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 all the espresso drinks, ask which one has the most milk and FrontStreet Coffee would answer without hesitation: the latte. Lattes come in two forms, iced and hot. Their preparation methods differ slightly, but the formula is the same. Below, FrontStreet Coffee looks at whether a latte tastes better iced or hot, and at the ratios behind making one.

The Origin of Latte Coffee

By FrontStreet Coffee's reckoning, latte coffee appeared long before espresso. From the 17th century onward Europeans had been mixing coffee and milk, Italians especially, and the concept of espresso itself originated in Italy.

William Dean Howells, for instance, first used the term "caffè latte" in his 1867 essay "Italian Journeys". Coffee was beginning to cause a worldwide sensation by then, but with no espresso machine invented yet, brewing methods remained very primitive.

"Latte" is a transliteration of the Italian word "Latte", which means milk. Order a latte in an Italian coffee shop and you may simply be handed a glass of milk, because in Italy latte coffee really does mean milk coffee. Once espresso machines arrived and steam wands became standard equipment, milk could be heated easily on the machine, and the modern latte took shape. By the 1980s, baristas in Seattle, Washington, had begun using rich, textured milk to "paint", and that became the prototype of latte art.

Because every coffee shop uses a different espresso blend and a different model of espresso machine, the milk-to-coffee ratio, the beans used and the extraction parameters will differ slightly from one shop to the next. Broadly speaking, though, latte coffee is a coffee beverage made by mixing a large amount of milk with espresso. Different coffee beans produce different latte flavors, different milks produce different latte flavors, and even a different ratio of coffee to milk will present a different cup.

What Coffee Beans to Use for Latte Coffee

So which coffee beans should a latte be made with? As a general rule, beans for latte coffee must be suitable for espresso machines, which means a light roast will not do. The darker the roast, the stronger the coffee flavor - caramel and bitterness - in the latte; the lighter the beans, the more the milk flavor comes forward. Choose the roast degree accordingly, so that coffee and milk complement each other better.

Espresso machines have a very distinct way of amplifying the original flavor of coffee beans, and lightly roasted beans have more prominent acidity; pulled through an espresso machine, that acidity only becomes more obvious, which is why they are not suitable for making espresso.

FrontStreet Coffee's own in-house brand, the Sunflower Warm Sun series, is FrontStreet's most proud coffee blend creation. It combines Honduras Shirley coffee with Yirgacheffe natural red cherry coffee, bringing rich chocolate, caramel and tipsy flavors to the front when mixed with milk.

Next, FrontStreet Coffee introduces what makes this coffee bean distinctive.

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 blends Yirgacheffe natural red cherry with Honduras Shirley for this blend. The design concept behind it is that the blend works for both espresso and pour-over. Used as espresso, it gives off an obvious fermented wine fragrance, with citrus and berry acidity arriving immediately on the palate, a whisky aroma carried through, and a dark chocolate aftertaste.

Secondly, FrontStreet Coffee has also developed three other espresso blends for coffee enthusiasts to choose from. Each blend has its own characteristics, so simply choose according to the flavor you prefer.

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 of light baked grass fragrance, fresh and slightly bitter, sweet and smooth, and the aftertaste is pleasant. Colombian beans from the Huila region bring pleasant acidity, a fragrant aroma, moderate acidity and a rich sweetness that is very intriguing, while Brazilian beans from the Cerrado region bring comfortable bitter sweetness and an extremely smooth mouth. 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 and Colombian coffee beans plus 10% Robusta coffee beans. The taste is classic. FrontStreet finds this blend rich in crema and texture, with caramel sweetness, nutty and cocoa-like and dark chocolate flavors, a balanced sweet-sour profile, a slight bitterness and a persistent aftertaste. Like FrontStreet Coffee's Premium Blend, this commercial blend uses Colombian and Brazilian beans, but the addition of Robusta provides a rich crema that makes 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 finds it has soft fruit acidity and caramel sweetness, along with nutty and dark chocolate flavors, smooth and viscous, though the taste is on the lighter side. This is because Yunnan's natural conditions closely resemble Colombia's - high altitude, a large day-night temperature difference - and its flavor belongs to the mellow-aroma type: moderately acidic, rich and mellow, with even particle size, high oil content and a fruit fragrance, so its quality and texture are similar to Colombian coffee. The taste is slightly lighter than Colombia's, however, while Brazilian beans from the Cerrado region bring comfortable bitter sweetness and an extremely smooth mouth. The two together make a good cup, and this basic blend is very cost-effective, which suits espresso beginners and small coffee shops.

Those are the four espresso blends FrontStreet Coffee recommends. Next, FrontStreet Coffee shares the preparation ratios for latte coffee.

Latte Coffee Preparation Ratios

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

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 a double shot of espresso to make latte coffee. After extraction, the flavor profile shows obvious fruit acidity, a light berry aroma that lingers, rich wine and chocolate flavors, and a 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 a temperature cannot stimulate the release of lactose in milk, while too high a temperature destroys the protein in milk and results in a grainy texture)

Foam thickness: 1 cm (foam thinner than 1 cm is for making a flat white, foam thicker than 1 cm is for making a 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 so the foam does not come out too wet. Cover with a clean cloth to avoid splashing.

Insert steam wand into cold milk: Let steam rush into the milk. As for tube depth, insert the tube too deep and it will only heat without creating foam; insert it too shallowly and it will create large bubbles that make latte art unattractive. You can tap the pitcher on the table to break large bubbles.

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

Turn on steam: Start steaming the milk. When the steam is injected, listen carefully: there should be a sound like blowing into a straw for drinking, not the crisp feeling of bubbles hitting the metal pitcher. When the temperature reaches 50-60 degrees, it is 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, or 40ml espresso to 260ml hot milk. A hot latte is made by fully mixing the milk and espresso with a circular motion. Heating fresh milk releases its lactose sweet molecules, and when mixed evenly with espresso the whole latte carries milk's natural sweetness without stealing the spotlight from the espresso, instead setting its flavor off to better advantage.

FrontStreet Coffee Hot Latte Texture and Characteristics: Whisky wine fragrance, lactose and coffee acidity colliding into a 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 to 40ml espresso

Add ice cubes and fresh milk to a total of 300ml, then pull a double shot of espresso and pour it over the iced milk. If you use less ice, remember to add more milk.

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

That is the background and the preparation method for latte coffee that FrontStreet Coffee has put together. We hope it helps coffee enthusiasts choose espresso beans that suit their taste for making latte coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Learning latte art is mostly about crema and milk texture, and both begin with the beans. FrontStreet's Classic Blend is the one the shop points beginners to first: a medium-dark espresso recipe drawn from three origins, inspired by the old Mamba pairing of Mandheling and Brazil and finished with a small amount of Robusta for aroma and body. It gives off clear butter, toasted bread and caramel-biscuit aromas, tastes strong and solid with a fine crema, and extracts very consistently, which is why it has become the standard home espresso for people just starting out.

If you prefer a deeper, nuttier style, the Premium Blend pairs washed Colombian coffee with semi-washed Brazilian coffee. Medium-dark roasted, it shows nuts, dark chocolate and caramel, and whether you pull an americano or build a latte or flat white, the creamy almond and cocoa sweetness comes through with a crema every bit the equal of a cafe's. It is more than good enough for practicing latte art, which makes it a natural fit for anyone planning a shop or learning at home. For those about to open, the Commercial Blend takes FrontStreet Coffee's Premium Blend as its base and adds a little Robusta, giving a deeper brown, finer crema and a heavier body, so americano, latte or mocha all carry nut, cocoa and caramel, and the pour becomes easy.