Why Can't Lattes Be Made Without Ice? Can Hot Latte Coffee Have Ice Added?

I wonder if you remember your first time drinking a latte—perhaps many people have long forgotten, but FrontStreet Coffee still remembers it vividly. The first sight of the exquisite latte art was immediately eye-catching, a small sip revealed the subtle sweetness and bitterness from the crema, and by the second sip, the initial intense bitterness transformed into rich mellow flavors and delicate textures, complemented by the gentle sweetness of hot milk, creating a perfectly balanced harmony in the mouth, leaving behind a creamy chocolate-like aftertaste.

As the famous Western saying goes, "A thousand people have a thousand different Hamlets in their eyes," and the same applies to coffee. For what makes a good latte, perhaps everyone has their own standard answer. Some friends appreciate its generous and satisfying portion, others are fond of its rich aroma and balance, while still others are fascinated by those exquisite patterns of latte art.

On the contrary, when it comes to a bad latte, people's answers are remarkably similar—either the coffee is too bitter to drink, or the taste is too weak (watery) and completely unappetizing, or it's both bitter and weak simultaneously. So what's going on here?

Latte Coffee Formula

FrontStreet Coffee's standard uses their own Sunflower Warm Sun blend, which employs medium-dark roasting, and the requirement for latte production is to achieve flavors of vanilla, creamy chocolate, and caramel cookies.

Based on this, we first use the common espresso formula: a 1:2 coffee-to-liquid ratio, obtaining approximately 2g of coffee liquid from 1g of coffee grounds, with extraction time between 25-35 seconds. We then apply this to actual extraction. For example, FrontStreet Coffee uses a double basket holding 20g of coffee grounds to extract 40g of espresso, controlling the time between 27-33 seconds, with no abnormalities throughout the extraction process (channeling, splattering, or unstable flow).

For making hot lattes, FrontStreet Coffee follows a 1:5.5 ratio, pouring 220ml of fresh milk into a pitcher and frothing it to 55-65°C with 0.3-0.5cm of foam, finally evenly blending it with espresso in a ceramic cup and creating a proper latte art pattern.

Beginners might think that iced lattes are simply hot lattes with ice added, but this is not the case. When coffee shops make iced lattes, to maintain coffee concentration, we use three ice cubes as a base, then control the coffee-to-milk ratio at 1:5, pouring 200g of fresh milk first, then drizzling 40g of espresso over it to preserve the beautiful layered effect.

From FrontStreet Coffee's experience, as long as the coffee beans and milk pairing is chosen appropriately, and the espresso extraction is stably controlled with the right milk proportions, making a delicious latte is actually quite simple. In other words, if a latte doesn't taste right, the problem must lie in these previous points. Let's break them down one by one.

First, What Makes a Latte Too Bitter?

As everyone knows, without adding sugar, lattes are the least bitter among all flavored coffees because they incorporate large amounts of milk, and the coffee flavor is often not prominent. When we do taste obvious bitterness, it indicates the problem most likely lies with the espresso—either the coffee beans are roasted too dark, or the extraction parameters aren't correct.

Regarding the former, unless you're purchasing extremely dark-roasted beans that are black and glistening with oil, most common espresso formulas on the market use medium-dark to dark roasts to preserve more of the coffee beans' own flavors. At most, they come out just after the second crack. Espressos made from such products typically have rich crema, slight acidity, and moderate coffee bitterness, creating a compatible texture when balanced with milk without emphasizing any particular element.

Generally speaking, the "main culprit" that makes lattes bitter usually lies in the espresso extraction. The most common issues are too slow flow rate (extraction time exceeding 35 seconds according to the above formula), channeling, or liquid column splattering leading to over-extraction.

A customer once gave feedback to FrontStreet Coffee, saying that their homemade lattes usually tasted quite good, but one day they suddenly became particularly bitter and lacked aroma. The coffee beans were within their flavor period, and the extraction parameters and ratios were the same as usual—they just couldn't figure out what went wrong. After some inquiry, it was discovered that the extracted coffee puck had perforated, indicating channeling during extraction, possibly due to clumped coffee grounds, which led to over-extraction and bitterness. In this case, the corresponding solution is to adjust the grind to a coarser setting, or use external force to break up the clumped coffee grounds.

What to Do When Latte Tastes Too Watery or Too Weak?

From a barista's perspective, the richness of a latte is determined by two aspects: milk and espresso. For lattes, milk, which constitutes the largest proportion, is naturally a key factor. If you want the coffee to be rich and aromatic, we recommend prioritizing whole fresh milk because, compared to shelf-stable milk or skim milk, whole milk contains higher milk fat content, resulting in denser foam after frothing, better stability, and a fuller texture for the coffee.

In fact, besides milk quality issues, under-extraction of espresso can also make lattes watery or weak. This situation often occurs with SOE (Single Origin Espresso). FrontStreet Coffee once used the lightly roasted Guaxupé 8.0 to make an SOE latte. Despite reducing the milk proportion, the resulting texture was still remarkably bland, like a cup of hot milk with hints of citrus and caramel aroma. Clearly, this was due to under-extraction caused by the light roast level.

Therefore, when we use single-origin coffee beans featuring fruit-forward flavors to make large-volume lattes, it's best to choose the corresponding SOE version to avoid "disasters."

Why Can Lattes Be Both Bitter and Weak?

This situation is usually the opposite of the previous SOE scenario, often because the coffee beans are roasted too dark, resulting in espresso with overall heavy and roasted flavor characteristics, where the latter part often consists mainly of bitterness, woodiness, and off-flavors. If using a ratio with higher extraction yield, the espresso will most likely become over-extracted.

For example, some people like to extract 40g of coffee liquid from 18g of grounds, where the coffee-to-liquid ratio falls around 1:2.22. This not only makes the coffee bitter and astringent but also means the increased liquid weight indicates higher water content, so the coffee concentration decreases, naturally resulting in lattes that are both bitter and weak.

If you feel your homemade lattes also have this contradictory taste, you might try reducing the espresso extraction amount slightly, such as reducing the liquid weight by 5g to increase concentration. This not only avoids over-extraction but also makes the latte's texture richer and fuller.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473