How to Make Dirty Coffee? What Are the Characteristics of Dirty Coffee? Does Dirty Coffee Need Ice? What Should You Pay Attention to When Using Cups for Dirty Coffee?

Common Pitfalls When Making Dirty Coffee

In this era of abundant online information, the method for making a cup of coffee is no longer a secret. Whatever the coffee may be, we can always find detailed preparation steps and ingredient usage, including today's superstar product that has taken the world by storm—Dirty.

Despite this, FrontStreet Coffee has recently noticed, both while browsing online and visiting coffee shops, that many friends' Dirty coffees have some minor issues. Although everyone knows how to make Dirty, due to a lack of thorough understanding, the resulting Dirty differs from the "standard" version. So today, FrontStreet Coffee will share the most common pitfalls that beginners encounter, so you can pay attention and avoid them when making your own.

1. Milk and Coffee Don't Layer Properly

The most distinctive feature of Dirty coffee is its layering. Through differences in concentration and temperature, hot espresso is able to float on top of cold milk, creating a unique contrast in both visual appearance and mouthfeel. However, many people's Dirty coffees only appear layered—in reality, the espresso has already mixed with the milk as it was poured, and you can't taste the layered effect in one sip—it's just an iced latte without ice. (As shown in the picture below, you can clearly see the milk color from the liquid surface).

This situation is most likely caused by pouring the espresso from too high a height, causing it to plunge directly into the milk, leaving only some crema on the surface, creating the appearance of layering. There are many solutions, mainly focusing on pouring the espresso as close to the milk surface as possible to reduce penetration force. Methods like bringing the cup close to the coffee machine's spout to catch the espresso, or placing a spoon on the milk surface to receive the espresso can both work. For specific techniques, you can refer to the article "How to Create Layers in Dirty Coffee?"

2. Using Narrow-Mouthed Cups for Dirty

As we all know, to better present the final product, coffee shops always equip their coffee with appropriate containers—that is, cups. When purchasing cups, many friends focus on two main points: attractive appearance and suitable capacity. For most coffee preparations, these two considerations are indeed sufficient, but Dirty requires more! Besides capacity and appearance, the cup used for serving Dirty must have another characteristic—the mouth must be wide!

There was a popular post on a certain platform where a coffee shop owner used a narrow-mouthed cup for serving Dirty coffee. Although the result looked beautiful with clear layers (as shown below), the drinking experience was completely different.

With one big sip, you'd get only espresso, no milk. Not only could you not experience the contrast between hot and cold layers, the "fire and ice" sensation, but you'd also frown from the espresso's bitterness! The reason is simple: the continuously narrowing mouth causes the espresso to accumulate in one area, creating a substantial thickness of espresso. Even with a big sip, due to insufficient tilt angle, you can only drink the espresso floating on the milk surface.

However, if we use a wide-mouthed cup, the espresso's thickness can be spread out. Once the layer becomes thinner, one sip can simultaneously taste both hot espresso and cold milk, experiencing Dirty coffee's unique contrast. Therefore, the choice of cup is something to pay attention to when making Dirty coffee.

3. Adding Ice to Dirty

Finally, there's the issue of adding ice to Dirty. Because all available information about Dirty emphasizes that it's an iced coffee, a small number of friends have misunderstood, leading them to add ice cubes to the cup when serving Dirty. (This really happens)

In reality, although it's an iced coffee, it doesn't need ice cubes, because Dirty's low temperature mainly comes from the milk. At the same time, it cannot have ice cubes added. Although ice cubes can maintain the coffee's low temperature for longer and help the milk and espresso layer better, this approach causes the espresso's temperature to drop rapidly. Dirty is meant to be consumed quickly, and when ice cubes are added, the rapid temperature drop of the espresso accelerates the disappearance of the hot-cold layering effect, making it no different from an iced latte.

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