How to Drink Latte Coffee Without Embarrassment - Which Tastes Better, Iced or Hot Latte? Latte Milk Coffee Recipe

Latte Coffee: Iced or Hot, Which Tastes Better?

Among the many choices of espresso coffee, if someone asks which espresso coffee has the highest milk content, FrontStreet Coffee would definitely answer that it's latte coffee. Latte coffee is divided into iced latte and hot latte. Their preparation methods are slightly different, but the formula is the same. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce whether lattes taste better iced or hot, as well as the preparation ratios for latte coffee.

The Origin of Latte Coffee

According to FrontStreet Coffee's research, latte coffee appeared much earlier than espresso coffee. Starting from the 17th century, Europeans have been mixing coffee and milk, especially Italians, as the concept of espresso coffee originated from Italy.

For example, William Dean Howells first used the term "caffè latte" in his 1867 essay "Italian Journeys." At this point in history, coffee began to cause a worldwide sensation, but since espresso machines had not yet been invented, brewing methods remained very primitive.

"Latte" is actually a transliteration of the Italian word "Latte," which means milk. So if you order a latte in an Italian coffee shop, you might get a glass of milk. Therefore, in Italy, latte coffee actually means milk coffee. With the emergence of espresso machines, steam wands became standard equipment for espresso machines, making it easy to heat milk on the coffee machine, and modern latte coffee was formed. By the 1980s, baristas from Seattle, Washington, began using rich, textured milk to "paint," which became the prototype of latte art.

Because each coffee shop uses different espresso blend beans and different models of espresso machines, there will be subtle differences in the milk-to-coffee ratio, beans used, extraction parameters, etc., for latte coffee in every shop. But generally speaking, latte coffee is a coffee beverage made by mixing a large amount of milk with espresso coffee. Different coffee beans will produce different latte flavors, different milks will also produce different latte flavors, and even different ratios of coffee to milk can present different flavors.

What Coffee Beans to Use for Latte Coffee

So what coffee beans should be used to make latte coffee? Generally speaking, coffee beans for making latte coffee must be suitable for espresso machines, so lightly roasted coffee is not suitable for making latte coffee. The darker the roast of coffee beans, the stronger the coffee flavor (caramel, bitterness) of the latte. The lighter the coffee beans, the more prominent the milk flavor will be. Therefore, the roast degree should be chosen appropriately to allow coffee and milk to better complement each other.

Because espresso machines have a very distinct characteristic of amplifying the original flavor of coffee beans, and lightly roasted coffee beans have more prominent acidity, if extracted with an espresso machine, the acidity will be even more obvious, so they are not suitable for making espresso coffee.

For example, FrontStreet Coffee's current in-house brand, the Sunflower Warm Sun series, is FrontStreet's most proud coffee blend creation. It is made from a blend of Honduras Shirley coffee and Yirgacheffe natural red cherry coffee, highlighting rich chocolate, caramel, and tipsy flavors when mixed with milk.

Next, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce the characteristics of this coffee bean!

FrontStreet Coffee Sunflower Warm Sun Blend

Flavor: Obvious fruit acidity, light berry aroma, wine fragrance, rich chocolate flavor, obvious aftertaste.

Formula: Honduras Shirley : Yirgacheffe Red Cherry = 7:3

FrontStreet uses a blend of Yirgacheffe natural red cherry and Honduras Shirley for this blend. FrontStreet's design concept for this blend bean is that it can be used for both espresso and pour-over. When used to make espresso, it emits obvious fermented wine fragrance, with citrus and berry acidity immediately emerging when tasted, carrying whiskey aroma, and the aftertaste is dark chocolate.

Secondly, FrontStreet Coffee has also developed three other espresso blend beans for coffee enthusiasts to choose from. Each blend coffee bean has its own characteristics, just choose according to your favorite flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee Premium Blend

Flavor: Soft and slightly acidic, refreshing sweetness, nutty aftertaste, overall feeling is not too stimulating, mild, medium crema.

Formula: Colombia : Brazil = 3:7

This blend uses Brazil and Colombia. It tastes like light baked grass fragrance, fresh and slightly bitter, sweet and smooth, and the aftertaste is pleasant. This is because coffee beans from Colombia's Huila region have pleasant acidity, fragrant aroma, moderate acidity, and rich sweetness that is very intriguing, while coffee beans from Brazil's Cerrado region have comfortable bitter sweetness and are extremely smooth in the mouth. So the combination is simply wonderful.

FrontStreet Coffee Commercial Blend

Flavor: Caramel sweetness, nutty and cocoa-like, dark chocolate flavors, balanced sweet and sour, slightly bitter, persistent aftertaste.

Formula: Colombia : Brazil : Robusta = 3:6:1

This blend uses Brazilian, Colombian coffee beans and 10% Robusta coffee beans. The taste is classic. FrontStreet thinks this blend has rich crema and texture with caramel sweetness, also carrying nutty and cocoa-like, dark chocolate flavors, balanced sweet and sour, slightly bitter, with persistent aftertaste. This commercial blend, like FrontStreet Coffee's Premium Blend, uses Colombian and Brazilian coffee beans, but the addition of Robusta provides rich crema, making the coffee texture more mellow.

FrontStreet Coffee Basic Blend

Flavor: With soft fruit acidity, caramel sweetness, nutty and dark chocolate flavors, smooth and viscous, but taste is on the lighter side.

Formula: Yunnan : Brazil = 3:7

This blend uses Brazil and Yunnan. FrontStreet thinks it tastes with soft fruit acidity and caramel sweetness, as well as nutty and dark chocolate flavors, smooth and viscous, but the taste is on the lighter side. This is because Yunnan's natural conditions are very similar to Colombia's, high altitude, large day-night temperature difference, the flavor belongs to mellow aroma type, moderate acidity, rich and mellow taste, uniform particles, high oil content, and with fruit fragrance, its quality and texture are similar to Colombian coffee. But the taste is slightly lighter than Colombia's, while coffee beans from Brazil's Cerrado region have comfortable bitter sweetness and are extremely smooth in the mouth. Therefore, the flavor of these two coffee beans mixed together is also good, and this basic blend coffee bean is very cost-effective, suitable for espresso beginners and small coffee shops.

The above are the four espresso blend beans recommended by FrontStreet Coffee. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will share the preparation ratios for latte coffee with everyone.

Latte Coffee Preparation Ratios

As mentioned above, FrontStreet Coffee's shop uses the Sunflower Warm Sun espresso blend beans. When extracting espresso, FrontStreet uses the Fiore E98 espresso machine, with extraction parameters as follows:

Pressure: 9 bar

Temperature: 90.5~96 degrees Celsius

Time: 20~30 sec

Powder to water ratio: 1:1.7~1:2

Powder amount: 12g (single shot espresso) 20g (double shot espresso)

Espresso extraction amount: 20ml (single) 40ml (double)

FrontStreet uses double shot espresso to make latte coffee. After coffee bean extraction, the flavor profile shows: obvious fruit acidity, light berry aroma lingering, rich wine and chocolate flavors, comfortable aftertaste.

How to Make a Hot Latte?

Milk: Whole fresh milk (FrontStreet uses Kowloon Dairy fresh milk)

Steamed milk temperature: 50-60 degrees Celsius (too low temperature cannot stimulate the release of lactose in milk, too high temperature will destroy the protein in milk, resulting in a grainy texture)

Foam thickness: 1 cm (thinner than 1 cm foam is for making flat white, thicker than 1 cm foam is for making cappuccino)

How to Steam Hot Latte Milk Foam?

Steam wand technique - rinse before turning on steam: Let the steam wand rinse, draining the front water vapor to avoid too wet foam (cover with a clean cloth to avoid splashing.)

Insert steam wand into cold milk: Let steam rush into the milk. (Tube depth: if the tube is inserted too deep, it will only heat without creating foam; conversely, if the tube is inserted too shallowly, it will create large bubbles, making latte art unattractive. You can tap it on the table to break large bubbles.)

Steam wand position: The most perfect and foolproof steam injection point is when the steam wand is inserted into the steel pitcher, with the steam wand against the spout of the steel pitcher, the nozzle pointing to the center and slightly offset by 1cm.

Turn on steam: Start steaming milk (when steam is injected, listen carefully with your ears - there should be a sound like blowing into a straw for drinking, no crisp feeling of bubbles hitting the metal steel pitcher, when the temperature reaches 50-60 degrees, it's almost time to turn it off.)

Hot Latte Preparation Ratio Recommendations

FrontStreet recommends a coffee-to-milk ratio of 1:6.5 for making latte coffee, 40ml espresso: 260ml hot milk. A hot latte coffee can be obtained by fully mixing the milk and espresso through a circular motion. Fresh milk heated produces better release of lactose sweet molecules, and when mixed evenly with espresso, the whole latte carries the natural sweetness of milk without stealing the spotlight from the espresso, but rather better highlights the flavor of the espresso against the backdrop of milk.

FrontStreet Coffee Hot Latte Texture and Characteristics: Whiskey wine fragrance, lactose and coffee acidity collide to create milkshake-like sweetness, with hazelnut and other nut-like aftertaste.

How to Make an Iced Latte?

Milk: Whole fresh milk

Milk temperature: Refrigerated milk from the refrigerator

Ice cubes: Mixed with milk in a 1:3 ratio

Milk and coffee amount: FrontStreet recommends 300ml iced milk mixture: 40ml espresso

Add ice cubes and fresh milk, total amount: 300ml, then extract double shot espresso liquid and pour over iced milk. If you use less ice, remember to add more milk.

FrontStreet Coffee Iced Latte Texture and Characteristics: Whiskey wine fragrance and rich nutty aroma. As the ice cubes melt, the overall richness of the coffee will gradually decrease.

The above is the relevant knowledge and preparation methods for latte coffee compiled by FrontStreet Coffee. I hope it can help coffee enthusiasts choose suitable espresso beans for their taste to make latte coffee.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on private WeChat, 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