Guides

Types of coffee drinks and how to make them

Pick a drink to see what goes into it, how strong it tastes and how to make it at home. No two cafés pour quite the same size, so read the amounts as typical rather than official. Coffee and water are in grams because you’ll be weighing them, and 1 g of water is 1 ml anyway.

Iced and sweet

Shakerato

Ice-cold and frothy, lightly sweet, with all the strength of a double shot.

  • Shaken foam ≈ 45 ml
  • Espresso and syrup ≈ 45 ml
  • About 90 ml
Cross-section, drawn to scale, with typical amounts.

Espresso shaken hard with ice and a little sugar syrup, then strained, so you end up with a cold, frothy drink with no ice in it and no milk.

Ratio4:1, espresso to syrup
RecipeDouble shot + 10 g syrup, shaken on ice
MilkNone
Serve inChilled coupe or small glass
Time30 s shake
How strong it tastesHigh

How to make it

  1. Chill the glass in the freezer for a few minutes.
  2. Add a handful of ice and 10 g of simple syrup to a shaker.
  3. Pull a double shot (18 g in, 36 g out) straight over the ice.
  4. Shake hard for about 30 seconds and strain into the glass.

Tip: James Hoffmann adds two drops of salt water to his, which softens the bitterness a bit.

Common mistake: A gentle shake just gives you cold coffee with no foam. Really go at it for the full 30 seconds.

Variations

  • With milk: closer to a chain shaken espresso
  • Flavoured syrup: vanilla, or Earl Grey as Hoffmann does

At a café

Italian bars make it all summer. The “shaken espresso” at North American chains is a cousin, but it usually comes with milk.

Shakerato vs. iced latte: An iced latte is milky and served on ice. A shakerato is black, strained and foamy. See the iced latte

You’ll need: Espresso machine, grinder, scale and cocktail shaker.