Espresso vs Latte
Espresso and Latte might appear the same for a non-coffee fan as he or she does not know the difference between espresso and latte. However, a coffee fan can easily find out the differences between espresso and latte. In short, it can be said that café espresso and latte are coffee variations that result due to numerous blending and mixing techniques. Hence, these two types show some differences between them. All the difference that exist between espresso and latte as well as definition of what each cup of coffee actually is will be presented in this article.
What is Espresso?
Espresso is different from a normal made cup of coffee because it is made using a special technique. Espresso is a very strong variation of blending and mixing techniques. The coffee used too is ground finer than what most of us use at home. It is very important to know that espresso is the base constituent in the preparation of any variation of coffee for that matter. Mere espressos are not mixed with milk.
All the difference in making a simple coffee an espresso is made by the espresso machine. To make espresso, ground coffee is compressed into a dense puck of coffee, and hot water is forced through this puck under high pressure to produce an extraction called espresso. This process with right pressure and temperature results in a kind of flavor that is hard to reproduce at home. As you can see, it is interesting to note that hot water is used in the concentrated beverage of espresso. As it is concentrated beverage, a cup of espresso is much more stronger that a normal cup of coffee.
What is Latte?
Being Italian in origin, Latte is different from black coffee which is prepared without milk. The terminology used in connection with latte is café latte. On the other hand, café latte is to be understood as coffee and milk. How did this name come into being? Well, milk is called latte in Italian, and it is thus, espresso mixed with milk. In fact, it would be better to call latte ‘café latte’, as it is a mixture of coffee and milk.
When it comes to café latte, it is not very strong and concentrated in nature.The same is true in the preparation of the variation of lattes as well. Hot milk is used in the preparation of lattes when it is mixed with espresso. So, a Latte is nothing but an espresso and steamed milk served with a small layer of froth on top. When a trained barista (it is the name of the coffee server) pours latte from a jug, he can create artwork on the top of your latte, which looks really mesmerizing.
However, always remember that espresso is the initial base ingredient in the preparation of latte. On the other hand, the variants of latte include mate, chai and matcha.
What is the difference between Espresso and Latte?
• Café latte means milk coffee; milk is added to coffee in making latte and the coffee used is espresso. In other words, latte is prepared with espresso by adding milk froth from the top.
• Espresso is a totally different technique of brewing coffee, and requires an espresso machine that maintains right temperature and pressure.
• Espresso also requires ground coffee that is much finer than what is used at home to make simple coffee.
• Mere espressos are not mixed with milk. This is the difference understood easily by coffee lovers.
• Latte is not concentrated and strong in nature like espresso.
The differences mentioned above between espresso and lattes are not usually deciphered by the non-coffee user.
Images Courtesy: Espresso by Lemone (GFDL)
