Coffee drinks are made by brewing water with ground coffee beans. The brewing is either done slowly, by drip, filter, French press, moka pot or percolator, or done very quickly, under pressure, by an espresso machine. When put under the pressure of an espresso machine, the coffee is termed espresso, while slow-brewed coffees are generally termed brewed coffee. While all coffee drinks are based on either coffee or espresso, some drinks add milk or cream, some are made with steamed milk or non-dairy milks, or add water (like the americano). Upon milk additions, coffee's flavor can vary with different syrups or sweeteners, alcoholic liqueurs, and even combinations of coffee with espresso or tea. There are many variations to the basic coffee or espresso bases.
With the invention of the Gaggia machine, espresso and espresso with milk, such as cappuccino and latte, spread in popularity from Italy to the UK in the 1950s. It then came to America, and with the rise in popularity of the Italian coffee culture in the 1980s, it began to spread worldwide via coffeehouses and coffeehouse chains.