Why Homemade Latte Doesn't Taste as Good as Coffee Shop Latte - Beginner's Guide to Coffee Shop Latte Making

FrontStreet Coffee's Guide to Making Perfect Latte at Home

Many customers have told FrontStreet Coffee, "Your latte is delicious and so special. I can't make it taste like this at home." Some curious customers have also asked FrontStreet Coffee for latte recipes. FrontStreet Coffee never hesitates to share knowledge, so today we're sharing what FrontStreet Coffee considers the most important points in making latte.

Before We Begin - A Disclaimer

Before sharing, let's add a "ETC-prevention" disclaimer: 1) True masters hide among the people. Many experts have their own understanding and can make better coffee than coffee shops. This is mainly to provide some direction for friends who have asked FrontStreet Coffee about how to make latte, and for those who want to make a coffee shop-style latte at home. If you have different understandings, you're welcome to exchange ideas; if you want to argue, you're right.

2) Latte coffee, translated, means "milk coffee." Broadly speaking, espresso machines, moka pots, French presses, siphons, pour-overs, pot-brewed coffee, and even instant coffee with milk can all be called latte coffee. However, milk coffee made with different methods has its own flavor characteristics, making it difficult to measure their quality with one standard. Therefore, this will only cover latte made with semi-automatic espresso machines.

Getting Started

Making latte coffee like a coffee shop is actually not difficult at all. As long as you choose the right coffee beans and milk combination, achieve stable and reasonable espresso extraction, and maintain the proper milk-to-coffee ratio.

Coffee Bean Selection

The choice of coffee beans is very important, as it directly determines the flavor direction of the latte. For example, many customers praise FrontStreet Coffee's latte for its special flavor, mainly because FrontStreet Coffee uses its own Sunflower Warm Sunshine blend, made from Yirgacheffe Red Cherry and Honduras Sherry beans, resulting in latte coffee with vanilla cream, wine aroma, caramel, and chocolate flavors.

In addition to choosing suitable coffee beans, the bean resting period is also very important. Once a customer reported that after purchasing the Warm Sunshine blend, they couldn't achieve the same flavor as at FrontStreet Coffee's store. The reason was that the coffee beans were too fresh, and the flavor couldn't be extracted. After a few days, the customer reported that they were able to extract the flavor. According to FrontStreet Coffee's production testing, FrontStreet Coffee's espresso beans reach their optimal flavor after resting for about 10-14 days, with a tasting period of approximately 50 days.

Milk Selection

Besides coffee beans, milk also affects the flavor and texture of latte. FrontStreet Coffee previously tested several common fresh milk brands on the market. For detailed information, you can click "here" for reference.

Espresso Extraction

Next, what has a significant impact is espresso extraction. Some friends attribute the quality of espresso to differences in machines, believing that a coffee machine costing tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands is better than a home machine costing a few thousand.

Actually, this statement is correct, but the quality difference between coffee machines costing one hundred thousand and a few thousand isn't as big as everyone imagines. FrontStreet Coffee has also used home machines costing a few thousand, and if you only make 2-3 cups a day, the quality is completely fine. Of course, if it's just a toy machine costing a few hundred yuan, or an all-in-one grinding and extraction machine, there will be visible differences in coffee extraction quality.

Regarding various issues with espresso extraction, it all comes down to appropriate parameters. For example, FrontStreet Coffee uses a basic formula: 1:2 powder-to-liquid ratio, 25-30 seconds extraction time, and no abnormalities during the extraction process. (Abnormalities refer to channeling effects, unstable flow rates, piercing and splashing...)

Coffee to Milk Ratio

Regarding the coffee-to-milk ratio, many friends have asked FrontStreet Coffee whether latte coffee should have one shot or two shots, and what the coffee-to-milk ratio should be. Some friends, after asking about latte recipes from other coffee shops, would then ask FrontStreet Coffee if this was the standard way to make latte.

In response, if everyone hasn't figured out this question yet, you can follow FrontStreet Coffee's line of thinking. What does the coffee-to-milk ratio affect? Nothing more than too much milk covering the coffee flavor, or too little milk making it too bitter. Therefore, the appropriate ratio is actually finding a balance point between milk and coffee liquid.

If you understand this point, you should recognize that there's no precise standard ratio in data, because everyone uses different coffee beans, and the milk might also be different. Even if you follow someone else's ratio to make a so-called standard latte coffee, will the taste be the same? Therefore, set aside the cold data and start from the flavor of the coffee.

For example, latte coffee has an approximate ratio range of about "coffee:milk = 1:4 to 1:8," with the maximum and minimum values differing by a factor of two. If you extract espresso liquid using traditional dark, shiny espresso beans, it might need more milk to maintain flavor balance. Let's say this result is 1:7. However, a slightly lighter-roasted SOE (Single Origin Espresso) doesn't have as intense a flavor on its own, and adding more milk would actually cover the coffee flavor and cause imbalance. If testing shows that this ratio of 1:4 produces the best-tasting latte coffee, then these two latte coffees have different optimal ratios for good taste. Therefore, when you get a data-based recipe for latte coffee, you can use it as appropriate reference, but never treat it as a secret formula.

Milk Frothing and Integration

Frothing fine, fluid milk foam helps with integration and enhances texture. For frothing tutorials, you can refer to "here." FrontStreet Coffee didn't elaborate on milk frothing and integration mainly because for homemade latte, if you start from flavor and don't focus on appearance, milk foam and integration techniques are optional. Making latte coffee doesn't necessarily require frothing milk foam; you can just heat the milk, and integration can be done by stirring with a spoon. If you insist that latte with milk foam and latte art has soul, then please practice your techniques seriously!

The Secret to Coffee Shop Quality

Finally, the main reason why latte coffee made by coffee shops tastes better than what friends make at home is that before coffee shops hand you a delicious latte, they have tried all kinds of unsatisfactory lattes, continuously adjusting from the selection of coffee beans and milk, espresso extraction parameters, and milk-to-coffee ratios until reaching a state suitable for production.

So, when you find that your homemade latte doesn't taste as good as the one from the shop, it's because you haven't failed enough times yet!

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473