Which Blend Coffee Suits an Iced Latte?

An iced latte takes three steps, ice, milk, then coffee, but the drink's flavor depends on the ingredients and ratios behind it. Espresso-focused blend coffee usually brings nutty, chocolatey, heavier notes, while some beans draw out the sweetness of the milk itself.

A specialty blend of Colombian washed and Brazilian semi-washed beans carries nut, dark chocolate, and caramel notes; a classic blend of Brazilian semi-washed, Indonesian Mandheling, and Vietnamese beans produces rich crema and a full body. Extraction and pouring details decide whether the finished iced latte tastes balanced or bitter.

Iced latte may seem like it only takes three steps to make: add ice, pour milk, pour coffee. But to truly make a delicious iced latte, there's quite a bit of knowledge involved behind the scenes. From choosing coffee beans and milk, to the ratio of milk to coffee, to the operational details of extraction and pouring, every step directly affects the final flavor performance. This article will use the iced latte—the easiest milk coffee to master among espresso drinks—as an example, combined with Front Street Coffee's actual production experience, to outline the three core points to pay attention to when making an iced latte, helping coffee enthusiasts consistently recreate a well-layered, balanced iced latte at home.

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Making espresso is a basic skill every barista must master, and it can be found on the menu of almost any coffee shop. What is commonly called espresso is a series of drinks extended from espresso as the base. Today we're going to make the milk coffee with the lowest operational threshold among espresso drinks—the iced latte.

The method for making an iced latte looks very simple—[add ice, pour milk, pour coffee]—three steps and it's done. However, despite the seemingly easy operation, making a truly delicious iced latte still requires quite a bit of thought and understanding behind it.

Point One: Choose the Right Ingredients

Although the method for making an iced latte is simple, and almost every coffee bean brand lists it as a must-have on their menu, the taste of iced lattes from different shops varies. One key reason lies in the differences in the milk and coffee beans used. The flavor of coffee beans can very directly influence the taste direction of an iced latte: most espresso blend beans will give the iced latte a rich nutty, chocolatey, and heavier coffee taste, while a few coffee beans can bring out the sweetness and richness of the milk itself.

"Front Street Specialty Blend Coffee Beans" 75 yuan/454g: Composed of Colombian washed coffee beans and Brazilian semi-washed coffee beans, with flavor notes of nuts, dark chocolate, and caramel.

"Front Street Classic Blend Coffee Beans" 33 yuan/100g: A combination of Brazilian semi-washed coffee beans, Indonesian Mandheling coffee beans, and Vietnamese coffee beans, with rich coffee crema and a full-bodied mouthfeel;

"Front Street Strawberry Candy Espresso" 43 yuan/100g: A blend of Costa Rican coffee beans, Panamanian coffee beans, and Ethiopian coffee beans, exuding aromas of roses, strawberry candy, and glucose, with prominent fruity sweet-tartness and a pleasant taste.

The choice of milk is equally important. There are more than a dozen common full-fat fresh milks on the market alone; some have a heavy milky taste and full mouthfeel, while others are as light as water. The standard for choosing milk is not to blindly pursue richness and prominent milky flavor, but to find the one that harmonizes with the coffee. Too heavy a milky taste will overpower some of the coffee's own flavors, while milk with an obvious watery feel will make the latte bland.

Point Two: A Reasonable Milk-to-Coffee Ratio

With good coffee beans and good milk chosen, can you definitely make a delicious iced latte? The premise is a proper ratio. Front Street's iced latte uses Sunflower · Warm Sun blend coffee beans and Vitasoy fresh milk, with an espresso-to-milk ratio of 1:6, that is, 40 grams of espresso liquid, corresponding to 240 grams of iced milk and 75 grams of ice cubes, finally served in a transparent glass cup with a capacity of about 300ml.

This ratio is for everyone's reference only, and is not the golden ratio for latte coffee. Front Street arrived at these parameters after multiple ratio adjustments with the above materials, mainly based on real tasting feedback. Therefore, when making an iced latte, you can also adjust the ratio appropriately—more milk will mask the coffee taste, less milk will be more bitter, and more ice will make it lighter.

Point Three: Operational Details

The operation of an iced latte can be summed up as [add ice, pour milk, pour coffee]—simple and clear, but there are still some small details to pay attention to in actual operation. The most critical is the extraction of espresso; whether a latte tastes good largely depends on whether the espresso extraction is up to standard. Common espresso extraction problems like channeling and incorrect extraction time will naturally also affect the taste of the iced latte.

The process of making an iced latte also requires emphasis on the word "fast"—here, fast means the time the ice and milk stay in the cup should be as short as possible, and the freshly extracted espresso should be poured into the cup immediately.

This is also why a freshly made iced latte shows a gradient layer formed by milk and coffee. If the ice soaks in the milk for too long, the ice will melt, a water layer will appear on top, and drinking it will also make the whole cup of coffee lighter. Espresso is even more sensitive; when freshly extracted, the crema is very rich, but after 30 seconds the crema will noticeably decrease. Espresso lacking crema also finds it harder to float on the surface.

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