Why is Dirty Coffee so Popular? What's the Difference Between Dirty Coffee and Iced Latte? How to Make Dirty Coffee? What Does Dirty Mean?

Dirty, which we commonly call dirty coffee, is also sometimes transliterated as "déti." In terms of its composition, dirty coffee is essentially a small iced latte served without ice. Many people initially thought that dirty coffee was just a fleeting internet sensation, but surprisingly, even today, it remains a popular item that every café must have. In fact, in some coffee shops, dirty coffee has even become their signature product.

Making dirty coffee is not difficult. You simply need a chilled glass filled with cold milk, then gently pour espresso over the surface, allowing it to separate from the milk due to differences in density and temperature, and a dirty coffee is complete! Because it's so simple, many friends wonder: why does dirty coffee remain so popular even today?

Rise to Fame through the "Dirty Culture"

The initial fame of dirty coffee must be attributed to a popular internet trend that prevailed around 2017-2018—the "dirty culture." Some foods intentionally created a rather "dirty" appearance by using chocolate products. For example, dirty croissants and dirty donuts were incredibly popular internet food items at that time. Thanks to this, a "dirty trend" was sparked, and many people at the time wanted to associate various foods with "dirty" to ride this wave of popularity, and the coffee industry was no exception.

However, in the early years, no coffee shop created outstanding products, which led to the "dirty coffee" category lacking standardization for a long time. It wasn't until later that the version of dirty coffee we see today went viral on the internet, because the scene of espresso slowly descending and staining the milk was not only visually satisfying but also more easily associated with the "dirty" image. Soon after, this version of dirty coffee originating from Japan began appearing on the menus of various specialty coffee shops.

Why Dirty Coffee Remains Popular Today

If dirty coffee were merely a "pretty face" with appearance but no substance, it would have long been eliminated by time like other food trends, becoming an outdated internet sensation. But clearly, the continued popularity of dirty coffee tells us that this is not the case. The layering of milk and espresso not only creates a visual contrast but also produces a sense of conflict in taste and texture! The sweetness of milk versus the bitter taste of espresso creates the contrast we experience in flavor; the coldness of milk versus the heat of espresso creates the temperature contrast we experience in texture.

The reason dirty coffee emphasizes drinking in large gulps is because only by taking a big mouthful can we capture both the milk and espresso simultaneously, allowing the aforementioned contrasting sensations to collide in our mouths. If we sip it in small amounts, we'll likely finish the espresso on the surface first, leaving a large glass of milk. Not only does this prevent experiencing the contrast, but it also makes it very uncomfortable for those who aren't used to espresso.

More Diverse Recipes

Thanks to the layering of milk and espresso, we have more diverse choices in ingredient selection. Take purified milk as an example. With the same ratio, replacing regular milk with purified milk in a latte affects the balance between coffee and milk flavors—the higher the milk concentration, the weaker the coffee taste.

But dirty coffee doesn't have this problem! Because the milk and espresso are in a layered state, even if we replace the milk with higher-concentration purified milk, the coffee flavor won't be affected. Instead, it actually enhances the sense of contrast. Because purified milk has a more prominent sweetness and flavor, it naturally creates more contrast with the coffee flavor.

This is also why FrontStreet Coffee mentioned at the beginning that dirty coffee has become the signature product for many coffee shops. Because of the layering of milk and coffee, businesses can focus their adjustments on specific ingredients when developing new products, thereby creating various specialty drinks based on dirty coffee. For example, the recently popular "Pistachio Dirty," "Grape Dirty," "Honeydew Dirty," and so on. So now everyone understands why dirty coffee remains a popular item in major coffee shops today—both because it differs from tradition and because it offers greater compatibility.

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