Coffee｜Latte: The romantic feeling from Vienna, the “City of Music”

"When I'm not at home, I'm in a café; when I'm not in a café, I'm on my way to a café." This well-known and popular saying comes from the famous Viennese writer Stefan Zweig. As the capital of Austria, Vienna is not only known as the "World Music Capital", but also the hometown of Latte coffee. So it is always said that the air in Vienna is filled with the smell of music and latte coffee. So, what is so special about latte coffee with such a romantic feeling?

1. The origin of latte and its main ingredients

The first person to create latte coffee was Fanz George Kolschitsky from Vienna. The origin of the story can be traced back to the distant 17th century. At that time, the Turkish army attacked Vienna with great force, and Kolschitsky had no choice but to ask for help. In the end, the Turkish army retreated hastily under the double attack, leaving behind the scarce coffee beans at that time. However, the Viennese did not know what the coffee beans were used for, so Kolschitsky boldly innovated and added a lot of milk to the prepared coffee, making it sweet, smooth and delicious. This became the prototype of the common latte coffee today.

Latte is a classic Italian coffee, made from espresso and fresh milk. The word latte comes from the transliteration of the Italian word "Latte", which means milk in Italian. If you order a cup of latte in an Italian cafe, the waiter will mistakenly think that you ordered a cup of milk. Therefore, from this point we can roughly guess that most of the ingredients in latte are milk. Indeed, the general latte is made by mixing one-third of espresso with two-thirds of fresh milk. Of course, some lattes also contain a small amount of milk foam. Compared with cappuccino, latte is full of milk flavor, fresher and more mellow.

2. Latte classification and taste

(1) Italian Latte

What we usually call latte refers to the traditional Italian latte, which is made by adding pure milk to a small cup of espresso. The amount of milk can be freely adjusted according to personal taste. People who drink latte enjoy not only the bitterness of coffee, but also the pure milk aroma, which makes latte taste sweet, bitter, smooth, rich and unforgettable. However, the authentic Italian latte does not contain milk foam, but is a perfect combination of milk and coffee. In addition, because it generally contains more milk, latte is also an excellent breakfast drink for Italians.

(2) European-style latte (Café au lait)

The French name for latte is Cafe au Lait, which means coffee with a lot of milk, and is usually translated as Au Lait coffee. People also call Au Lait coffee European latte, which is the favorite of the French. The hot espresso and hot pure milk are poured into the coffee cup at the same time. The heavy hot steam mixed with the rich milk aroma often brings people comfort for the whole day. This kind of coffee not only has a bit of French romantic style, but its mellow and smooth taste is also very popular among women. Of course, Au Lait coffee is also suitable for breakfast, and the hot coffee milk can help you wake up the whole morning. However, Au Lait coffee cups are generally slightly larger than ordinary latte cups, so they can help you get full energy in the morning.

(3) American Latte

A cup of hot Italian latte with frothy cold milk becomes a delicious and sweet American latte. American latte is usually made with espresso as the base, warm milk added, and then covered with a thin layer of cold milk foam. Of course, this is also the most familiar Starbucks flavor! At this time, the latte has a strong milky flavor and is full of fragrance, which is often unstoppable.

(4) Caramel Latte

Caramel latte generally refers to latte coffee with caramel added. Caramel not only increases the sweetness of coffee, but also because of its similar color to coffee, it makes latte art more possible and innovative. This kind of latte tastes warm and sweet, and is a favorite of female friends.

(5) Iced Latte

In addition to milk, iced lattes usually have some fructose added to them, which makes it difficult for the large amount of milk to mix with the lighter coffee, thus forming two distinct layers of black and white. Iced lattes are usually served in transparent glasses. The refreshing ice cubes, coupled with the mysterious and graceful figure, give people an unparalleled visual enjoyment. Iced lattes are simply the perfect summer drink, absolutely irresistible.

(6) Hot Latte

Hot latte is the opposite of cold latte and is suitable for winter drinking. Warm milk, hot coffee, and steamed milk foam are the best choices for warming the stomach in winter. Of course, you can also add cocoa powder, chocolate, biscuit sticks, etc. for flavoring.

3. Latte production process

Although there are many types of lattes, their preparation is generally similar. Let's try making one together!

(1) Materials

Instant espresso powder, pure milk, steel cup, coffee cup, espresso machine

(2) Steps

Soak the cup in hot water and pour out the excess water after the temperature rises;

Prepare 30ml of espresso into a cup;

Take an appropriate amount of milk and place it under the steam nozzle of the espresso machine to make a mixture of high-temperature milk and milk foam;

Shake the mixture of milk and milk foam up and down to concentrate the milk foam on the top as much as possible, and scrape off the coarse milk foam with a spoon;

Shake the appropriate proportion of milk and milk foam mixture to make the milk foam and milk fully blended;

Pour the milk and milk foam evenly into the espresso, controlling the distance and flow rate for better latte art.

4. The art of living with latte

Latte is one of the most familiar Italian coffees to Chinese people. With the addition of milk, even those who don’t like coffee can hardly resist the aroma of latte. Nowadays, coffee is not only a food culture, but also a representative of fashion and leisure, and even a romantic lifestyle.

Some people say that what is brewed in the coffee pot are ups and downs, what is contained in the coffee cup are dreams, and the ethereal fragrance in the coffee shop is enough to embrace the vicissitudes of the world, and it is a harbor for the soul to dock... In addition, latte is just like Vienna, with its romantic mood and broad mind.

As a kind of coffee, latte is mainly milk, but we still call it coffee, which seems to run counter to the traditional "the minority obeys the majority". However, in certain specific environments, the scarcer it is, the more precious it is, which is one of the reasons why most people like latte. People with latte personality are not like the petty bourgeoisie who like to argue about right and wrong. They are more casual and good at moving freely between tradition and fashion. The "latte" tribe uses their own optimism to inject a hint of sweetness into the bitter coffee in their hearts, making the originally boring life glow with a different kind of splendor. Who can say that this is not the art of life of latte? So, if you want to make it, make a cup of latte coffee! It is so romantic and fragrant, and it infects all living beings in the ordinary!

Source: Red Wine Encyclopedia (Text/Sui Yanfen)

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