Once brewed, coffee may be served in a variety of ways. Drip-brewed, percolated, or French-pressed/cafetière coffee may be served as white coffee with a dairy product such as milk or cream, or dairy substitute, or as black coffee with no such addition. It may be sweetened with sugar or artificial sweetener. When served cold, it is called iced coffee.
Espresso-based coffee has a variety of possible presentations. In its most basic form, an espresso is served alone as a shot or short black, or with hot water added, and is known as Caffè Americano. A long black is made by pouring a double espresso into an equal portion of water, retaining the crema, unlike Caffè Americano.[101] Milk is added in various forms to an espresso: steamed milk makes a caffè latte,[102] equal parts steamed milk and milk froth make a cappuccino,[101] and a dollop of hot foamed milk on top creates a caffè macchiato.[103] A flat white is prepared by adding steamed hot milk (microfoam) to espresso so that the flavour is brought out and the texture is unusually velvety.[104][105] It has less milk than a latte but both are varieties of coffee to which the milk can be added in such a way as to create a decorative surface pattern. Such effects are known as latte art.
Coffee can also be incorporated with alcohol to produce a variety of beverages: it is combined with whiskey in Irish coffee, and it forms the base of alcoholic coffee liqueurs such as Kahlúa and Tia Maria. Coffee is also sometimes used in the brewing process of darker beers, such as a stout or porter.[citati