Latte vs Coffee
Difference between latte and coffee is an interesting subject area for any coffee lover. Now, if you are a coffee lover, you must know how many different kinds of beverages can be made with coffee powder and its beans. At homes, people generally make use of ground coffee beans, and mix them with hot, boiling water, adding sugar and milk (or cream) for taste, but you know the variants when you are at Barista or Coffee day. One look at the entries in the order card, you will be surprised to find so many different names. You know then that asking for a coffee is not so simple after all. One variant that has become very popular is Latte. Let us find out the differences between Latté and coffee, and what makes Latté so special.
There is no need to be puzzled by the menu card at a coffee shop. Yes, there are confusing names, such as cappuccino, mocha, espresso, long black, ristretto, macchiato, affogato, etc., but you are confident when you know the subtle difference in ingredients and flavor of these coffee variants. After all, it pays to know the difference.
What is Coffee?
Coffee can be identified as the favourite American drink as most Americans prefer coffee to tea. Coffee is made from coffee beans. This can be made from roasted and ground coffee as well as coffee powder. You simply put hot water to the right amount of coffee. Adding sugar or milk and the amount of sugar and milk that is added, is personal preference. When you do not add milk to coffee, it is known as black coffee.
What is Latte?
A Latte is nothing but an espresso and steamed milk served with a small layer of milk 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. Being Italian in origin, Latte is different from black coffee, which is prepared without milk. 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; adding froth of milk on top results in a good cup of latte.
Now you know that latte is different from ordinary coffee as it is made from espresso. Espresso is a totally different technique of brewing, and requires an espresso machine that maintains right temperature and pressure. The coffee used in espresso, is ground finer than what most of us use at home. 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.
What is the difference between Latte and Coffee?
• Coffee is the generic name of the drink that is prepared by us at home with coffee beans that have been ground. One can have black coffee, or add milk to it as per his taste.
• Latte is of Italian origin and, in Italian, latte means milk. So, latte is a mixture of coffee and milk, but here a specially brewed coffee called espresso is used in making latte and that makes all the difference between a simple cup of coffee and café latte. Latte is prepared with espresso by adding steamed milk and milk froth from the top.
Images Courtesy: Latte by FlickreviewR (CC BY 2.0)
