Coffee/Espresso/Capuccino

ive always been wondering and i still dont understand all of this... whats the difference from coffee and espresso and all these other types of beverages?

coffee
espresso
cappuccino
caffe latte
caffe mocha

To add to what the Don has posted:
There's no such thing as an espresso "coffee bean." You can make espresso out of any kind of coffee bean, as long as it's ground very fine and brewed in an espresso machine. If you're an espresso lover, you'll want to buy a "dark roasted" coffee, like French roast or Italian roast.
Also, there are two generic types of espresso machines: steam and pump. The pump type makes a better drink. Look for a machine that has more pressure than its competitors: say, 14 bar vs. 12 or 13.
Espresso fanatics spend incredible amounts of time and money making their favorite brew. They buy restaurant-grade machines for thousands of dollars for home use; connect them to separate, filtered water supplies and electrical hookups; temperature-control the room where the machine is located, etc. I use an inexpensive, high-pressure Hamilton Beach pump machine that I bought for less than $100 mail order from Wal-Mart. It works just fine.

WOW, one of my fav topics!!!!

Ok, the first thing to do it's making up your mind if you are talking about coffee, expresso and cappucino the way we have them in Italy or not. Because it makes all the difference in the world. I mean, everywhere in the world you can find bars where they tell you they have the real Italian coffee etc...but, as a matter of fact, they have not!

When we Italians ask for a coffee, we mean to have a small amount of strong coffee (compared with what other people in other countries usually have when they order a coffee) in a little cup (it is called tazzina ). We usually add sugar and, if we like, we add some milk (cold or hot) -- that is the so called caffè macchiato -- or cream (rarely). This is the kind of coffee you usually have at home. When we ask for an expresso we mean an even stronger coffee, something you can prepare only with the espresso machine, while a cappuccino has a greater amount of less strong coffee and more milk, which must be fluffy on top, otherwise you are not having a real cappuccino but just milk & coffee. The typical Italian breakfast is cappuccino & cornetto (a double-horned little pastry, you call it "brioche" or "croissant" in French).

Don't forget the most important variety of espresso: that with a little Sambuca in it.

oh, that's very true....with sambuca or even with grappa...that would be the caffé corretto!

thanks to Don JGeoff, Turnbull, and Lavinia! i think i have a really good clue in my head now. haha... im in a mood for some cappuccino and crossiant now

And there's always the Mochaccino. A not so subtle blend of chocolate and coffee. I don't no how it works but it just does. Espresso mixes well with it too.

I have a reputation at work, when I'm really tired, for drinking a lot of espresso, triple portions at a time until I feel sick. But at least I'm awake.

Cappucino: breakfast coffee the italians drink but NEVER after 11am, so if you order it and dont want to look like a tourist, always order it in the morning, never for lunch or as an after dinner drink.

Espresso: good anytime...

Coffee: there is no such thing as "coffee" in italy, if you say "un cafe" they give you an espresso, you would have to say "cafe americano" if you wanted "coffee".

Only around the holidays will you see something like sambuca, amaretto or anisette to taint the espresso

Everything else is an american variation and/or starbucks invention, my favorite, was the Milky Way Mocha, which Starbucks stole from a small coffee shop and renamed the Caramel Mochiatto, which, is my fave, but a bit too sweet these days...