With the weather so cold, you could easily combine these with some hot chocolate for the ultimate mocha. Consider sprinkling on some chocolate shavings or drizzling some caramel syrup to build your flavor and your design. Like shaping snow, this dry and thick type of milk opens up an entire world of possibility when the creative bug bites you. I’ve discussed the vibrant creativity of latte art in past articles before, particularly where froth gets involved. If you want to get extra creative, use microfoam and froth together. This five-minute tutorial video from Coffee Fusion is a great example of the traditional swirling method used by coffee workers. The tiny bubbles in your milk give you the ability to draw and carve out designs, so you need to pay close attention to how your steam wand is aerating the liquid. As touched on above, microfoam and froth are very different milk consistencies that will affect the final result. Getting the hang of latte art means fundamentally understanding how your milk works. It’s hard not to feel a swell of pride when you craft a lovely little illustration in fifteen seconds or less. It’s not just a neat addition: you could argue it’s the main course itself. Latte art is a key component of traveling bucket lists and social media accounts. There are also plenty of roasteries that host their own coffee events to improve the techniques of their baristas and continue sharing coffee knowledge with their customer base. There’s the World Latte Art Championship that crops up every year, originally created by the influential Specialty Coffee Association. Today we have latte art competitions and entire hashtags dedicated to the craft. A skilled barista can create a complex piece of art just using the milk carafe and a careful hand.Ī big reason customers visit cafes is not just for the drinks, but all the minor and major details that surround the experience. This is the term for steamed milk filled with tiny bubbles, creating a silky consistency that leaves a lot of wiggle room for artistic expression.įroth, on the other hand, is a dry and fluffy version that is better off as a final touch-up. Latte art is exactly what it says on the tin: the lovely paintings, doodles, and outright masterpieces carved into the drink’s foam.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a latte? If it’s a curling white leaf in a sea of honey brown, you’re on the money. The latte vs macchiato might not seem like much of a comparison, but you’d be surprised by how often drink trends get mixed up. I’ve yet to try making it myself, but you’ll likely run into some more variations as coffee culture continues to grow! Even today we see unique variations cropping up regionally, such as the beloved dalgona in South Korea and Vietnam.ĭalgona is nicknamed as such for its visual similarity to a Korean toffee candy, specifically using instant coffee and a vibrant whipping method to create its texture. Over the decades coffee has shifted and grown to suit the tastes of local culture. It can also refer to drip coffee mixed with creamer. Nowadays café au lait refers to drip coffee mixed with hot or cold milk. If you’ve confused the latte with the café au lait, take solace in that the two used to be the same thing once upon a time. It originated as a coffee variation in Europe several centuries back and has subtle changes depending on which country or city you find yourself in. The latte is an embodiment of the most simple and effective way of drinking coffee: creamy milk and powerful espresso. The oldest known recordings of the drink date back to ancient Ethiopia, where coffee’s caffeinated kick was discovered through goats and their habit of eating the tree’s cherries. The Origin Of The LatteĬoffee’s been around for centuries.

There are other subtly differences and much to know about each drink, which we will look at below. When looking at the latte vs macchiato, the Latte contains both steamed and foamed milk while the macchiato is just espresso and steamed milk. The biggest difference between the two is the ratio of milk and espresso. What’s the difference between a Latte vs Macchiato? Image: Jen Arr Which one reigns supreme: latte vs macchiato? We’re going to take a look at the difference between the drink types - and their individual popularity - below. Unsurprisingly, these two are often compared in cafes. The macchiato, on the other hand, is more beloved in Europe and is often mixed up with other drink types (such as the cortado or the cappuccino). It’s the most popular coffee drink by a landslide in the West and sees similar popularity across the world. It’s even more ubiquitous with coffee than the classic mug of drip. You don’t get much more iconic than the latte.

Latte vs cappuccino vs macchiato