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LATTE COFFEE
Make Your Own Café (Caffè) Latte
Serve latte coffee in Duralex glass tumblers
In Italy, latte means milk, and caffè e latte (or caffelatte) means coffee and milk. Of course, coffee is often made with milk, but with latte coffee the milk is used in a particular way.
A café latte is made with one third espresso coffee and two-thirds steamed (or warmed) milk poured into the glass together, with about a centimetre of frothed milk on top. The drink tastes better when the milk is heated to only 65-70°C because at higher temperatures it changes flavour. Thus, latte coffee is a warm drink rather than a hot one, and the lower temperature is why it can be served in a glass that might otherwise be too hot to hold.
Espresso coffee is made with an espresso machine, forcing nearly boiling water through a finely-ground blend of several different types of coffee beans to produce a crema with a thicker consistency than drip coffee. Espresso machines for the home can be bought quite cheaply.
Frothed milk is usually made with a frothing machine, but with patience it can also be made by hand using a stainless steel frothing pitcher, very cold skimmed milk, a hand-held electric frother, and a large spoon. The aim is a bubble-free thickened milk with a texture resembling stiff beaten egg white. For an in-depth look at how to froth milk, read Frothing Milk: Techniques, Tools and Tips at Whole Latte Love.
Pouring and serving café latte
To the coffee aficionado, pouring latte coffee is an art. Latte pouring contests are held around the world, with the contestants creating swirling designs in the top of the froth. Some coffee houses impress their customers by serve latte with a flower, leaf, or heart design in the froth. For more about pouring latte read coffee as graphic art.
Latte glasses typically catalogued by retailers are tall and narrow, with a stainless steel outer holder - useless for latte art because of the small top surface of the drink. They are sometimes supplied with stainless steel stirrers with hollow handles that can be used as a drinking straw. Glasses like this take the fun out of latte - no latte art and no froth all over your lips.
Duralex Picardie glasses - the larger 10.5oz size - are great for serving latte coffee. They have a large enough top surface for a decent froth, feel perfect in the hand (with their fluted sides), and the glass has pedigree: used for decades in France - mostly by the older southerners, Corsicans, and Algeria or Morocco-born French (known as 'pieds noirs') - to enjoy the traditional Mazagran-style coffee in a glass. For a little extra panache, serve the latte coffee with a napkin tied around the glass, all placed on a saucer.
(Illustration by newyorkette)
