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==Iced latte==
==Iced latte==
In the United States, and iced latte is usually espresso and chilled milk poured over ice.<ref name=starbucksicedlatte>{{cite web|title=Iced Caffè Latte|url=http://www.starbucks.com/menu/drinks/espresso/iced-caffe-latte?foodZone=9999|work=Starbucks.com|accessdate=19 May 2014}}</ref> Unlike a hot latte, it does not usually contain steamed milk or foam.<ref>{{cite book|title=Coffee Cafe|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=6gwestJTfT8C&lpg=PA83&pg=PA83#v=onepage&f=false|first=Sherri|last=Johns|publisher=New Holland Publishers|year=2005|isbn=9781845370374}}</ref> Iced lattes can have sugar or flavoring syrups added, and are sometimes served blended with the ice.<ref name=Laskin>{{cite book|last=Laskin|first=Avner|title=Coffee: More Than 65 Delicious & Healthy Recipes|publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.|year=2009|isbn=9781402749377|page=46|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=TB_Xu-SkJXQC&lpg=PA4&pg=PA46#v=onepage&f=false}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=An Unashamed Defense of Coffee|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=04SIv_mh-C4C&lpg=PA187&pg=PA187#v=onepage&f=false|page=187|last1=Santos|first1=Roseane M.|last2=Lima|first2=Darcy R.|publisher=Xlibris Corporation|year=2009|isbn=9781453534243}}</ref> The espresso can be pre-chilled (sometimes as a mixture of espresso and milk) or frozen in advance to avoid warming up the drink.<ref name=moore>{{cite book|pages=144-145|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=WbLa7xGXxeIC&lpg=PA144&pg=PA144#v=onepage&f=false|last=Moore|first=Victoria|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|date=Apr 22, 2010|isbn=9780740798450|title=How to Drink}}</ref>
In the United States, and iced latte is usually espresso and chilled milk poured over ice.<ref name=starbucksicedlatte>{{cite web|title=Iced Caffè Latte|url=http://www.starbucks.com/menu/drinks/espresso/iced-caffe-latte?foodZone=9999|work=Starbucks.com|accessdate=19 May 2014}}</ref> Unlike a hot latte, it does not usually contain steamed milk or foam.<ref>{{cite book|title=Coffee Cafe|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=6gwestJTfT8C&lpg=PA83&pg=PA83#v=onepage&f=false|first=Sherri|last=Johns|publisher=New Holland Publishers|year=2005|isbn=9781845370374}}</ref> Iced lattes can have sugar or flavoring syrups added, and are sometimes served blended with the ice.<ref name=Laskin>{{cite book|last=Laskin|first=Avner|title=Coffee: More Than 65 Delicious & Healthy Recipes|publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.|year=2009|isbn=9781402749377|page=46|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=TB_Xu-SkJXQC&lpg=PA4&pg=PA46#v=onepage&f=false}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=An Unashamed Defense of Coffee|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=04SIv_mh-C4C&lpg=PA187&pg=PA187#v=onepage&f=false|page=187|last1=Santos|first1=Roseane M.|last2=Lima|first2=Darcy R.|publisher=Xlibris Corporation|year=2009|isbn=9781453534243}}</ref> The espresso can be pre-chilled (sometimes as a mixture of espresso and milk) or frozen in advance to avoid warming up the drink.<ref name=moore>{{cite book|pages=144-145|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=WbLa7xGXxeIC&lpg=PA144&pg=PA144#v=onepage&f=false|last=Moore|first=Victoria|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|date=Apr 22, 2010|isbn=9780740798450|title=How to Drink}}</ref>
A '''ghetto latte''',"bootleg latte","Poor Man's Latte", "Working Class Latte", <ref>Charles Leroux. 2006. [http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/dining/chi-bootleg-latte,0,5331883.story The bootleg latte: Would you make one?] October 5. Chicago Tribune.</ref> and less pejoratively referred to as an "Iced [[Doppio]] with milk" or "Doppio espresso over ice with milk," is an [[Iced coffee|iced espresso]] filled up with milk from the condiment station as opposed to being filled with milk by the barista. After a customer orders and pays for one or more shots of espresso poured over ice, the customer fills the cup with milk, cream, or half-and half, making a drink that is substantially similar to an iced [[latte]] or iced [[Caffè breve|breve]]. This process can save the customer money, but would yield less revenue for the coffee shop owner as compared to those customers who pay for the barista to add the milk. The iced espresso is ordered in a larger to-go cup, the traditional espresso cup being too small.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/o-come-all-ye-faithful--how-romantic--the-cure-for-the-common-condom/Content?oid=930217|title=SEND THE SAVINGS TO THE POOR DEHYDRATED CHILDREN OF THE WORLD WHO DON'T LIVE WITHIN A HALF A BLOCK OF A COFFEE SHOP|last=Ohrt|first=Andreas|date=22 November 2006|work=Boise Weekly|accessdate=26 January 2010}}</ref>

The drink has spawned debate between customers and baristas - particularly those who work at [[Starbucks]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20060912&slug=starbucks12|title=Baristas Having a Cow Over Dairy 'Thefts'|last=Allison|first=Melissa|date=12 September 2006|work=The Seattle Times|accessdate=16 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/sep/18/usa.foodanddrink|title=Ghetto-lattes have baristas in a froth|last=Glaister|first=Dan|date=18 September 2006|work=The Guardian|accessdate=2009-06-29}}</ref> Many people, wishing to save money (an iced espresso costs an average of $2.00 and a 16-ounce iced-latte costs an average of $4.00) have taken to this approach. As compared with a hot [[latte]] drink, which is made up of espresso shots, steamed milk, and a layer of foam, the iced drink is only espresso, ice, and chilled milk. So, customers can easily replicate the more expensive drink by adding chilled milk that is typically already available to customers who purchase beverages from the condiment bar in most coffee shops. Those seeking to stir controversy over this practice have raised questions about what the "ethical" usage of condiments is—in this case, how much milk is allowed to go into coffee beverages. Starbucks' official position is that "We provide condiments to our customers so they can make their drinks to their liking... We trust our customers to make the choices that are right for them."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=20061030_135378_135378|title=A latte people stick it to Starbucks|last=McKinnell|first=Julie|date=30 October 2006|work=Macleans.ca|accessdate=2009-06-29}}</ref>


== Caffè latte vs. latte macchiato ==
== Caffè latte vs. latte macchiato ==

Revision as of 15:25, 19 May 2014

For the type of pillar found in the Marianas Islands, see Latte stone.
Latte
A cup of latte
Classic Latte
TypeHot
ColorDark brown, beige, black, light brown, white

A latte (/ˈlɑːteɪ/ or /ˈlæteɪ/)[1][2] is a coffee drink made with espresso and steamed milk. The term as used in English is a shortened form of the Italian caffè latte or caffellatte (pronounced [ˌkaffelˈlatte]), which means "milk coffee". The word is also sometimes incorrectly spelled latté or lattè in English with different kinds of accents, which can be a hyperforeignism or a deliberate attempt to help customers realize the word is not pronounced as this combination of letters would normally be interpreted by native speakers.

In northern Europe and Scandinavia the term 'café au lait' has traditionally been used for the combination of espresso and milk, but this term is used in the US for brewed coffee and scalded milk. In France, 'caffè latte' is mostly known from American coffee chains; a combination of espresso and steamed milk equivalent to a 'latte' is in French called 'grand crème' and in German 'Milchkaffee' or 'Melange'.

Variants include replacing the coffee with another drink base such as masala chai (spiced Indian tea), mate or matcha, and other types of milk, such as soy milk or almond milk are also used.

Origin

Latte Art

Coffee and milk have been part of European cuisine since the 17th century (there is no mention of milk in coffee pre 1600 in Turkey or in the Arab world). 'Caffèlatte', 'Milchkaffee', 'Café au lait' and 'Café con leche' 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').

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term caffè latte was first used in English in 1867 as caffè latte by William Dean Howells in his essay "Italian Journeys".[3] Kenneth David maintains that "...breakfast drinks of this kind have existed in Europe for generations, but the (commercial) caffè version of this drink is an American invention".[4]

The French term 'Café au lait' was used in cafés in several countries in western continental Europe from 1900 onwards, while the French themselves started using the term 'café crème' for coffee with milk or cream.

The Austrian-Hungarian empire (eastern Europe) had its own terminology for the coffees being served in coffee houses, while in German homes it was still called 'milchkaffee'. The Italians used the term 'caffèlatte' domestically, but it is not known from cafès like 'Florian' in Venice or any other coffee houses or places where coffee was served publicly. Even when the Italian espresso bar culture bloomed in the years after WW2 both in Italy, and in cities like Vienna and London, 'espresso' and 'cappuccino' are the terms, 'latte' is missing on coffee menus.

In Italian latte (pronounced [ˈlatte]) means milk—so ordering a "latte" in Italy will get the customer a glass of milk.[5][6]

In English-speaking countries 'latte' is shorthand for "caffelatte" or "caffellatte" ("caffè e latte"), which is similar to the French café au lait, the Spanish café con leche, the Catalan cafè amb llet or the Portuguese galão.

The Caffe Mediterraneum in Berkeley, California claims Lino Meiorin, one of its early owners, "invented" and "made the latte a standard drink" in the 1950s.[7] The latte was popularized in Seattle, Washington in the early 1980s[8] and spread more widely in the early 1990s.[9]

In northern Europe and Scandinavia, a similar 'trend' started in the early 1980s as 'Café au lait' became popular again, prepared with espresso and steamed milk. 'Caffè Latte' started replacing this term around 1996-97, but both names exist side by side, more often more similar than different in preparation.

Spelling variations

Coffee menus worldwide use a number of spelling variations for words to indicate coffee and milk, often using incorrect accents or a combination of French and Italian terms. Italian is caffellatte (the standard form; caffelatte is a Northern Italian variation), contracted from caffè-latte, (with a grave accent over the e), while French is café au lait (with an acute accent); Spanish is café con leche and Portuguese is café com leite. Variants such as caffé latté, café latte, and caffé lattè are commonly seen in English.

Current use

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

Outside Italy, a caffè latte is typically prepared in a 240 mL (8 oz) glass or cup with one standard shot of espresso (either single, 30 mL, or double, 60 mL) and filled with steamed milk, with a layer of foamed milk approximately 12 mm (½ inch) thick on the top. A caffè latte may also be served consisting of strong or bold coffee (sometimes espresso) mixed with scalded milk in approximately a 1:1 ratio.[10] The drink is similar to a cappuccino, the difference being that a cappuccino consists of espresso and steamed milk with a 20 mm (¾ inch) layer of thick milk foam. An Australian variant similar to the latte is the flat white, which is served in a smaller ceramic cup with the micro-foamed milk. In the United States this beverage is sometimes referred to as a wet cappuccino.

Iced latte

In the United States, and iced latte is usually espresso and chilled milk poured over ice.[11] Unlike a hot latte, it does not usually contain steamed milk or foam.[12] Iced lattes can have sugar or flavoring syrups added, and are sometimes served blended with the ice.[13][14] The espresso can be pre-chilled (sometimes as a mixture of espresso and milk) or frozen in advance to avoid warming up the drink.[15] A ghetto latte,"bootleg latte","Poor Man's Latte", "Working Class Latte", [16] and less pejoratively referred to as an "Iced Doppio with milk" or "Doppio espresso over ice with milk," is an iced espresso filled up with milk from the condiment station as opposed to being filled with milk by the barista. After a customer orders and pays for one or more shots of espresso poured over ice, the customer fills the cup with milk, cream, or half-and half, making a drink that is substantially similar to an iced latte or iced breve. This process can save the customer money, but would yield less revenue for the coffee shop owner as compared to those customers who pay for the barista to add the milk. The iced espresso is ordered in a larger to-go cup, the traditional espresso cup being too small.[17]

The drink has spawned debate between customers and baristas - particularly those who work at Starbucks.[18][19] Many people, wishing to save money (an iced espresso costs an average of $2.00 and a 16-ounce iced-latte costs an average of $4.00) have taken to this approach. As compared with a hot latte drink, which is made up of espresso shots, steamed milk, and a layer of foam, the iced drink is only espresso, ice, and chilled milk. So, customers can easily replicate the more expensive drink by adding chilled milk that is typically already available to customers who purchase beverages from the condiment bar in most coffee shops. Those seeking to stir controversy over this practice have raised questions about what the "ethical" usage of condiments is—in this case, how much milk is allowed to go into coffee beverages. Starbucks' official position is that "We provide condiments to our customers so they can make their drinks to their liking... We trust our customers to make the choices that are right for them."[20]

Caffè latte vs. latte macchiato

Further information: Latte macchiato
A glass of latte macchiato

A caffè latte differs from a latte macchiato in that in a latte macchiato, espresso is added to milk, rather than the reverse. A caffè latte has a stronger coffee flavor.

The latte macchiato is milk steamed to microfoam, served in a glass with a half shot of espresso poured gently through the foamy top layer, creating a layered drink with a "macchia"—a spot—of espresso on the top. As with a caffè macchiato, which is espresso with a spot of milk atop, indicating there's a hint of milk underneath the espresso foam, a latte macchiato is the opposite, to indicate there is espresso in the milk.

The use of the term 'macchiato' has been widened to include a huge array of beverages and ice creams. In some countries (like Germany), latte macchiato is the preferred term. The word "macchiato" itself is Italian for "stained" which refers to creating a coffee or milk "stain" in the drink.

Although the term macchiato has been used to describe various types of espresso drinks, a caffè macchiato is 3/4 espresso and 1/4 steamed milk. A caffè macchiato is about 4 ounces and is usually served in a demi tasse. Although a traditional macchiato is small, there are still ways to pour art into the crema of drink. The only difference between pouring latte art and macchiato art is that for a macchiato, the milk has to be poured faster and through a much smaller stream.

Serving styles

A cup of Latte made with Matcha, Called Green Tea Latte. Popular variation of Latte found in Asian Countries
  • In some establishments, lattes are served in a glass on a saucer with a napkin to hold the (sometimes hot) glass.
  • A latte is sometimes served in a bowl; in Europe, particularly Scandinavia, this is referred to as a cafe au lait.
  • Increasingly common in the United States and Europe, latte art has led to the stylization of coffee making, and the creation of what is now a popular art form. Created by pouring steaming, and mostly frothed, milk into the coffee, that liquid is introduced into the beverage in such a way that patterns are distinguishable on the top of coffee. Popular patterns can include hearts, flowers, trees and other forms of simplistic representations of images and objects.
  • Iced latte is often served unstirred so that coffee appears to "float" on top of white milk in a glass cup.
  • The relatively high prices demanded by some establishments have led to the creation of ghetto latte or bootleg lattes, whereby customers mix their own latte by ordering a lower-priced cup of espresso and then mixing it with milk and other condiments offered for free at the condiments bar.[21]
  • 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.
  • Other flavorings can be added to the latte to suit the taste of the drinker. Vanilla, chocolate, and caramel are all popular variants.
  • In South Africa a red latte is made with rooibos tea.

Politics

Specifically calling people "latte drinkers" has become a common political attack in Western cultures. The popularity of espresso drinking in large cities, especially among more affluent urban populations, has caused some to consider it elitist behavior. In the United States, conservative political commentators frequently call their opponents "latte-drinking liberal elites."[22][23][24][25] In Canadian politics, latte drinking is used to portray people as out of touch intellectuals and the antithesis of the Tim Hortons coffee drinker that's considered representative of an ordinary Canadian.[26][27] In Scandinavian politics, the term "the cafe latte segment" is used to describe elitist voters.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ Latte - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary
  2. ^ Definition of latte in Oxford Dictionaries (British & World English)
  3. ^ "Latte". Oxford English Dictionary (new online ed.). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  4. ^ Davids, Kenneth (2001-05-04). Coffee: A Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Enjoying, Fifth Edition. St. Martin's Press. pp. 153–. ISBN 9780312246655. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  5. ^ Schomer, David. Espresso coffee (second ed.). p. 151. ISBN 1-59404-031-1..
  6. ^ "Coffee traditions in Italy". Ms adventures initaly. 2007-07-11. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  7. ^ "Caffe Mediterraneum". Daily Cal. ... in the late 1950s that one of the Med's early owners, Lino Meiorin, made the latte a standard coffee drink.
  8. ^ "Steamed milk nothing new for coffee drinkers". Ocala Star-Banner. Jan 4, 1995..
  9. ^ "Americans wake up and smell the coffee". New York Times. 1992-09-02. ... espresso-based drinks with names like caffe latte ....
  10. ^ "Coffee Variations Dictionary" (Dutch) composed by the Dutch coffee branche Douwe Egberts[dead link]
  11. ^ "Iced Caffè Latte". Starbucks.com. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  12. ^ Johns, Sherri (2005). Coffee Cafe. New Holland Publishers. ISBN 9781845370374.
  13. ^ Laskin, Avner (2009). Coffee: More Than 65 Delicious & Healthy Recipes. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. p. 46. ISBN 9781402749377.
  14. ^ Santos, Roseane M.; Lima, Darcy R. (2009). An Unashamed Defense of Coffee. Xlibris Corporation. p. 187. ISBN 9781453534243.
  15. ^ Moore, Victoria (Apr 22, 2010). How to Drink. Andrews McMeel Publishing. pp. 144–145. ISBN 9780740798450.
  16. ^ Charles Leroux. 2006. The bootleg latte: Would you make one? October 5. Chicago Tribune.
  17. ^ Ohrt, Andreas (22 November 2006). "SEND THE SAVINGS TO THE POOR DEHYDRATED CHILDREN OF THE WORLD WHO DON'T LIVE WITHIN A HALF A BLOCK OF A COFFEE SHOP". Boise Weekly. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
  18. ^ Allison, Melissa (12 September 2006). "Baristas Having a Cow Over Dairy 'Thefts'". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
  19. ^ Glaister, Dan (18 September 2006). "Ghetto-lattes have baristas in a froth". The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-06-29.
  20. ^ McKinnell, Julie (30 October 2006). "A latte people stick it to Starbucks". Macleans.ca. Retrieved 2009-06-29.
  21. ^ Leroux, Charles (5 October 2006). "The bootleg latte: Would you make one?". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  22. ^ Nunberg, Geoffrey (2007). Talking Right: How Conservatives Turned Liberalism Into a Tax-raising, Latte-drinking, Sushi-eating, Volvo-driving, New York Times-reading, Body-piercing, Hollywood-loving, Left-wing Freak Show. PublicAffairs. ISBN 1586485318. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
  23. ^ "The politics of me". New York Times. August 18, 1996. ... self-indulgent, self-centered, latte-drinking, DKNY-wearing, BMW-driving, inner-child-searching softies..
  24. ^ "The anti-mall". New York Times. October 9, 1994. ... hip-hopping community of MTV-watching, planet-saving, latte-sipping individualists ....
  25. ^ "The". New York Times. January 11, 2004. ... government-expanding, latte-drinking, sushi-eating, Volvo-driving, New-York-Times-reading ...,
  26. ^ de la Court, Susan (Apr 6, 2012). "On Twitter, or in Tim Hortons, politicians need to listen". Toronto Star..
  27. ^ "Is the U.S. Tea Party movement seeping into Tim Horton's territory, Canada?". Toronto Star. Sep 10, 2010..
  • Media related to Latte at Wikimedia Commons
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