Iced Latte

Why this works

An iced latte tastes weaker than a hot one at the same ratio, and that is not dilution alone. Cold suppresses both sweetness and aroma. Your tongue perceives sugar less at low temperatures, and many of coffee's aromatic compounds are less volatile when cold, so less of them reach your nose. That is why iced lattes are usually sweetened, and why a double shot is the minimum.

The order matters because of ice. Hot espresso poured straight onto bare ice melts a lot of it in a few seconds, adding water and thinning the coffee. Poured onto cold milk that is already sitting over ice, the espresso is chilled by the milk instead, and the ice melts far less. It also looks better, with the shot marbling down through the white.

Syrup, not sugar, for a simple reason. Sugar dissolves slowly in cold liquid and sits at the bottom of the glass as grit. Simple syrup is sugar already dissolved, so it mixes in instantly. Equal weights of sugar and water, warmed until clear and cooled, keeps for two weeks.

Whole milk carries more body and more sweetness than skimmed, which matters more when the drink is cold. Oat milk is the most popular alternative and, unusually, works as well cold as hot.

The iced latte is an American café invention more than an Italian one. Italy has its own cold espresso drinks, like the caffè shakerato, but asking for a latte in Italy gets you a glass of milk.

Variations

• Iced vanilla latte: 20 ml vanilla syrup in place of the simple syrup.
• Iced oat latte: barista or standard oat milk, which works well cold.
• With cold foam: top with cold foam instead of stirring the milk through.
• Iced flat white: a double ristretto with 120 ml of milk, in a smaller glass.
• Shaken: espresso, syrup and ice shaken hard, then milk added, the iced shaken espresso.