Aged coffee: Coffees that are properly stored “in the green” or un-roasted for several years in order to create pricey full bodied, heavy-flavored coffees.

Arabica: An aromatic and flavorful coffee bean variety used to produce high-quality and gourmet coffees.

Barista: A coffee-making professional. Blend: Two or more varietals of coffee blended together.

Cappuccino: A shot of espresso blended with equal portions steamed milk and foam topping.

Café Americano: A few shots of espresso poured with hot water to fill a typical drip-style coffee cup or sometimes espresso brewed drip-style.

Café Au Lait: Drip-style coffee blended with equal portions of steamed milk.

Cafe con Panna: Espresso dabbed with whipping cream.

Café Latte: A shot of espresso served in a tall glass poured with 3 to 4 times that amount steamed milk and a dab of foam.

Café Macchiato: A shot of espresso marked with a dab of foam.

Café Mocha: A shot of espresso served in a tall glass poured with 3 to 4 times that amount steamed chocolate milk (made from powder or syrup) and a dab of foam or whipped cream and a shake of shaved or powdered chocolate.

Caffeine: A stimulant contained in coffee, which can boost the heart rate and alertness and, in elevated quantities, can lead to restlessness or insomnia.

Cupping: Coffee tasting with a professional coffee “cupper.”

Dark-roasted coffee: Coffee roasted past the point of full flavor so as to bring out highly desirable burnt notes.

Decaffeinated coffee: Coffee that has been processed through a chemical process to remove the majority of caffeine.

Espresso: An Italian-born beverage made by rapidly brewing coffee by forcing steam through the grounds. Prepares one smooth, thick, dark-roasted “shot” at a time.

Fair trade coffees: A coffee that is certified by an international agency as having been grown on a farm that is part of a Fair Trade working cooperative. Fair Trade certification works to allow farmers to warrant a fair price for their goods and at the same time upholds specific standards for the wages and living and working conditions of its workers. Fair Trade coffees are labeled as such.

Flavored coffee: Coffee beans that have been “spiced up” with chocolate, cinnamon, hazelnut, or other spices and flavors.

French press: A preferred coffee-making device in which ground coffee is topped with hot water. Then the grounds are manually pressed to the bottom of the pot with a plunger-like filter mechanism that separates the grounds from the brewed coffee. Makes a flavorful cup.

French roast: A degree of dark roast. Italian roast: A degree of dark roast that is roasted darker than a French roast.

Medium roast: A medium degree of roast that is mostly used in American coffee.

Organic coffees: A coffee that is certified by an international agency as having been grown free of chemical pesticides, fertilizers, or herbicides and labeled as such.

Robusta: A somewhat bitter, less aromatic, low-quality coffee bean variety used to produce instant and freeze-dried coffees. Contains twice the caffeine as Arabica coffee.

Vienna roast: A degree of dark roast.