How to Make a Flavored Latte? What Syrups Should Be Added to Italian Milk Coffee? Can Sugar Be Added to Froth Milk Together?

Not all coffee enthusiasts can appreciate the bitterness of coffee, which is why many coffee shops include flavored lattes on their menus, allowing those who can't handle the bitterness to still enjoy delicious latte coffee. (Like the thoughtful FrontStreet Coffee!)

So-called flavored lattes are essentially regular lattes with various flavored syrups added. For example, common options on the market include rose lattes, hazelnut lattes, and caramel lattes, most of which are lattes infused with flavored syrups. The addition of syrup not only adds distinctive flavors to the coffee but also masks its bitterness with sweetness, making it a very friendly option for those who can't handle bitter coffee. However, FrontStreet Coffee has recently discovered that people have been debating about the "approach" to using syrup!

How Should Syrup Be Added?

The main question arises with hot flavored lattes, as iced flavored lattes are typically made the same way! This issue has generated considerable discussion across various media platforms, so today let's explore how syrup should be properly added!

Regarding how syrup should be added, netizens have divided into two camps engaging in an "academic debate" on this question. One side believes that syrup should be placed in the cup to mix with the espresso! This group argues that this approach eliminates many steps, making it convenient and quick.

The other side argues that syrup should be added to milk and steamed together! They believe that since milk constitutes 80% of the entire coffee drink, pouring syrup into it allows for better integration during the steaming process (equivalent to better incorporation into the coffee).

The Experiment

So who is correct? Let's prove this theory through practice! For this experiment, FrontStreet Coffee used their signature "Warm Sun Blend" - a combination of 70% Sherry and 30% Red Cherry beans that offers whiskey-like subtle alcohol notes, butter cookie sweetness, and light fruit acidity from medium-dark roasting. The milk used was Bright Fresh Milk (200ml), paired with toffee syrup (10ml), which complements the alcohol notes of the Warm Sun Blend perfectly! The extraction parameters were: 20g of coffee grounds, 1:2 coffee-to-liquid ratio, and 30-second extraction time. The milk was 200ml steamed to 65°C.

We added syrup separately to Group A's latte cup and Group B's milk pitcher, then proceeded with standard latte preparation! After completion, we conducted multiple rapid tastings from various angles!

Surprising Results

Unexpectedly! The results were completely opposite! The latte with syrup added in the cup actually had more comprehensive integration - with one sip, both the milk foam floating on the surface and the coffee carried toffee sweetness. Meanwhile, the latte with syrup added to the milk pitcher presented a very uncoordinated experience - the milk foam on top had the inherent bitterness of coffee oils, while the coffee underneath was sweet, creating a sharp contrast similar to a dirty coffee. When comparing both simultaneously, it was discovered that the latte with syrup added to the milk pitcher was actually less sweet! This makes one curious - despite using the same sugar, milk, and coffee, simply changing the position of sugar addition produced such significant differences!

The Science Behind It

Actually, the principle is quite simple! When syrup is added to milk and continuously steamed and heated, the fructose converts to its isomer - glucose. Since glucose is less sweet than fructose, the sweetness diminishes slightly after steaming. Additionally, because milk foam cannot completely integrate with oils during mixing, this explains why the coffee liquid underneath was sweet while the top layer with oils was bitter. Besides the reduced sweetness of steamed sugar and poor integration, adding sugar to milk also requires deep cleaning of the steam wand and milk pitcher to remove attached syrup residues.

Therefore, we can conclude that if you want to make a flavored latte, it's best to add syrup to the coffee cup rather than steaming it with milk in the pitcher. This approach not only provides better integration and experience but also saves significant time on cleaning!

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FrontStreet Coffee

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

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473