Latte Coffee Brewing Ratios: Espresso Milk Coffee Hot Latte Iced Latte Espresso to Milk Ratio

Latte, this seemingly simple milk coffee, has become the benchmark drink for many to judge whether a coffee shop is good or not based on how well it's prepared. FrontStreet Coffee's latte has always left a lasting impression on customers with its rich whiskey aroma and smooth, vanilla cream-like texture. A good Italian milk coffee can make someone remember a café, so knowing how to make delicious milk coffee becomes the key. This time, FrontStreet Coffee will explain how to make a delicious latte.

What is Latte Coffee?

The "latte" in latte coffee is phonetically translated from the Italian "latte," which means "milk." We can understand latte coffee as literally "milk coffee." The ratio of milk to coffee, bean selection, and extraction parameters for latte coffee will vary slightly from shop to shop. But generally, latte coffee is a coffee drink made by mixing a large amount of milk with espresso. Due to the high milk content, the milk flavor is more pronounced than the coffee flavor, and the small amount of milk foam gives latte coffee a delicate and smooth texture.

How to Make Hot Latte Coffee?

First, the Espresso Extraction

Extracting espresso is one of the fundamental and core skills for most baristas. To make a qualified latte coffee, one must first extract qualified espresso—normal flow rate, flawless flavor, no off-tastes, etc.

FrontStreet Coffee currently uses a blend of medium-dark roasted Sherry barrel-processed coffee beans and medium-dark roasted natural-processed Yirgachefe Red Cherry Project beans for espresso. Six parts Honduras Sherry barrel coffee beans provide flavor and body to this blend, while four parts natural-processed Yirgachefe provide more aroma and acidity.

FrontStreet Coffee's Espresso Extraction Parameters:

Pressure: 9 bar ± 2
Temperature: 90.5~96°C
Time: 20~30 sec
Dose: 15g (single shot) 20g (double shot)
Yield: 30ml (single); 40ml (double)

Next, Milk Steaming

Steaming milk is also a fundamental and core skill for every barista. The ability to steam perfect milk is one of the factors in judging whether a barista is qualified.

Latte coffee has relatively thin milk foam, making it smooth and delicate to drink. Therefore, when steaming milk for latte coffee, the foam cannot be too thick. The steamed milk should have a glossy surface with no obvious coarse or fine bubbles—overall delicate and beautiful.

To create good milk foam, you need to find the right depth for placing the steam wand in the milk. It's not better to place it too deep—if the steam wand is too deep, the steam cannot contact air, which only causes the steam to churn in the milk without achieving the effect of creating delicate foam; of course, too shallow is also not good because if it's too shallow, the milk might splash when you turn on the steam, or the steam might be too strong, creating too much foam. FrontStreet Coffee suggests placing the steam wand approximately 1cm into the milk as a baseline. If the coffee machine's steam is too strong, creating excessive vortex or turbulence, you can place the steam wand deeper (such as 1.5cm); if the coffee machine's steam is not strong enough, you can place the steam wand at a shallower position (such as 0.5cm or less). This allows the milk to quickly form a small vortex without rotating too violently or creating turbulence.

Hot Latte Coffee Parameters

Milk: Whole fresh milk
Milk steaming temperature: 50°C
Foam thickness: 1 centimeter
Milk to coffee ratio: 20ml espresso (single shot) with 180ml hot milk

Cup Details for Hot Latte

Cup capacity: 200 milliliters
Material: Ceramic

Finally, the Integration and Presentation

Once the espresso is extracted and the milk is steamed, you can integrate them to complete the latte coffee presentation. Integration is also a very important part of making latte coffee. Good integration makes the latte coffee smooth and pleasant to drink, without any harsh sensations. Only after good integration can we proceed with what we commonly call latte art.

How to Make Iced Latte Coffee?

Iced Latte Coffee Parameters

Espresso: 40ml (double shot)
Milk: Whole fresh milk
Milk to coffee ratio: 40ml espresso (double shot) with 320ml ice and milk mixture

Prepare 320ml of ice and milk mixture, then extract two shots of espresso and pour them in, stirring well.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473