Author: Megan Cunningham

  • How to Descale an Espresso Machine

    How to Descale an Espresso Machine

    Descaling removes mineral buildup from your espresso machine’s boiler and internal lines; cleaning removes coffee oil and grounds residue from the group head and portafilter. They’re not the same task, and doing one doesn’t substitute for the other — you need both, on different schedules. This guide covers how often to actually descale, whether vinegar…

  • Protein Coffee

    Protein Coffee

    Protein coffee (sometimes called “proffee”) is coffee blended with protein powder, usually with milk and ice, combining caffeine’s alertness with protein’s staying power. Done wrong, it turns into a clumpy, grainy mess — but the fix is simple once you know why it happens.

  • Vietnamese Coffee

    Vietnamese Coffee

    Vietnamese coffee is built around three things: robusta beans, a slow metal drip filter called a phin, and sweetened condensed milk instead of dairy and sugar. The result is a small, intensely strong, syrupy-sweet cup that’s brewed differently from almost any other coffee tradition. We’ve covered another Old World brewing style in Arabic vs. Turkish…

  • Dalgona Coffee

    Dalgona Coffee

    Dalgona coffee is instant coffee, sugar, and hot water whipped in equal parts until it turns into a thick, stiff-peaked foam, then spooned over milk. It gets its name from its visual resemblance to dalgona, a Korean sugar-and-baking-soda honeycomb candy — the drink itself has no candy in it. It went viral worldwide in 2020…

  • The 5 Best Coffee Beans for Beginners: Our Top Picks

    The 5 Best Coffee Beans for Beginners: Our Top Picks

    What are the best coffee beans for beginners? We explain how to get started buying coffee beans.

  • The 5 Best Coffee Beans for Cold Brew: Our Top Picks

    The 5 Best Coffee Beans for Cold Brew: Our Top Picks

    Discover 4 fantastic coffee beans that will help you make a perfect cup of cold brew coffee.

  • Cortado vs Cappuccino: What’s the difference?

    Cortado vs Cappuccino: What’s the difference?

    Both coffees are made by combining espresso with milk. So what are the differences between a cortado and a cappuccino?

  • Cappuccino vs Mocha: What’s the Difference?

    Cappuccino vs Mocha: What’s the Difference?

    The cappuccino and the mocha are both made from espresso and steamed milk, but there’s one key ingredient that sets these coffees apart.

  • Cappuccino vs Latte: What’s the Difference?

    Cappuccino vs Latte: What’s the Difference?

    Cappuccino vs latte: The difference is all about the frothed milk! Find out more as we compare these two coffee drinks.

  • Is Blonde Espresso Stronger than Regular Espresso?

    Is Blonde Espresso Stronger than Regular Espresso?

    Blonde espresso has become a fixture on US coffee menus since Starbucks introduced it in 2018. At first glance, it looks like a lighter version of the espresso shot you already know. But is it actually stronger? Blonde espresso is not stronger than regular espresso in flavor, because the lightly roasted beans have a milder,…