The Coffee Wiki
Register
Advertisement

The Latte is a Coffee drink, originating from the Italian Peninsula. The term as used in English is a shortened form of the Italian caffè latte or caffellatte which means "milk coffee".

180px-Latte at Doppio Ristretto Chiang Mai 01

Latte art

      . 

It is made half espresso, and half steamed milk, topped off with milk foam.

Origins of the Latte

Coffee and milk has been part of the European kitchen since the 17th century (there is no mention of milk in coffee pre 1600 in Turkey or in the Arab world). 'Caffèlatte', 'Milchkaffee' and 'Café au lait' are domestic terms of traditional ways of drinking coffee, usually as part of breakfast in the home. Public Cafés in Europe and the US it seems have no mention of the terms until the 20th century, although 'Kapuziner' is mentioned in Austrian coffee houses in Vienna and Trieste in the 2nd half of the 1700s as 'coffee with cream, spices and sugar' (being the origin of the Italian 'cappuccino').

Latte Consumption throughout the World

In Italy, caffelatte is almost always prepared at home, for breakfast only.

220px-Matcha Latte KF

A cup of latte made with matcha,called green tea latte.

The coffee is brewed with a stovetop Moka Pot and poured into a cup containing heated milk. (Unlike the international latte drink, the milk in the Italian original is not foamed.) In some establishments, lattes are served in a glass on a saucer with a napkin to hold the (sometimes hot) glass. In Asia and North America, lattes have been combined with Asian teas. Coffee and tea shops now offer hot or iced latte versions of chai, matcha, and Royal milk tea. In South Africa a red latte is made with rooibos tea.

Advertisement