Iced latte
Espresso poured over cold milk and ice, rather than a hot latte that has been chilled — the milk is never steamed, so the drink has no foam and a much cleaner, sharper character than its hot counterpart.
- Coffee dose
- 18g
- Yield
- 300ml
- Milk
- 200ml
- Intensity
- medium
- Preparation time
- 3 min
- Skill level
- beginner
Caffeine estimate
Approximately 120-160mg (double shot).
Well established
Brewing method
Made using Espresso machine.
Taste, variation and common mistakes
Cleaner and sharper than a hot latte. Cold suppresses sweetness and aroma while leaving acidity and bitterness comparatively intact, which is why a coffee that tastes balanced hot can taste thin and sharp over ice.
Common mistakes
- Building it with the espresso first, so the shot sits at the bottom and the drink is drunk in layers — pour over the milk, then stir.
- Ignoring the ice when judging strength. A glass of ice melts into a substantial amount of water, so an iced drink built to the same recipe as a hot one ends up noticeably weaker.
- Using a coffee chosen for a hot drink and concluding the espresso is wrong. Cold changes what is perceptible, and lighter, more acidic coffees can taste sharp over ice.
- Steaming the milk first. Heating and then chilling gives none of the texture and some of the cooked flavour.
In much of Europe an iced drink means espresso over ice with milk added separately, while a Greek freddo cappuccino is built quite differently — cold-foamed milk over a whipped espresso base. What arrives under the name varies more than for almost any hot drink.
Steps
- Fill a tall glass with ice and pour in the cold milk.
- Pull a double espresso.
- Pour the espresso over the milk, and stir before drinking.