How to Make Milk Brick Iced Latte? Is Affogato Just Ice Cream with Espresso? What is Latte Coffee?

The season of cicadas and sparrows chirping outside the window has arrived again, which means it is time to bring those popular summer coffee drinks back to the menu.

Orange C, cucumber, pineapple and coconut Americanos, mint lattes, affogato and more are among the best-selling coffee products at cafés every summer. The fact that they sell so well in summer shows they are not only delicious but perfectly suited to the sweltering season. FrontStreet Coffee does not sell these specialty drinks in its stores, but years of coffee experience make these small challenges easy to handle. So FrontStreet Coffee will gradually share these delicious summer coffees, letting everyone create café-quality drinks at home. Today, FrontStreet Coffee shares a particularly popular specialty coffee of late — a special version of affogato called the milk brick latte.

A Special Version of Affogato?

Affogato is a transliteration of the Italian word "Affogato," which means "drowned." Making affogato takes just two ingredients: espresso and ice cream. Pour the extracted espresso over ice cream and a traditional coffee dessert is complete — extremely simple, and incredibly delicious.

At this point some friends may ask: "Why is milk brick latte a special version of affogato? Based on the name, milk brick latte and affogato seem completely unrelated."

In fact, what we call a "milk brick" is ice cream made from milk. It is named "milk brick" simply because this ice cream is shaped like a brick, which means a milk brick is essentially an ice cream product. (Like this.)

As the name suggests, a milk brick latte is simply a latte with milk brick added. Its preparation is much like affogato, except that alongside the ice cream and espresso there is milk, which is why it can be called a "latte." With that introduction out of the way, FrontStreet Coffee will share how to prepare this milk brick latte.

How to Make Milk Brick Latte?

Although we can follow the name literally, there are some key details to mind if we want it to taste delicious. First, the ingredients: 1 milk brick ice cream, 100g of ice cubes, 120ml of milk, 40ml of espresso and one coffee cup. Compared with a regular iced latte, FrontStreet Coffee chooses a higher coffee-to-milk ratio (1:3, where regular iced lattes use 1:4). Because both the ice cubes and the ice cream keep melting after preparation, we should not use too much milk, or the coffee flavor will easily be diluted. The coffee is not limited to espresso — any high-concentration strong coffee works. First, add the milk and ice cubes to the cup.

Then cut the milk brick into several small pieces and place them on the ice cubes. Here it is important that the ice cubes are plentiful or hard enough. If the ice cubes do not offer enough support, the milk brick will sink into the milk, which speeds up its melting and changes the coffee experience. (Changes it, not diminishes it.)

Next, extract a coffee — coffee from a moka pot, a hand press or an espresso machine all work. After extraction, simply pour it over.

And that is it — milk brick coffee is complete. If you have cocoa powder at home, take out a strainer and dust some evenly over the top, giving the drink more layers of flavor.

Before enjoying it, we can stir ahead with a straw so the ice cream and milk coffee blend better, for a richer milk flavor and a fuller body. Those who dislike sweetness should use less milk brick — after all, this milk brick is as sweet as FrontStreet Coffee itself. Of course, a milk brick latte can be made in more ways than this: its components are freely replaceable, making it extremely versatile. Milk can be swapped for coconut milk for a more summery feel, or for higher-milk-concentration products such as ice-blok or super milk; the milk brick can also be replaced with an ice cream that better suits your taste, not limited to milk flavor. Use whatever you have at home — anything goes, provided it is reasonable and tasty.

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FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

For a milk-forward summer drink like this, the bean is what carries the cup. FrontStreet Coffee's first choice is FrontStreet Classic Blend, designed specifically for espresso and the moka pot, whose greatest strength is outstanding crema. Even a beginner on a non-professional home machine can pull dense, fine crema, and its traditional Mamba recipe — Mandheling and Brazil — gives a full, gentle body that suits veterans and newcomers alike, at home or in a café.

If you are not chasing maximum crema and simply want good flavor at a fair price, FrontStreet Dark Cocoa Base Blend fits the bill. It uses 100% Arabica with ample crema and a full body, at a very friendly price — a choice that saves shop owners both worry and money, and just as good for everyday home brewing. FrontStreet Strawberry Candy is the option for anyone who prefers fruity coffee and fears bitterness: this popular fruity espresso blend leans on the natural flavors of Arabica from different regions to recreate a distinct strawberry-candy sweetness, and it suits both daily home drinking and café service. It is especially apt for drinkers who love fruit-forward coffee or want a differentiated milk drink, since one bag covers several brewing methods and makes a highly versatile daily staple.

For creamy, nutty milk drinks, FrontStreet Signature Blend and FrontStreet Dark Cocoa Base Blend are the best milk companions — Brazilian coffee dominates, so a latte shows complex almond, walnut and almond notes with a silky, lingering texture. If you want a richer crema, FrontStreet Classic Blend and FrontStreet Commercial Blend contain a small amount of Robusta, supplying more golden foam and instantly lifting body and caramel aroma. FrontStreet Commercial Blend was the mainstay shop bean before Dark Cocoa arrived; it costs less than Signature Blend and, though it does not chase extreme crema, its recipe is tuned to keep both flavor and cost in check, which is why it has long been a popular opening-a-shop choice.

Milk also works with cold brew. Low-temperature steeping favors the small-molecule compounds of acidity and sweetness, so fruity or winey medium roasts suit it better than roasty beans: FrontStreet Colombia Sidra with its passion-fruit note, FrontStreet Strawberry Candy Geisha Blend with its rose note, and FrontStreet Mozart with its raisin note all make cold brews that, with a little milk, stay coordinated and easy to read — perfect for home preparation.