Milk coffees
Most of the coffee drunk in cafés around the world is mixed with milk. This chapter covers the classics, from the cappuccino, latte and flat white to café au lait, café con leche and the pulled kopi tarik of Malaysia. They differ in the strength of the coffee, how much milk is used and how it is textured.
What is the difference between milk coffees?
Milk coffees differ in three ways: the coffee base (espresso, moka pot or filter coffee), the ratio of coffee to milk, and the texture of the milk, from thick foam to silky microfoam or plain hot milk. A cappuccino has more foam than a latte; a café au lait uses filter coffee.
Drinks in this chapter
- D 014Café au LaitCafé au lait is French for "coffee with milk": strong brewed coffee, traditionally from a moka pot or French press, mixed with hot milk and no foam.
- D 013Café con LecheCafé con leche is Spanish for "coffee with milk": equal parts espresso and hot milk, Spain's most popular coffee.
- D 011Caffè LatteA caffè latte is espresso with a generous amount of steamed milk and only a little foam: bigger and milder than a cappuccino.
- D 010CappuccinoA cappuccino is a single espresso topped with milk steamed into a dense, fine foam, served in a cup of about 150–160 ml.
- D 012Flat WhiteA flat white is a small espresso coffee, usually a double ristretto, topped with steamed milk and a thin layer of silky microfoam, served in a 6–8 oz cup.
- D 016GalãoA galão is a Portuguese coffee: a shot of espresso filled up with steamed milk and served in a tall glass.
- D 018Kopi TarikKopi tarik is "pulled coffee": strong kopitiam coffee, roasted with margarine and sugar, sweetened with condensed milk and poured back and forth between two jugs until it has a frothy head.
- D 015Latte MacchiatoA latte macchiato is a tall glass of steamed milk topped with foam and "marked" with a shot, or half a shot, of espresso poured in last, so it settles in layers.
- D 017Wiener MelangeA Wiener Melange is Vienna's classic coffee house drink: coffee and warm milk, about half and half, topped with milk foam.
- D 019Yuanyang (Coffee With Milk Tea)Yuanyang, or yuenyeung, is a Hong Kong drink of coffee mixed with Hong Kong-style milk tea: strong black tea with evaporated or condensed milk and sugar.