Both Made with Espresso and Milk: What's the Difference Between Dirty and Iced Latte?

Introduction

For a long time, Dirty and iced latte have often been mistaken for the same coffee product because their preparation methods are very similar. For most people, an iced latte is just a latte with an added ice step. If you remove the ice, isn't it just a Dirty?

That seems to make sense! Their appearance and preparation methods look similar~ But in reality, the concepts they want to express and the drinking experiences they offer are completely different!

Latte

Remember the recent article "How to make a hot Dirty"? In that article, FrontStreet Coffee mentioned: Except for Dirty, most espresso coffee drinks were originally served hot when they were first created! Including latte.

"Latte" in Italian originally means milk. But outside of Italy, it has become synonymous with milk coffee! After espresso machines were invented, Italians opened coffee shops in the United States. However, Americans with their milder taste preferences couldn't handle the strong flavor of espresso. Therefore, Italians added large amounts of hot milk to espresso to reduce its intensity and named it "Coffee Latte" (milk coffee).

As milk coffee became widely spread, to make it easier to pronounce, local people began to call it simply "Latte." Since then, latte has continued to spread outside of Italy and gradually become synonymous with milk coffee. Then, with the popularization of espresso coffee, to give customers more options, shops began offering iced versions of latte.

Dirty

Dirty was born in a small coffee shop in Tokyo, Japan, called "Bear Pond Espresso," whose specialty was, as indicated by its name, espresso! Its inventor and owner, Mr. Katsuyuki Tanaka, wanted people to better experience the taste of espresso, so he came up with the idea of using density differences to separate milk and espresso, and Dirty was born!

Therefore, from the original concepts of these two products, we can see that what they want to express and embody are completely different: latte aims to help ordinary people better accept espresso through milk, while Dirty wants to keep the espresso independent, creating a sharp contrast with milk!

Preparation Differences

The preparation of latte is very simple. For example, at FrontStreet Coffee, we pour 100g of ice cubes and 170ml of cold milk into a prepared container, then use 20g of coffee beans to extract 40ml of espresso in thirty seconds, and finally pour the espresso directly over the milk!

Dirty requires more attention to detail. For example, most coffee shops (including FrontStreet Coffee) will place cups in the refrigerator in advance to chill them, taking them out only when needed for preparation. This provides a better drinking experience.

When preparing, we directly add 150ml of cold milk to the chilled glass without ice, then use the same parameters to make espresso. During extraction, we need to place the glass of cold milk directly under the portafilter, as close as possible to the outlet, to reduce the impact of the falling espresso and create a better layering effect between the hot espresso and cold milk. When the espresso extraction is complete, the Dirty is ready!

Appearance Differences

However, many times, iced lattes, due to the addition of more ice, cause the poured espresso not to sink directly to the bottom of the glass, but rather float on top of the milk like the upper layer of Dirty, creating stratification that makes the two look identical.

So in terms of ingredients and appearance, Dirty can be considered a special type of "iced latte"! But in terms of taste, latte is latte, and Dirty is Dirty - they are completely different!

Experience Differences

The distinct color appearance of Dirty is not just a visual effect; it also offers a completely different temperature experience! It doesn't need stirring - you drink it directly in large gulps, taking both espresso and milk together. Each sip provides a completely different experience.

The first sip often contains a large amount of espresso with a small amount of milk. The warm and rich flavor of the espresso will dominate, followed immediately by the cool and refreshing sweetness of a small amount of milk. These two completely different effects will bloom in your mouth without interfering with each other. By the second sip, the amount of espresso decreases significantly, and the mixing area between espresso and milk increases. Therefore, we taste more milk! So the milk flavor begins to increase, and the experience changes from distinct layers to milk-flavored coffee. By the third sip, the amount of espresso is already very small, so in this sip, you'll experience more coffee-flavored milk!

As for iced latte, although it may show a layered state after preparation, because the espresso is first collected in another container and then poured into the milk, the huge impact causes the heat of the espresso to be completely released and absorbed by the cold milk. Even if you drink it directly, you won't experience the cold-hot layering effect. Therefore, we need to stir it to allow the flavors of milk and coffee to fully blend, creating a balanced-tasting latte coffee!

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FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)

No. 10, Bao'an Qianjie, Yandun Road, Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473