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"Latte" is the transliteration of the Italian word "Latte". In Italy, "Latte" means hot milk, while latte coffee is called "CoffeeLatte", and it is a type of fancy coffee. Latte coffee is a classic blend of Italian espresso and milk. Italians also like to have latte as a breakfast beverage. In the morning in Italian kitchens, coffee and milk are usually brewed at the same time on a sunlit stove. For Italians who drink latte, it is not so much that they like Italian espresso as that they like milk, and only espresso can give ordinary milk an unforgettable flavor.

"A cup of Italian-style coffee with a large amount of milk added" is our common understanding of the word "latte". But many friends have found that not all products named "latte" contain coffee.

For example, matcha latte, hojicha latte, red velvet latte, Ovaltine latte and other products that we often see in coffee shops, although they are all called lattes, many shops serve versions without coffee. This has caused quite a few misunderstandings and also raised quite a few questions.

For example, Front Street often receives questions such as: "It is clearly called a latte, so why does it not contain coffee?" and, "Since there is no coffee,

why is it still called a latte?"

Why do some "lattes" not contain coffee?

First, we need to know that the word "latte" is a transliteration of Latte, a word derived from Italian. Front Street previously shared that there is a popular joke online: "If you go to a café in Italy and want to order a latte coffee, but when ordering you tell the staff 'Latte' instead of 'Caffè latte', then the staff will bring you a cup of milk."

In the mid-19th century, "Caffè" and "Latte" were included in Italian dictionaries and began to be used uniformly. Although the practice of mixing milk and coffee had already appeared by then, these two words were not used together at that time. It was not until 30 years later, in 1867, that American writer William Dean Howells first used "Caffe e latte" in his book Italian Journeys to describe a beverage made by mixing milk and coffee.

However, because the espresso machine had not yet been invented at that time, "Caffe e latte" at that time simply meant adding milk to brewed strong coffee, and its name was not well known to the world. It was not until later, after the espresso machine appeared, that latte coffee in the broad sense had the chance to "officially debut" and become known to everyone. And from here begins a story that Front Street often mentions~

In the 1950s and 1960s, many Italians immigrated to the United States with coffee machines and opened shops there to make a living. But because Americans were not used to the highly concentrated coffee made by espresso machines, the shops had to localize and improve their products, that is, so-called doing as the locals do.

Latte coffee was born in a "Caffe Mediterraneum" in California. By adding more milk to traditional cappuccino, the shop diluted the bitterness of the coffee with the sweetness of the milk, making the whole cup of coffee more acceptable. Then this cappuccino with more milk was put on the menu. In order to distinguish it from traditional cappuccino, the shop named it "Caffè e latte" because of its characteristic of having more milk, which translates to milk coffee.

Afterward, this Italian-style coffee with a large amount of milk added was widely praised locally, and then spread from the United States to the world because of the rise of chain brands and the spread of latte art. As coffee gradually became part of people's daily lives, people began to habitually abbreviate the name "Caffè latte" to "Latte".

So since the 1980s, Latte has been accepted by default as the "abbreviation" of Caffè latte. When we talk about latte outside Italy, what most people think of first is Italian-style coffee with a large amount of milk added. Italy itself has actually been affected to some extent. When foreign tourists order with "Latte" in Italian cafés, what they receive is no longer a cup of milk, but a cup of milk coffee.

In Front Street's view, to make a cup of delicious latte, in addition to equipment requirements, it is also necessary to choose the right ingredients, control the ratio, and have one essential factor, which is rich coffee crema.

First, the choice of milk is very important. For full-fat fresh milk alone, there are more than 10 common varieties on the market. Among these milks, some have a strong milky taste, some have a thick mouthfeel, and some are light and watery. The standard for choosing milk is not simply to pursue the thickest one with the most obvious milky taste, but to choose one suitable for pairing 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.

In order to make the coffee and milk blend perfectly and balance each other, Front Street's iced latte coffee uses Sunflower Warm Sun blend and Vitasoy fresh milk. The ratio is 35g of espresso liquid, 250ml of fresh milk and 75g of 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 ingredients, mainly based on real tasting feedback.

To have dense crema with good fluidity, Front Street believes that a pressurized espresso machine is indispensable, followed by high-quality coffee beans. For customers who like crema and mouthfeel, Front Street has developed a Front Street espresso blend coffee bean, named "Front Street Commercial Blend Coffee Beans". It is blended from Arabica coffee beans from Brazil and Colombia and 10% Robusta coffee beans.

This blend tastes rich in crema and mouthfeel and has a caramel sweetness, along with the roasted aroma of nuts, cacao and dark chocolate. It is rich and balanced, with a slight hint of bittersweetness and a long finish. Adding a small amount of Robusta coffee beans increases the richness of the crema and its golden color, and because the amount is small, it will not change the flavor too much.
 
The reason Front Street named this blend "Front Street Commercial Blend Coffee Beans" is that it performs very well whether used to make Americano or milk coffee, and combined with its price advantage, it is very suitable for use when opening a coffee shop.

To make perfect latte art, we first need to extract an Espresso with rich yet moderate crema. This allows the foam layer to blend better with the milk, and the latte art pattern is also more stable. According to Front Street Coffee's experience, choosing medium-dark roasted espresso beans is very beneficial for this.

In addition to choosing the right coffee, we also need to pay attention to the freshness of the beans. Overly fresh espresso beans contain a large amount of carbon dioxide, so the coffee crema produced is relatively thick, which is not conducive to latte art, and the beans need to be rested for 5 to 7 days; stale espresso beans do not have enough carbon dioxide, so they cannot produce enough crema and appear thin, unable to blend with milk foam. Front Street recommends using coffee beans with a roast date within 7 to 45 days to make espresso. Also, precisely because we know the importance of freshness to coffee flavor, Front Street has insisted for many years on shipping beans roasted within 5 days, ensuring that everyone can enjoy the complete optimal tasting period after receiving them.

Espresso is still the base used to make latte coffee. When making a hot latte, it is often "incidentally" paired with a beautiful latte art pattern. Fine and rich coffee crema makes latte art easier. Espresso with crema can blend better with milk foam and maintain a stable state, which has a great impact on the fineness and setting of latte art. Although espresso without crema can also be used for latte art, the poured pattern appears slightly stiff and rough in appearance.

In addition, because crema is produced by the oil in coffee wrapping the carbon dioxide in coffee, the amount of crema can also be used to judge whether the coffee beans are fresh. The more crema, the fresher the coffee beans. Also, precisely because we know that for latte art, freshly roasted coffee beans are the primary condition, the coffee beans shipped by Front Street are all guaranteed to be5freshly roasted within days, so that when you receive the coffee from the logistics provider, it is just within the optimal tasting period. In this way, we hope every customer can drink the most complete and flavorful good coffee.

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