As such, serving a latte involves following certain rules. Initially, the type of latte coffee appeared many decades ago in Italy and was considered a drink for children. However, adult coffee lovers still realized that even for children, the dose of caffeine exceeds the norm. That is why such a familiar drink was invented.
The idea was to use one third espresso and two parts milk. In this case, the upper part of the milk was a foamed, dense milky substance. Today, latte is very popular among coffee connoisseurs. It is prepared in all coffee shops around the world, and girls and children especially love latte. A wide variety of recipes and preparation methods allows you to choose a drink to suit every taste.
Serving latte: what's the secret?
The serving of latte coffee may differ in different establishments, but the following remains unchanged: the drink is served in a tall Irish glass on a saucer along with a long spoon and straw.
Sometimes coffee can be served in wide porcelain cups, which are significantly larger in volume than cappuccino cups. Serving coffee in a mug or glass is just as convenient. Mugs are preferred by those who love comfort, and glasses are chosen by connoisseurs of the minimalist style.
Through the transparent walls of a glass or cup, you can easily distinguish a latte from another type of coffee by its three-layer structure. Due to the fact that the proportions of milk and coffee are 3 to 1, respectively, serving a latte looks like this: the bottom layer is coffee, the middle layer is milk, and the top layer is lightly whipped milk foam.
Milk for latte is not boiled before whipping, and thanks to the use of whole milk, the resulting substance will be airy, thick in structure and will not fall off before serving to your table. It is thanks to the soft milky, pleasant creamy taste that the drink will not be bitter, which will also help you distinguish a latte from a cappuccino.
Coffee is usually decorated with grated chocolate, a cinnamon stick, vanilla, syrup or topping - such a wide variety of additives will decorate the drink and improve its taste.
Break: subtleties of coffee table setting
Reading time: 4 minutes Every morning, millions of people around the world associate it with coffee. Strong espresso or delicate latte macchiato, airy cappuccino or your own coffee drink according to a unique recipe. How to properly set the table for a beautiful morning ritual?
One of the most pleasant things to do in the morning is to climb up onto a soft sofa with a plush blanket and drink a cup of strong aromatic coffee, snuggle into a large bear sitting next to you, bought in a luxury supermarket in London or New York, and forget about everything in the world! But coffee can unexpectedly stain a sofa, blanket, and even a bear. Therefore, it is still better to perform the morning ritual at the table.
To do this, we should use a few simple rules, which, first of all, depend on the main drink: Italian espresso, Turkish coffee or another coffee recipe you choose.
The first rule of coffee etiquette involves choosing the right utensils for serving. For example, in porcelain elegant coffee pairs or coffee sets, coffee is served, prepared on a stove in a Turk or made by you using a drip or geyser coffee maker. There is even such a term, the coffee trio, which means that every coffee lover uses a coffee cup, saucer and spoon.
If you want to pour the brewed coffee in advance into another container for serving, then use a special coffee pot. It can also be made of porcelain, similar to a teapot that is used for brewing, but has slightly different parameters: such a coffee pot is quite narrow, but tall.
The drink is poured from the coffee pot into cups, filling them two-thirds, no more. This is done for guests so that they can add cream or milk to their cup if they wish.
If you are preparing cappuccino, then to serve it you can choose special thick-walled cups that widen at the top, then the foam will lie in a beautiful even layer and there will be room for latte art, this is the art of drawing on the foam. To serve coffee drinks with different layers, such as latte macchiato, use tall glass glasses or tumblers. It is in them that color transitions are clearly visible. Glasses can be equipped with special handles for easy drinking of these hot drinks.
In addition to drinkware, you should stock up on special coffee spoons; they are slightly different from tea and dessert spoons. And for drinks served in tall glasses, there are special elongated spoons.
The second serving rule concerns coffee additives.
Milk or cream is served separately in a milk jug. Portioned cream is more suitable for home or office use, but is not very suitable for beautiful serving. Sugar is also served in a common sugar bowl; it is often included in coffee services, so that each guest can sweeten the coffee to their own taste. To do this, use forceps. Plastic spoons, stirrers and portioned sugar should not be used.
When setting the table, do not forget to place a dessert plate to the left of the coffee trio. You can put sweets and the necessary utensils on it in advance. Prepared desserts are placed in the center of the table. Cakes, sweets, and chocolate go well with coffee drinks.
If you decide to put dessert directly on a plate for each guest, choose gourmet pastries that look like homemade ones. Small croissants, Scottish shortbread cookies, Israeli sweets such as Elsa Story, marzipans, leaf-shaped chocolate like Hachez, and much more are suitable for this.
If the coffee is brewed using spices or the drink is simply quite strong and tart, you should set the table with a glass of cool still water for each guest. You can add sliced lemon to the dessert plate; guests can use it to acidify cold water.
However, the most complex tradition, which has acquired a huge number of rules and conventions, is Italian espresso and ristretto - strong espresso for one sip. Today we will not consider the intricacies of preparation, we will only note an important point - real Italian espresso should have not only a special taste and intoxicating aroma, but also an excellent thick foam, which experts call crema (emphasis on the last syllable).
If you are preparing this type of coffee, and it can only be made using special coffee machines under high pressure, this drink cannot be poured or made in advance. As soon as the last drop has entered the cup from the coffee machine, it should be immediately handed over to the guest, and woe to the host who offers cold espresso or a drink without decent cream!
Another professional secret: before you bring the cup to the coffee machine when making espresso and press start, you should warm up the cup itself. For this purpose, many coffee machines even have special heated zones. This is not just a tribute to fashion or etiquette, a heated cup several times enhances the taste and aroma of the drink, even average quality coffee beans that could be used for preparation will open up in a new way, and you will receive incomparable pleasure and delight for everyone guests.
Morning breakfast hardly involves drinks such as Irish coffee with whiskey or ice cream, so we’ll talk about the features of setting the table with them on occasion another time.
Well, the last rule of etiquette concerns the actual consumption of the drink. Espresso is drunk from small cups in literally a couple of sips, while you can and should draw in the liquid, making characteristic smacking sounds, this is how baristas - coffee specialists - evaluate this or that variety. If you drink cappuccino, you can eat the foam first or spoon it out; etiquette allows for both actions. The same should be done with other drinks with high foam.
By the way, according to classic Italian coffee etiquette, coffee is enjoyed in the morning, at the beginning of the day, so be sure to prepare yourself and your loved ones for the next luxurious coffee drink, and our tips will help you make this a truly memorable event.
Latte coffee calories
The calorie content of the drink depends on several ingredients: milk and its fat content, as well as additives for cooking - sugar, syrup or chocolate chips.
The calorie content of a latte is as follows:
- When using 2.5% fat milk to prepare 250 ml of coffee, the total calorie content will be 109-110 kcal,
- 250 ml of latte prepared with 3.2% milk contains 116-118 kcal,
- When you add a teaspoon of sugar to a serving of coffee, its calorie content increases by 20 kcal,
- A latte made with 10% cream and 2.5% milk has 175 kcal.
- When preparing a serving of coffee larger than the standard 250 ml, its calorie content increases proportionally to the amount of milk used.
Rules for serving latte: glasses and coffee cups
Due to its great popularity, latte received completely new glasses and cups that had not been used before. Manufacturers have come up with new products that make it convenient to drink this type of coffee.
- Latte glasses have a cone shape with a thickened bottom and are made of clear glass. Thanks to the transparent glass, coffee connoisseurs can see all the layers of the latte. A few years ago, such glasses had a handle and a stand. Today's new products look more like tall glasses in the shape of an inverted truncated cone. The only thing that distinguishes them from ordinary glasses is their thick bottom.
- Now that the layered latte trend has faded, coffee is increasingly being served in cups. These cups are still not like ordinary ones. They have an impressive volume - up to 400 ml, but do not look so official. You can purchase a long-handled spoon with your latte cups.
Geyser coffee maker
Prototypes of geyser coffee makers appeared in France at the beginning of the 19th century.
The design of the coffee maker was gradually improved, including the brewing water that began to pass through the coffee placed in the coffee maker only once and collected in a separate container. A modern geyser coffee maker, which can be either electric or powered by an external heat source, has three compartments. One compartment is for ground coffee (relatively coarse grind), another for cold water, and a third for ready-made coffee, which is brewed by boiling water.
Types of latte glassware
With the popularity of latte, a large number of serving options for this drink have appeared. Today there is a wide choice of latte glassware.
Latte glass
Irish - Latte glass
The volume of such glassware reaches 250-300 ml, it is distinguished by the absence of a handle and a thick bottom. It is the large thickness of the glass and durable bottom that ensures that the coffee remains warm. The latte glass, as it's called an Irish glass, is the most popular choice for serving lattes.
Latte cup
Latte Cup
Latte cups are usually designed in a minimalist style. They are made from high-temperature-resistant porcelain or ceramic. Often these cups have warm coffee tones - white or cream. Their volume is usually about 250-320 ml.
A nice bonus when purchasing will be a set with a long spoon or saucer. With such a cup it will be pleasant to drink coffee on autumn evenings in a cozy atmosphere.
Latte mug
Latte mug
Latte mug is also made of durable porcelain or ceramics. It usually has a volume of 300-360 ml. Thanks to its thick walls and tapered shape, it can appear heavy or rough. However, these mugs are usually made in warm colors with cute designs, which is why dreamy latte lovers simply adore these cozy cups.
Glass for serving latte
Latte glass
Latte glasses are usually made of glass and have a volume of 150-300 ml. In such a glass, all three layers of coffee are clearly visible. It usually looks like a tall dish with a handle. There are two main types of latte glasses:
- A glass with a short stem, similar to an enlarged shot glass. And although in appearance it reaches the height of a regular glass of 300 ml, in fact it has the smallest volume.
- The second type of glass resembles a tall glass cup. It also has a handle and a stable bottom, and its volume is a standard 300 ml.
