Over the past 7 or 8 months I have been working at a local coffee shop called Metto Coffee and Tea. It is tucked away on a corner on Coleman Boulevard in Mount Pleasant, right across the street from Kickin Chicken. It really is a hidden gem! I really do love working there and I have made great friends with the staff and customers. But, what I have found is a lot of coffee drinkers that come in do not even know what they are ordering or the difference between the drinks we offer. I also personally think that this limits what a person will order/willing to try. So I am here to educate you guys and help you find your perfect coffee drink match! I also wanted to add some to tips and tricks to ordering coffee in here as well!

The difference between cold brew and iced coffee is a perfect place to start. Cold brew is typically brewed from 12 hours at room temperature while iced coffee can be brewed within minutes and requires heat. Additionally, cold brew is usually diluted by water before serving, while the iced coffee is poured directly over ice. Also cold brew has a much longer shelf life. Cold brew can be kept in the fridge for up to 14 days but iced coffee should be consumed right after brewing. Another difference between the two is the taste: cold brew has chocolate tasting notes that are less acidic and iced coffee carries the same taste as the flavor origins 

And here are a few drinks that you might not know what goes into them:

London fog: steamed milk, earl grey tea, and vanilla flavoring 

Cafe au lait: half brewed hot coffee, and steamed milk 

Americano: water, and 2 shots of espresso 

Macchiato: is typically served in a shot glass mug with one shot of espresso and a dab of foam on top. *people will order this and later say this is not what they wanted because they will receive an extremely small cup with a very small amount of coffee in it. This happens because Starbucks uses these terms to serve macchiato lattes and people do not understand what an actual macchiato is. 

Italian cappuccino: similarly to the macchiato it is served in a smaller mug/cup with equal parts espresso, steamed milk, and foam.

Cappuccino: two shots of espresso, steamed milk, and a heap of fluffy foam on top (equal parts)

Iced Latte: milk, 2 shots of espresso, and ice 

Hot Latte: 2 shots of espresso, steamed milk, and slight foam on top 

Tips & Tricks 

1. A lot of people think that ordering dark roast coffee instead of medium roast coffee has more caffeine and will give them more energy. It won’t! It just has a different taste because it is processed differently!
2. I’m not so sure if I want to be putting this one out there because it is more of a trick for us baristas. Sometimes we do not have a pot of decaf coffee brewed (it takes about 6-7 minutes to do and not many people order it so it is not also worth it to have sitting out) so what we will do is make a decaf americano which is using decaf espresso beans and hot water. And shhh keep that on the down low because we have not had any complaints yet. 
3. Also! Coffee that is roasted and placed in a pot should only be sitting out for an hour. Unfortunately, a lot of coffee can be wasted but this is so we ensure our coffee is always fresh! 
4. All of the drinks on the menu can be ordered hot or iced EXCEPT the cappuccino. 
5. Also, we will know you know your way around a coffee shop when you ask for “room” in your coffee. Which essentially means the barista will not fill the cup/mug all the way up leaving room for the customer to add their own cream and sugar. 
6. If you want to taste the flavor of coffee more consider ordering your drink “half sweet”. Which means the barista will put in half the amount of syrup/flavoring. Or you could even get specific with how many pumps of flavoring you want to add or subtract. Typically a Large is 4, Medium is 3, and the small is 2 pumps. 
7. If you need an extra pep in your step you could consider adding extra shots of espresso to your drink order. 
8. If you are looking for longer lasting energy from caffeine ordering a cold brew is the way to go! While ordering a latte with espresso shots will hit you much quicker you will also crash much quicker. 

Widen your horizons and maybe order something new next!