How Does an Iced Latte Tutorial Explain Bean and Milk Choice?

An iced latte is espresso, cold milk and ice, so the drink depends almost entirely on which beans and which milk go into the glass. Espresso blend coffee usually pushes the flavor toward nutty, chocolate and strong coffee notes, while some beans let the milk sweetness come forward. Milk choice matters too, since a heavy milky taste can mask the coffee and thin milk makes the drink watery.

A workable starting ratio is 35g espresso, 250ml fresh milk and 75g ice, which is a reference point rather than a fixed rule. More milk softens the coffee, less milk leaves it bitter, and extra ice dilutes it. Adjust in small steps and taste after each change, because the balance shifts with the beans and milk on hand.

Iced latte coffee seems like a very simple process—just "add ice, pour milk, pour coffee"—and it's done. Yet despite the seemingly simple steps, making a delicious iced latte requires considerable thought and understanding.  

First point: Choose suitable ingredients

Why is iced latte so simple that it's basically a must-have on every coffee bean menu, yet the taste of iced latte from each place is never exactly the same? One of the main reasons is that the milk and coffee beans used are different.

The flavor of coffee beans can very directly control the taste direction of iced latte. Most espresso blend coffee beans will make iced latte exhibit rich nutty, chocolate, and strong coffee flavors. There are also a few coffee beans that highlight the sweetness and richness of the milk in iced latte.

The Sunflower Warm Sun blend coffee beans used by Front Street Coffee are intended to express rich caramel chocolate and vanilla cream flavors. It can be seen that the choice of espresso beans has a decisive influence on the taste of latte coffee.

However, the choice of milk is also very important. Just for full-fat fresh milk alone, there are more than 10 common types on the market. Among these milks, some have a strong milky taste, some have a thick texture, and some are light and watery. The standard for choosing milk is not simply to pursue thickness and obvious milky flavor, but to choose one that pairs well with coffee. A strong milky taste will mask part of the coffee's flavor, while milk with an obvious watery feel will also make the latte watery.

Second point: Reasonable milk-to-coffee ratio

So with good coffee beans and good milk, can you make a delicious iced latte? The premise is a reasonable ratio. Front Street's iced latte uses Sunflower Warm Sun blend and Vitasoy fresh milk, with a ratio of 35g espresso, 250ml fresh milk, and 75g ice cubes. This ratio is for everyone's reference, not the golden ratio for latte coffee. Front Street obtained these parameters by adjusting the ratio many times using the above materials, mainly based on real tasting feedback.

So when making iced latte, everyone can also adjust the ratio appropriately. More milk will mask the coffee flavor, less milk will make it bitter, and more ice will make it dilute.

Third point: Operational details

Just as the "add ice, pour milk, pour coffee" method for iced latte is simple and clear, there are actually still some small details to pay attention to. The most important among them is the extraction of espresso. Whether a latte tastes good depends on whether the espresso extraction meets the standard. Common espresso extraction problems such as channeling and incorrect extraction time will naturally also affect the taste of iced latte.

The process of making iced latte should also be quick. "Quick" here means that the time the ice and milk stay in the cup should be as short as possible, and the extracted espresso should be poured into the cup immediately.

This is also why freshly made iced latte shows a gradient layer formed by milk and coffee. If the ice sits in the milk for too long, the ice cubes will melt, a watery layer will appear on top, and drinking it will also make the whole cup of coffee bland. Espresso is even more sensitive. Freshly extracted espresso has very rich crema, but after 30 seconds, the crema noticeably decreases. Espresso without crema also finds it harder to float on the surface.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.