How to Make a Caffe Latte

A caffe latte, literally "coffee with milk," is espresso with both a generous amount of steamed milk and milk foam. Although you are unlikely to see caffe lattes offered in Italy, except perhaps at breakfast, they have become quite popular in the United States, particularly those flavored with sweet syrups.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Make a shot of espresso equaling between 1 and 1 1/2 oz. (See "How to Make an Espresso" in the Related eHows section.)

2. Steam 10 oz. milk.

3. Point your steam wand towards the bottom of your stainless steel pitcher to steam your milk. To create froth, raise the tip just below the surface of the pitcher.

4. Pour hot milk in a 12-oz. glass until 3/4 full.

5. Pour the espresso shot into the steamed milk.

6. Dust with ground chocolate, cinnamon or nutmeg.

Tips & Warnings

• You can lower calories by substituting low-fat milk.

• Try other proportions of milk to coffee if you like; there are no absolutes here.

• A cappuccino has espresso, a small amount of steamed milk, and foam. A caffe au lait has filtered coffee and steamed milk (preferably filtered coffee from a french press, as the French would do).

• Specialty stores and some coffee bars sell small bottles of flavored syrups, so you can make your own flavored lattes at home. Add a few teaspoons of syrup to the steamed milk in the glass, and then add more to taste if you want.

• Steam can cause severe burns, and the espresso machine will be very hot even after it is turned off. Open the valve on machine's steam tube very slowly.