First, why is it called latte? So, what does a latte mean?
1, latte, meaning of name
Latte coffee is a transliteration of Chinese mainland.
In its hometown of Italy, the name of latte is CaffèLatte, which can also be called caffè latte or caffé latte.
Latte means "milk" in Italian, so the real meaning of latte is milk coffee.
Because of this "latte", it also leads to some jokes.
A friend of mine traveled to Italy the year before last. He wanted to feel the Italian coffee culture and went to the local coffee shop specially.
When he told the waiter to have a latte, he didn't expect the other person to bring a glass of fresh milk.
My friend was dumbfounded and didn't know what was going on.
Later, the tour guide came to explain that in Italy, if you want to drink latte, you must say its full name "Caffe Latte".
Just saying "latte" will make Italians think you want a glass of fresh milk, which will lead to misunderstanding.
However, the root of this misunderstanding is still on the American side.
Americans always call lattes "lattes" and "lattes", but never the full name of lattes, so people all over the world just call them "lattes".
Or people from Hong Kong and Macao, took the right name. They call lattes "fresh milk coffee".
This name is really incisive, and it also points out the formula of latte.
Latte, milk and coffee
In fact, the practice of latte is very simple.
Milk heated in coffee is a latte.
However, lattes must have more milk ingredients than coffee. Usually the ratio of milk to coffee is between 2: 1 and 5: 1.
There is no hard and fast rule about the proportion, which can be adjusted according to your own preferences.
So, in Starbucks, if you want to drink a latte with a stronger milk flavor, you might as well say to the little brother at the front desk, "Please help me add more milk!"
Of course, the amount of latte and coffee in Starbucks is fixed, which is espresso machine and ground espresso.
Perhaps, some friends think that latte milk is too strong and coffee is too weak.
As a result, careful Starbucks launched a "rich coffee latte", which is much stronger than ordinary latte.
However, if you ask me, I prefer Starbucks' regular latte.
"Drinking latte means drinking its unique milk flavor, and milk is the protagonist!"
The taste of milk is not obvious. Is that still the original latte?
Speaking of the original latte, it is because of milk that latte became a classic.
3. latte, the story behind the classic
Just like a sandwich, a piece or two of bread, plus a vegetable or meat ingredient, gives birth to a sandwich.
So is the latte.
Lattes have appeared since coffee became a European drink.
Maybe a European couldn't get used to the bitter taste of coffee at that time, so he added milk to it and latte came into being.
According to some records, from the17th century, Europeans began to drink latte, which was originally used as a drink with bread for breakfast.
I'm in latte, mocha and cappuccino, all of which are "espresso"! "The Italians invented the Italian coffee machine in 1884, making Italy the world coffee center.
In the coffee industry, this is a milestone event.
Since then, cafes have gradually appeared in continental Europe, and fancy coffees such as latte, mocha and cappuccino have also become "celebrity coffee on the Internet" in European social circles.
At that time, the method of latte was still the same, and hot milk was poured into espresso, which is now Italian latte.
However, an American went to Italy, which completely changed the fate of latte and made it a world-famous coffee.
4. Starbucks and latte
This man is now the boss of Starbucks, howard schultz howard schultz.
1983 went to Milan, Italy on business and participated in an exhibition.
This trip was simply "Granny Liu entered the Grand View Garden", which made Schultz feel the variety of Italian coffee and the monotony of American coffee culture.
So, after returning to the United States, Schultz introduced the Starbucks latte of 1984 the following year, which was very popular. Starbucks is located in Seattle, also known as "Latte Capital".
Although, before that, there were coffee shops selling lattes in the United States, and Starbucks made lattes a global classic coffee.
However, the Starbucks latte we are drinking now should be called American latte to be exact.
It has been improved by Starbucks and other coffee shops, and it is obviously different from Italian latte.
Although, Starbucks' latte milk content is more than twice that of Italian latte.
But the main difference between the two lies in milk bubbles.
Italian latte, no milk foam, only hot milk with espresso.
American latte is based on espresso with a little milk foam.
So, if you drink Starbucks latte now, you will see a thick layer of milk foam when you open the lid.
Take a sip gently and you will feel a dense feeling. Even after swallowing, there will still be some tiny bubbles left on the lips.
Even after drinking half a cup, there are many small bubbles hanging on the wall of the cup, and they are determined not to let go.
However, it is the American latte, the milk bubble with "increased innovation", that has a "unclear and unclear" relationship with cappuccino.
5. the relationship between latte and cappuccino
At this point, you may be curious again. "Why is the relationship between latte and cappuccino unclear?"
Because, compared with cappuccino, American latte with milk foam is just Rainbow Rodin and Bai Baihe, and they look too much alike.
Latte and cappuccino are made up of espresso, milk and milk foam.
Put more milk and you'll get a latte.
The ratio of coffee, milk and milk foam is 1: 1: 1, which is cappuccino.
Sometimes, I drink a latte and think it's a cappuccino with milk.
Because of this, when you drink Starbucks latte, you will feel a strong taste of fresh milk, and the taste of milk is so attractive.
When drinking cappuccino, it is more like coffee, with more and thicker milk bubbles than lattes and a slightly bitter taste.
6, latte coffee, "basic version" coffee
A friend of mine opened a barista training school in Hangzhou. She told me, "latte or basic coffee, you can dress up at will."
In fact, this sentence also tells the reason why Starbucks has so many lattes.
It's like rice in Japanese sushi.
Add a slice of salmon and it becomes salmon sushi. When you put tuna, it is tuna sushi, and when you put Arctic sweet shrimp on it, it becomes sweet shrimp sushi.
So is the latte!
In the latte, add more foam and less milk, which is the cappuccino mentioned earlier.
Add hot chocolate and the latte becomes mocha coffee.
The order of pouring milk and coffee was changed, and it became another doppelganger of the French favorite latte "Coffee Leo".
Make the latte's milk foam "delicate" and change the cup smaller, and you will have the plain coffee that is popular in the United States now, as shown in the left. (On the right, it's a latte. ).
Starbucks added vanilla syrup and hazelnut syrup to the formula to produce "vanilla latte" and "hazelnut latte".
There are also many girls' favorite "toffee hazelnut latte", as a special Christmas drink of Starbucks, which is only available around Christmas every year.
I almost forgot that Starbucks also has an iced latte.
It's best to drink it in summer. It doesn't have the greasy feeling of a hot latte, and it's cool. It's also a popular drink in Starbucks.
However, you'd better tell Starbucks brother, "put less ice", otherwise the glass is full of ice, how can it be worthy of its price!
But there are also some Starbucks lattes, also called lattes, which are actually "fake lattes".
7. Matcha latte, black tea latte and latte coffee
In recent years, Starbucks has launched a series of tea drinks-Chawana drinks according to Asian preferences.
There are two kinds of drinks, matcha latte and black tea latte.
I have several female friends who like to drink lattes. Seeing Starbucks' new latte, I couldn't help trying it for the first time.
As a result, they shouted that they were cheated as soon as they drank it. This is obviously a "fake" latte.
Matcha latte and black tea latte have no coffee ingredients at all, and only taste of "tea" and "milk".
I can only comfort myself like this. "Latte" originally meant "milk". Black tea with milk is called black tea latte, which literally makes sense.
Although, their real names should be matcha milk and black tea milk.
Who made "latte coffee" popular all over the world?
Starbucks, which has always been high-profile, can't help but play the edge ball of the name.