on-the-go coffee. Fine to medium ground coffee is added into the receptacle with hot but not boiling water and the filter cap is screwed in place. It’s then inverted over a cup and depressed. It makes for a bright, clean cup, either espresso volume or slightly longer.

For stovetop or moka coffee the pot is filled with cold water in the base, fine ground coffee is added to the filter basket, the top half is screwed in place and then levelled on a hob or gas stove. The liquid coffee, typically espresso strength and volume, is forced into the upper chamber and then poured into a small cup. It's a staple of Italian households and makes for an earthy, cloudy cup.

Also known as a vacuum pot, this one looks like a major science experiment. A flame is placed beneath the bottom chamber which contains cold water. Heat pressure forces vapour up into the top chamber which contains the ground coffee. When the heat is removed, a vacuum draws the liquid back into the bottom chamber. The resulting coffee is clean, crisp, without bitterness and on the lighter side.

Also known as V60, drip or filter coffee, this method varies slightly but is essentially the same. Medium-ground coffee is added to a wet filter paper inside a v-shaped filter holder. Hot water is poured over or passed through the coffee grinds and the liquid coffee is collected beneath it. It makes a quick and easy long cup with a lot of complexity.

Vienna has been home to coffee houses since the late 17th century so they know their coffee. A Viennese is made with a double espresso, traditionally served in an espresso cup and topped with whipped cream. The sweet-tooth approach complements the extensive pastry range that's usually on offer in most Austrian coffee shops.

This is a distinctive method for coffee preparation in that the grounds and water are kept together, not filtered or percolated. Ground coffee and water is brought slowly to a simmer in a traditional copper pot, a cezve. When it first bubbles, a third of the mixture is poured into a coffee cup. The remainder is brought to a slow simmer for a second time, removed and poured into the cup. The result is a thick brew that usually benefits from added sugar.

Vietnamese coffee is typically made with dark-roast robusta beans which are ground and measured into a ‘phin’, a metal filter. Hot water is added and the mixture drips through slowly into a waiting glass of ice and milk. The ‘sua da’ variety includes condensed milk for a sweet-tasting caffeine fix.

The famous civet coffee, predominantly produced in Indonesia and Vietnam, is famous not for how the drink is prepared, but how the coffee beans are processed. The cat-like civet eats and digests the beans before they're collected, ground and brewed. The resulting flavour is a smoother, less bitter cup. Pronounced kop-ee loo-wak.

The only drink on this list with alcohol as a key ingredient, it’s made from a base of black coffee with a shot of Irish whiskey, topped with cream and served cold. A Spanish take on this is a carajillo (‘for courage’) – an espresso with a shot of rum, whisky or brandy. In Italy, there's a caffè corretto, or ‘corrected coffee’, which is espresso with a shot of grappa, sambuca or cognac. Want to learn more about making coffee yourself? Check out the rules for getting perfect coffee every time at home.