Espresso Terms of Endearment

Half the fun of espresso is in using those beautiful Italian terms that caress your tongue as lovingly as the espresso itself. Like wine lovers, espresso drinkers steep deep in tradition. Espresso (no x, please) comes from the Italian word for "express", as in "push it out." You might expect drip coffee to be called drippo in Italian, but they teasingly refer to it as Americano. Espresso is the pristine building block, waiting to be adorned. A little cap of foamed milk on top gives you a cappuccino, named after the hooded friars who created it to keep their espresso warm. Stir a little steamed milk into your espresso to make a latte. Just a tiny dollop of foam produces an espresso macchiato, or "marked." It rhymes with "rocky auto."

That big espresso machine handle pushes water through the grounds. Pulling longer pulls more water, giving you a softer lungo. A short, "restricted" pull makes a more intense ristretto.

Pour a shot of espresso on your ice cream and it is affogato, or drowned. What a way to go.

A barista pulls you a shot of espresso. Europeans consider the barista a career position, passing expertise through generations. In America, any kid in an apron may wear the term. A barista will put your espresso in a teeny little pinky-sticker-outer half-cup called a demitasse, one of the only non-Italian terms in the genre. Never, ever tolerate an espresso in a paper cup. Vergogna!

You can impress (or annoy) your barista with this tidbit: the "o" at the end of most Italian words changes to "i" in plural form. One espresso, two espressi. Three cappuccini, and you won't need a nap.

The most playful term? When you sneak a shot of your favorite liqueur into your espresso, it becomes corretto, or "corrected" - the same word the Italians use for "spiked."