Caffe Latte is one of the most popular espresso based coffee drinks sold in cafes and espresso bars.Ever wondered how to make a cafe quality caffe latte at home? With a quality espresso machine and some good technique it is easy to achieve cafe quality caffe latte at home.
Here are the 7 key secrets to achieving a cafe quality caffe latte at home:
1/// Use the right type of glass(es).... and remember to heat them
Caffe Latte is served in glass tumblers with a volume of 170-200ml. Caffe Latte is only ever served in a glass; if you use a cup then you are making a flat white or cappuccino, a mug is for hot chocolate and filter coffee.
Using a good quality glass that is the right size will not only give your drinks that cafe quality appearance, but will help you achieve the correct proporations of coffee, milk, and foam.
If your espresso machine has the facility to head the cups on top, the store your cups here; if not then fill the glasses with boiling water and stand for one minute to pre-heat the glasses. Discard the water just prior to extracting your espresso.
2/// Use fresh whole milk
For a well made caffe latte you need to use fresh whole milk (fat content 3.3-4.0%, protein 3.2%-3.3%). Both the fat and protein content are critical to developing, stabilising, and supporting the thick velvety texture created by the milk microfoam; using trim milk will make it more difficult to achieve a nice velvet microfoam and the texture will be lacking in body. All good cafes use whole milk for cafe lattes so you should too.
3/// Select the appropriate sized milk jug and use only enough milk
Your milk pitcher should be approximately half full with fresh whole milk before steaming; this allows sufficient volume to stretch the milk and inject texture without the jug overflowing. Steamed milk cannot be reused for caffe latte due to two factors (a) steaming milk injects approximately 10% water into the milk diluting the flavour and intensity (b) steaming milk progressively breaks down the protein structure diminishing texture and body.
Excess steamed milk should be discarded or used for making hot chocolate. To avoid heating excess steamed milk it is important to select the approprate sized jug for the number of drinks you are making. If you are just making one caffe latte for yourself, use a 300ml stainless jug; if you are making two caffe lattes for yourself and a friend, use a 600ml stainless jug.
4/// Dont overheat the milk or expand it too much
Caffe latte relies on milk with a velvety texture to carry the espresso and to delivery the right feel in the mouth. Expanding the milk too much will create too much fluffy foam, overheating the milk will cause the texture and body of the milk to break down.
5/// Extract perfect espresso into your preheated glass(es)
Espresso is the basis for the caffe latte so producing a quality caffe latte requires quality espresso. Good quality espresso is 25-30ml extracted in 25-30 seconds from 7-9 grams of ground coffee. Espresso should have a thick dark consistency topped with a golden brown layer of crema. The crema layer is where much of the aroma and flavour is derived from, so you want to try and avoid disturbing this layer as much as possible.
Extracting espresso into a shot glass and pouring this into your caffe latte glass will cause the crema to dissipate prematurely. Extract your espresso directly into your preheated caffe latte glass(es) then add steamed milk.
6/// Pour steamed milk through the crema layer
A perfect caffe latte should be brown on top, this surface is the crema supported by the microfoam from the milk. A poor quality caffe latte will often have a white layer of milk foam on top, the result is pretty much the taste of milk with every sip. If there is a layer of foam on your steamed milk this can be scooped off with a spoon or held back during the pouring process with a spoon, knife, or spatula.
Pour the velvety milk into the glass so that the stream of milk penetrates the crema layer and fills the cup from below this layer, bringing it to the surface.
7/// Focus on taste and texture - latte art is optional
Latte art is great, but it contributes nothing to the taste and texture of the drink. Focus on extracting good espresso, steaming velvety milk, and pouring the milk to that the crema is suspended on the top of the drink.
Unsure about anything? Email us at howto@espresso.co.nz