Lattes: Hot Or Cold?

The latte is one of the most popular ways many Americans choose to receive their morning dose of caffeine. However, many inexperienced coffee drinkers may be wondering whether or not the latte is best served hot or cold.

Lattes can be served either hot or cold, but the temperature you order it at may affect how the drink is made. For example, a hot latte is made using something called steamed milk. Since it is impossible to make cold steamed milk, cold lattes will substitute steamed milk with regular milk.

After reading this, some people may want to know more about the latte and its ingredients. In this article, we’ll break down the details on just what a latte is, what temperatures they can be served at, how they compare to cappuccinos, their caffeine content, and which type of milk is best for them.

What Defines a Latte?

Hot and iced coffee latte in restaurant and cafe

A cafe latte is a drink made using a specific ratio of one-third espresso, two-thirds steamed milk, and a thin layer of foam at the top. The espresso is what gives it that nice bitter coffee flavor. It also provides the drink with the caffeine content that will give you energy and keep you coming back for more.

The steamed milk in the drink gives it that lovely creamy texture, sometimes making the drink feel less like coffee and more like a delicious treat.

The latte is an Italian invention. The word latte in Italian translates to “milk.” Thus, it is worth noting that if you order a latte in Italy or even in some authentic Italian cafes in the US, you may just be served a simple glass of milk.

In these places, make sure that you specify that you want a cafe latte, which combines the milk with a shot of espresso.

Latte Flavors

There are many different flavors of lattes, including the chocolatey mocha, which is perfect for any chocolate lover. Other flavors, such as vanilla and caramel, will combine your coffee with vanilla or caramel cream to give it just that extra sweetness that some people may desire.

The pumpkin spice latte is the most talked about latte flavor. This is due to its limited availability, as it is only available in the fall. This flavor combines the latte with a blend of spices to give it a nice autumn-styled pumpkin-like feel that many people desire.

Are Lattes Typically Served Hot or Cold?

Lattes are typically served hot because they are made using steamed milk. To make this steamed milk, you must first bring it to a scalding temperature (usually around 150 degrees Fahrenheit).

This scalding milk is then whisked either using a professional espresso machine, a designated tool known as a milk frother, or an actual whisk. Of these three, the espresso machine’s steaming wand will result in the best-textured milk, as it will break apart the milk’s larger bubbles into tiny uniform bubbles.

Once this steamed milk cools down, the bubbles that give it that creamy texture will begin to pop. This will result in the steamed milk eventually settling back into regular milk. After this, you would no longer have a latte but something known as a “flat white.”

After reading this, you may think that an iced latte is impossible to make. However, most coffee shops do serve iced lattes. We’ll go into how this is done in more detail later in this article.

Lattes vs. Cappuccinos

As we mentioned earlier, a latte is a drink that combines espresso, steamed milk, and a thin layer of foam on top. You may be surprised to learn that a cappuccino uses these same ingredients but somehow is a different drink. So just how does that work?

Strength of Espresso

The answer to this puzzle is that the two drinks use these ingredients in different amounts. The latte has a specific ratio of 1/3 espresso, 2/3 steamed milk, and finally, that thin layer of foam on top.

In contrast, the cappuccino uses all three ingredients in the same amounts. This leads to the drink having less milk but more espresso and foam. As a result, the cappuccino will get you more bang for your buck if you are a caffeine lover.

The cappuccino will also have a more bitter flavor unless you add some sweetener or another flavoring. So, if you want a weaker drink with a much creamier texture, you probably want to stick with the latte.

Which is Healthier?

If you want to know which of the two drinks is healthier, this will depend on your definition of “healthy.” A cappuccino is going to have fewer calories than an equally sized latte. This is because a latte uses more milk than a cappuccino, giving it more fat content.

However, the latte will have more protein because of its higher milk content. So, if you’re trying to bulk up, the latte may be more your speed.

Are Iced Lattes Made Differently Than Hot Lattes?

Surprisingly, iced lattes are actually made a little differently than hot lattes. As mentioned earlier, hot lattes are made using steamed milk. This steamed milk is created by whisking extremely hot milk until the bubbles inside are uniform, giving the hot latte its creamy texture.

Once this steamed milk cools down, the bubbles will pop, eventually returning to regular milk. You can actually try this yourself. For example, if you buy a hot latte, leave it out until it cools, and then take a sip, it will no longer have that creamy texture and will instead taste like you’re drinking espresso mixed with milk.

This mixture of espresso and regular milk is actually a drink you can buy known as a flat white.

This means making an iced latte with that same creamy texture as a hot latte is impossible. So instead, when making an iced latte, most cafes will compensate for this lack of steamed milk by adding more milk to the drink.

This means an iced latte uses a different ingredient ratio than a hot latte. For example, a hot latte is 1/3 espresso, 2/3 steamed milk, and a thin layer of foam on top; a cold latte is 1/4 espresso, 3/4 milk, and some ice to keep the drink cool.

This results in the iced latte having more calories than a hot latte. This is because the iced latte has more milk and thus more fat content, resulting in more calories.

Like before, though, this means the iced latte has a higher protein content than the hot latte. So once again, if you’re trying to bulk up, you may want to consider switching to the iced latte.

How Much Caffeine is in a Latte?

On average, a small or medium latte usually has about 80 milligrams of caffeine. A large latte will typically hit around 120 milligrams of caffeine. For comparison, the average 8-ounce coffee mug full of coffee will contain about 95 milligrams of caffeine.

This means that, on average, a latte will contain less caffeine than a similar-sized coffee. Depending on the person, this fact could make or break the latte.

Obviously, you can change this fact by customizing your order. For example, if you want your latte to contain more caffeine, simply ask for an extra shot of espresso. On the flip side, ask for less espresso if you want a latte with less caffeine.

Most cafes will allow you to do this, as they get paid to make your drink the way you want. In fact, if you wanted to order a latte with no caffeine at all, you could also order a latte using decaf instead of espresso.

Which Type of Milk is Best in a Latte?

Crop image of a young male barista pouring hot milk into hot espresso black coffee for making Latte Art

The best type of milk for your latte will depend on what you want from the drink, as different kinds of milk will produce different results. For example, if you want the creamiest latte possible, you’ll want whole milk.

Whole milk produces the most desirable texture when steamed due to its high-fat content. However, the same high-fat content will result in higher calorie content.

You can go for milk with lower fat content if you want a lower-calorie option. For example, you can make a latte using either 1% fat or skim milk. Of course, these will result in a slightly worse texture, but if you can learn to enjoy it, you will avoid many unnecessary calories.

Dairy-Free

If you want to avoid dairy, there are a couple of dairy-free milk options that you can use to make a latte. The best of these to use in your latte is soy milk. Soy milk keeps the calories low while keeping almost the same protein content as regular milk.

However, you can also use almond and coconut milk to make lattes. Most cafes you visit will have all or most of these options, so don’t worry about ordering something they don’t have.

Leave a Comment