Is an Americano or a Milk Coffee Better for Beginners?

An Americano suits drinkers who want a crisp, sweet, thirst-quenching black coffee, while anyone sensitive to bitterness is usually better off with a milk coffee such as a latte, cappuccino, or mocha. The latte is the most widely liked of these because of its balanced character and silky texture.

An iced latte adds a cooling layer to that same drink and can be recreated at home with the right beans and method. Choosing beans with a clear coffee aroma and a balanced profile, then combining espresso with fresh milk over ice, gets a home result close to what a coffee shop serves.

For those new to specialty coffee shops, facing a dazzling menu—Americano, latte, cappuccino, pour-over, cold drip, cold brew—it's only natural to feel at a loss at first. For friends who prefer a crisp and sweet flavor, the Americano among black coffees is an ideal choice, refreshing and thirst-quenching; while consumers who can't quite handle bitterness are better suited to the milk coffee series based on espresso with added milk or flavored syrup, such as lattes, cappuccinos, and mochas, which have a more approachable taste. Among them, the latte is the most popular thanks to its rich coffee aroma, balanced character, and silky texture, and an iced latte adds an extra touch of coolness. This article will guide you through how to choose coffee beans suitable for making an iced latte, and walk you step by step through recreating at home an iced latte that rivals a coffee shop's.

Stepping into an independent coffee shop and facing the bewildering array of names on the menu—freshly ground coffee, Americano, latte, pour-over, single-origin coffee, plus cold drip and cold brew—many people fall into choice paralysis, unable to decide which cup to order.

When ordering at a coffee shop, if what you're after is a sweet, smooth taste, then a black coffee like the Americano is worth trying—crisp on the palate and refreshing. But if you're sensitive to bitterness, you'll generally be better suited to milk coffee, such as latte, cappuccino, mocha, or even caramel latte. These drinks are all made by combining espresso with milk, flavored syrup, and other ingredients, making their taste friendlier to most people.

Among the many milk coffees, the latte has won the widest affection thanks to its rich coffee aroma, just-right balance, and smooth mouthfeel. An iced latte, on this basis, brings a further cooling experience. So can we make an iced latte at home that matches coffee-shop quality? The answer is yes—as long as you choose the right method and ingredients, recreating a delicious iced latte is no difficult task.

The latte (caffe latte) is a member of the great Italian coffee family, usually referring to a drink made by combining hot fresh milk with espresso, and it is highly favored among the various Italian coffees. When the fresh milk is poured into the coffee cup, the barista need only make a subtle movement of the wrist to trace various patterns on the surface of the milk foam—this is what is known as latte art.

Choosing Coffee Beans for Making an Iced Latte

To make an iced latte in the traditional way, it is generally recommended to choose coffee beans with a medium or darker roast and chocolate and nut flavors, as such beans can give the drink a rich coffee aroma and abundant crema.

If you want to minimize the chance of failure, Front Street Coffee's Classic Espresso Blend is a choice worth considering. This blend is composed of Brazilian Red Bourbon and Indonesian Mandheling, and to give the crema a golden color, a small amount of Robusta has been specially added, making the latte's overall mouthfeel richer and more full-bodied.

If you don't favor a bitter flavor profile, you can choose coffee beans with a medium roast, ideally varieties that naturally carry floral and fruity aromas.

Here we recommend Front Street Coffee's Strawberry Candy Espresso Blend coffee beans. The espresso extracted from it presents bright fruit acidity and a delicate pink floral note; and when it blends with milk, the resulting Strawberry Candy Latte showcases flavors reminiscent of strawberry cream cake and caramel cookies, sweet and silky on the palate.

How to Make an Iced Latte

Step 1: Take a cup with a capacity of about 300ml.

Step 2: Add 80g of ice cubes to the cup, then pour in 170ml of milk.

Step 3: Grind 20g of coffee powder and extract a 40ml shot of espresso. (The specific parameters can be flexibly adjusted according to your own equipment and the condition of the coffee beans that day.)

Step 4: Pour the extracted espresso into the cup containing the ice and milk.

Step 5: Stir well and enjoy!

Having made a cup of iced coffee with your own hands, with a full sense of accomplishment, savor this moment!

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