What’s your drink of choice?

Confused in the coffee shop? These are the main coffee-based drinks

Image: Nathan Dumlao

Have you ever stood in a coffee shop and thought, "Is there a real difference between all these drinks?". Coffee names seem to be all over the place. Long gone are the days when the options were as simple as choosing between regular and decaf, or deciding whether you wanted cream or milk. But between the onslaught of milk types, syrups, creamers, and quirky names, there are real differences between the most popular coffee options, even if they look very similar.

Image: Adi Goldstein

The most basic form of coffee and the stepping stone for most drinks, espresso is short and highly concentrated. The high pressure of the espresso machine allows for a thicker coffee than regular drip methods, with a slightly higher caffeine content per ounce. Espresso, when done correctly, should have two distinct layers: a dark body and a light-colored foam called crema.

Image: Negar Mz

Of Spanish origin but popular across many countries, this drink combines espresso with milk to reduce acidity, usually in a one-to-one ratio. Unlike other popular coffee drinks, the milk for a cortado is steamed but not frothy, and the amount used can vary depending on the region. The name comes from the Spanish verb cortar ("to cut"), referring to the espresso being cut with milk.

Image: barak ziv

Contrary to popular belief, a macchiato is not the Italian version of a cortado. Meaning ‘stained’ or ‘spotted’, a macchiato uses a very small amount of foamed milk to slightly soften the strong espresso flavor. Among the traditional espresso-based drinks, macchiatos use the least amount of milk.

Image: Ammie Ngo

Despite its simplicity, cappuccino has become one of the most controversial and reinvented coffee drinks. A traditional Italian cappuccino consists of equal parts espresso, steamed milk, and foam, and the addition of a slight dusting of cinnamon or cocoa powder is optional (or considered a culinary blasphemy, depending on where in Italy you are). While many Italians consider cappuccinos a morning drink due to the high milk content, you can order them at any hour at your own risk.

Image: Çağlar Oskay

Allegedly originating as a way for American soldiers to make espresso more palatable during the 20th century, an Americano is made by diluting an espresso shot with hot water, softening the coffee without losing its flavor complexities. In Australia and other neighboring countries, a long black is a similar variant, though there are some differences in the preparation method, while an iced Americano is the unofficial drink of choice of most South Koreans.

Image: Fahmi Fakhrudin

Usually known simply as a latte in English-speaking countries, a caffè latte is made by mixing one or more shots of espresso with steamed milk. Though it sounds similar to a cappuccino, a latte is served in a larger cup and with less foam, making it milkier and milder. In a traditional caffè latte, the steamed milk is poured on top of the espresso, whereas in a latte macchiato, the milk is added to the cup before the coffee. In the U.S., most coffee shops offer flavored versions of a latte.

Image: Red Reyes

Though sometimes compared to a caffè latte, a café au lait is simpler and less milky. Traditionally, it is made with French-press or drip coffee, although espresso-based versions are common today. The proportions are typically one-to-one coffee and steamed milk, and it is usually served in a large cup.

Image: Preethika Anbalagan

Of Australian origin, a flat white is more coffee-forward than a latte and has less foam than a cappuccino. It consists of one or two shots of espresso and steamed milk, but, being served in a smaller cup, it contains less milk than a latte. The name "flat white" comes from the absence of foam on top and the drink’s smooth texture.

Image: nitin pariyar

If espresso is a concentrated form of coffee, ristretto is an espresso on steroids. It is made from the same amount of ground coffee but only half the water; it produces a short, highly concentrated shot. Its opposite version, the lungo, has the same amount of coffee as an espresso, but twice the amount of water.

Image: Thimo van Leeuwen

Today, the word "frappe" is often used for any blended iced coffee, but a traditional frappe is simple and straightforward. Invented in Greece, it is usually made with instant coffee, sugar, and water mixed until foamy, then topped with ice and milk. A more "elevated" version, the freddo espresso, substitutes the instant coffee with a shot of espresso.

Image: Julia Florczak

Also known as a "shot in the dark," a red eye is for those moments when a single espresso won’t cut it, but you want something stronger than a ristretto. A red eye is made by adding an espresso shot to a regular cup of drip coffee, increasing the caffeine content. The name comes from red-eye flights, where passengers would need something to wake them quickly.

Do you have a unique skill?

11 unusual skills that became very handy in historic circumstances

Image: Cookie the Pom

A peculiar skill is something that many of us have. It can be a special ability to recognize lookalikes, make pets fall asleep quickly, or guess names, among a million other things. However, some people manage to make a career out of their unusual skills, and this has happened over and over again throughout history. Take a look at the following 11 examples. Did you know any of these?

Image: Allef Vinicius

Although it requires a good measure of specific knowledge, being a barber does not seem like a spectacularly complicated job these days. But, back in Medieval times, before the advent of modern medicine, barbers often performed minor surgical procedures, such as bloodletting and tooth extraction.

This odd combination of haircutting and basic surgery was a peculiar skill set that eventually evolved into separate professions.

Image: Stefan Johnson

It may sound like the job for a food critic, but it really wasn’t. In ancient and medieval times, rulers and wealthy individuals employed food tasters to protect themselves from poisoning.

This very dangerous job required a keen sense of taste and the ability to detect subtle signs of toxins in food and drink.

Image: Taton Moïse

Catching rats was such a valued skill in past times that it was even a specific royal appointment in Great Britain, where the rat catcher was responsible for keeping the royal palaces and grounds free of rats.

It required specialized knowledge of rat behavior and effective trapping methods.

Image: Alice Dietrich

These days, anybody can create a decent portrait using her or his smartphone, but back when photography wasn’t yet invented, limners created miniature portraits, often on ivory or vellum. As one can imagine, these tiny works of art required exceptional skill and attention to detail.

Image: Tim Mossholder

In a time when communication was mostly carried out by people on their own two legs, horses, or ships, being able to establish successful communication at the speed of a flying bird was nothing short of a miracle.

Pigeon trainers were highly sought after and required due to their ability to train these humble birds to fly to particular places with tiny messages attached to them, and then go back.

Image: Philippe Oursel

In the days of sailing ships, sailors used flags to communicate. Knowing how to interpret and send flag signals was crucial for coordinating naval maneuvers, and very few people knew how to perform these tasks correctly.

Image: Amritanshu Sikdar

While its scientific basis is obviously debated, dowsing (using a forked stick or other instrument to locate underground water or minerals) has been a skill used in various cultures for centuries.

Those who were believed to have this ability were often sought after in communities where water was scarce.

Image: Christian Kapeller

Unbreakable code has always been a much-appreciated commodity during wartime. During WWII, Marine Corps leadership selected 29 Navajo men, the Navajo Code Talkers, who created a code based on the complex, unwritten Navajo language.

This system allowed the Code Talkers to translate three lines of English in 20 seconds, not 30 minutes as was common with existing code-breaking machines.

Image: Mauro Sbicego

Just like code talkers were a necessity, so were code breakers. Also during WWII, British mathematician Alan Turing cracked the "Enigma" code, which was a type of enciphering machine used by the German armed forces to send messages securely.

Codebreaking was a highly complex ability, involving a large set of skills ranging from mathematics to linguistics, mastered by very few individuals.

Image: Austrian National Library

Aside from the occasional title cards, silent films were a visual, rather than a verbal expression. But, as you must have seen, silent film actresses and actors did move their lips in those movies, even if you could not hear them.

Lip reading became a useful ability in those days, allowing filmgoers to understand what the performers were actually saying during the film. While most of the time, the uttered words had some relation to the scene itself, sometimes, actresses and actors said very different things, to the surprise of lip readers.

Image: Diego Fernandez

During the mid-20th century, complex mathematical calculations were performed by hand to be used in astronomy, engineering, ballistics, and other developing fields. Many of these "human computers" who were able to perform incredibly complex calculations were women, like Katherine G. Johnson, Mary W. Jackson, or Dorothy Vaughan, to name a few.