Iced latte

What is in the glass

Typical range

Why it holds up better than iced black coffee

CoffeeHQ explanation

In an iced americano the espresso is diluted by water and then again by melting ice, so the drink thins as you drink it. In an iced latte most of the dilution is done by milk, which is already cold. The ice has little work to do: it keeps a cold drink cold and melts slowly. That is why an iced latte tastes much the same at the bottom of the glass as at the top.

The cost is that milk mutes the coffee far more than water does. Fat and protein soften bitterness and acidity, and cold dulls sweetness and aroma. A shot that makes a balanced hot latte can seem to vanish in an iced one. The usual answer is more coffee for the same glass, not a different coffee.

The order to build it in

Widely documented

1. Fill the glass with ice and add the milk. Put the ice in first and pour the cold milk over it, leaving room for the espresso. Starting with cold milk on ice means the shot lands in something already cold.
2. Pull the shot into a small jug or cup. Brew the espresso separately instead of straight onto the ice. Hot espresso poured directly on ice melts a good deal of it at once and waters the drink before milk is added.
3. Sweeten the espresso now, if at all. Sugar will not dissolve in a cold drink. Stir it into the hot espresso, or use a syrup, before the shot goes into the glass.
4. Pour the espresso over the milk and stir. Poured gently it floats and makes the layered look cafés serve; it needs stirring before drinking or the first sips are milk and the last are coffee.

How the same name varies

Widely documented

Shaken

Espresso, milk and ice shaken together and strained or poured. Shaking chills the drink faster and gives a thin layer of froth; it also melts more ice, so start with a stronger shot.

With cold foam

Cold milk frothed without heat and spooned on top. It adds the texture a steamed drink has without warming the glass. Skimmed milk froths most readily cold.

With plant milk

Oat is the commonest choice. Because nothing is heated, plant milks rarely curdle in an iced latte, which is not true of the hot version.

Flavoured

Vanilla and caramel syrups are the usual additions. Each pump of syrup is sugar and water, and both dilute and sweeten.

When it disappoints

CoffeeHQ explanation

Tastes of cold milk with a hint of coffee

Usually because: Too much milk for the shot, usually because the glass is larger than the recipe assumed.

Change first: Use a double shot, a smaller glass, or less milk. Do not add more ice.

Drink composition comparator

Watery by the end

Usually because: The espresso was poured straight onto ice, or the glass stood in a warm room.

Change first: Add the shot to cold milk, and use larger ice cubes, which melt more slowly.

Bitter or harsh through the milk

Usually because: The shot itself is bitter, from the roast, its strength or how far it was taken. Cold hides sweetness and leaves bitterness exposed.

Change first: Fix the espresso first: a slightly coarser grind or a shorter yield.

Bitter coffee

Gritty sugar at the bottom

Usually because: Granulated sugar added to the cold drink.

Change first: Dissolve it in the hot espresso, or use syrup.

What to do next

• Iced coffee — The black, filter-based cold drink, where melt is the whole problem.
• Iced americano — The same shot lengthened with water instead of milk.
• Milk drink builder — Works out how much milk a given glass needs once ice and espresso are allowed for.
• Barista level 5: drink construction — How the whole café menu follows from four decisions about espresso, water, milk and foam.
• Become a barista — A structured programme from dose and grind through milk, drinks and maintenance.