Glossary
Barista Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential barista terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key barista vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in barista training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Americano
- Espresso diluted with hot water.
- Backflush
- Cleaning the espresso machine’s group head.
- Cappuccino
- Espresso with more foam.
- Cold brew
- Coffee steeped cold for hours.
- Crema
- The golden foam on top of espresso.
- Dial in
- Adjust grind and dose for good shots.
- Espresso
- Concentrated coffee brewed under pressure.
- Extraction
- Pulling flavor from coffee grounds.
- Grind size
- How fine or coarse coffee is ground.
- Latte
- Espresso with steamed milk.
- Latte art
- Designs poured in milk.
- Microfoam
- Silky steamed milk for latte art.
- Portafilter
- The handle that holds coffee grounds.
- Shot
- A single serving of espresso.
- Tamping
- Pressing grounds into the portafilter.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Barista practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Barista training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.