What's the Secret to Layered Latte Coffee? The Science Behind Making Beautiful Layered Lattes

Whether it's the older generation of parents or the younger generation still studying and doing practice problems in school, latte coffee is often the first specialty coffee beverage they encounter. After all, when first entering a coffee shop and seeing the beautiful latte art patterns on others' cups, why wouldn't you want one for yourself?

Many sources trace the origin of latte coffee to Italy. The term "latte" in latte coffee comes from "latte" in the Italian "caffè e latte," where "latte" means milk. Interestingly, the original Italian expression already reveals the ingredients in this beverage: coffee and milk.

The Evolution and Popularization of Latte

People have been enjoying this combination of coffee and milk since the 17th century. The English term "caffè e latte" first appeared in 1867 in an article titled "Italian Journeys" by William Dean Howells. This latte coffee became a breakfast choice for many locals in Italy and throughout Europe. Even though latte coffee became part of European household breakfasts, its worldwide popularity was largely thanks to Americans.

Throughout history, even during periods of high population mobility like World War II, you couldn't find "latte coffee" on café menus in Italy or France—two countries known for their love of espresso.

Starbucks was founded and opened its first store in Seattle, USA, in the 1970s. After the Faema E61 espresso machine appeared in 1961, there was a qualitative leap in espresso extraction and milk frothing. Rich crema and fine milk foam allowed a good milk coffee to achieve an even better appearance.

As Starbucks expanded worldwide, more people became familiar with this coffee brand, and more people learned about latte coffee—a sweet, delicious coffee that's good and not bitter.

FrontStreet Coffee's Approach to Latte

FrontStreet Coffee's stores often encounter people who are just starting to drink coffee—those who can't accept the burnt, bitter richness of dark roast coffee, nor can they accept bright, acidic flavors. FrontStreet Coffee's baristas generally recommend latte coffee, which has a less intense coffee flavor. Because the ratio of espresso to milk in latte coffee is relatively small, the coffee's aroma is better presented, while the coffee's bitterness is completely eliminated by the sweetness of the milk.

When making latte coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's stores use an espresso blend called Sunflower Warm Sunshine Blend to make the espresso base. When FrontStreet Coffee developed this Sunflower Warm Sunshine espresso blend, they wanted to create an espresso bean with a rich wine-like flavor rarely found on the market. Therefore, this espresso blend coffee bean is composed of 70% Honduras Sherry and 30% Ethiopia Natural Red Cherry.

FrontStreet Coffee Sunflower Warm Sunshine Espresso Blend

Origin: Honduras & Ethiopia
Varieties: Caturra, Catuai, Pacas, local native varieties
Processing: Washed & Natural

Honduras Sherry is shade-dried after 30-40 days of low-temperature fermentation in sherry whiskey barrels. Those who have tasted many types of whiskey can easily notice that port barrel whiskey has a slight savory flavor, while sherry barrel-aged whiskey is sweeter and more delicious. When coffee beans are shade-dried, they avoid direct sunlight, which can reduce the loss of wine-like aromas due to temperature increases, and even prevent undesirable fermentation flavors and acidity. Sherry coffee beans thus possess characteristics similar to sherry barrel whiskey—sweetness that imparts rich wine-like aromas, vanilla, and cream flavors to this espresso blend.

Ethiopia Natural Red Cherry comes from coffee beans in the Yirgacheffe region, using the most primitive and traditional post-harvest processing method—the natural process. The fruit skin and pulp are retained, and whole coffee cherries are evenly spread on raised beds to dry in the sun, allowing more sugar substances from the fruit pulp and mucilage to slowly penetrate into the raw coffee beans. This gives this espresso blend more berry acidity.

FrontStreet Coffee's Latte Preparation Method

FrontStreet Coffee uses a Mahlkönig Galileo Q18 grinder and a Faema E98 espresso machine when making latte coffee. After parameter adjustments, FrontStreet Coffee's extraction recipe is as follows:

The Galileo Q18 grind setting is 1.9, using 20 grams of coffee grounds, with extraction time between 26-28 seconds, yielding 35 grams of liquid.

When serving latte coffee, FrontStreet Coffee uses a 300ml wide-mouth coffee cup, so an appropriate amount of milk is added to the milk pitcher. The steam wand is positioned using the pitcher spout as a pivot, angled toward the 2-3 o'clock direction. Air is then introduced into the milk, and the steam quickly creates a vortex, eliminating larger milk bubbles and frothing the milk to a dense, smooth consistency.

The frothed milk must be quickly combined with the espresso for latte art, otherwise the milk and foam will separate further, making it difficult for the milk and coffee to blend perfectly and challenging to create latte art.

The latte coffee made by FrontStreet Coffee using this Sunflower Warm Sunshine espresso blend has intense whiskey, vanilla, and cream flavors. Additionally, when milk is frothed to around 65°C Celsius, lactose breaks down into more sugar, making the milk even sweeter. Combined with the acidity from Ethiopia Natural Red Cherry, this unsweetened latte coffee becomes even more delicious and sweet.

The Rise of Dirty Coffee

As people's aesthetic preferences have evolved, another coffee beverage combining coffee and milk has become popular across the country—a milk coffee called "Dirty" that has captivated many with its beautiful layering. When making Dirty coffee, FrontStreet Coffee first pours an appropriate amount of milk into an iced glass, then places it under the brew head, allowing the espresso to flow directly into the milk.

This layering phenomenon is made possible by the different densities of liquids. Since milk's density is slightly greater than espresso, the coffee can float on top. However, as time passes, the coffee eventually gradually blends with the milk below, becoming a true milk-coffee mixture.

Here, FrontStreet Coffee wants to remind those who want to taste what real dirty coffee is like—although dirty coffee looks beautiful, it should be consumed quickly. Dirty coffee offers the sensation of contrasting temperatures: first sipping the warm espresso on top, then drinking the middle section where coffee and milk mix, and finally finishing with just the cold milk at the bottom.

For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style)
For professional coffee knowledge exchange, please add WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473