# I asked for a latte



## Chris_on_caffeine (Jul 21, 2012)

And got this:









I really wouldn't have minded if it tasted nice, it didn't, it was bloody awful. I just don't understand why anyone would open a cafe without first learning how to make a decent coffee


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## reneb (Nov 2, 2011)

what an abomination

looks more like a naff dessert!


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## MichaelSmith81 (Nov 20, 2012)

An upsidedown latte...


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## Eyedee (Sep 13, 2010)

Might be an idea to "name and shame".

It could prevent some other unsuspecting coffee drinker visiting the place.

Ian


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## Wando64 (Feb 28, 2011)

It looks very intentional and probably requiring some skills too. Clearly the owner is not up to speed with the terminology as used in the UK and US. Ask for a (caffe)latte in Italy and you likely get something similar (only with the coffee mixed to the milk) in a tall glass. Rather naming and shaming it might be more useful (certainly to the owner) explaining what a "latte" means over here.


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## CamV6 (Feb 7, 2012)

How does one actually go about achieving that end result?


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Practise and dedication......or a complete lack of it.


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## seeq (Jul 9, 2011)

Actually that's pretty skilful. Although not technically a 'latte' if you stir it you will get something that tastes identical if the ratios of milk/espresso are correct. Personally I don't have a problem with it. (In terms of presentation)


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

See you made an error when asking for a Latte. If you'd asked for a flat white they would have presented your coffee on a sheet of paper


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## RisingPower (Dec 27, 2009)

CamV6 said:


> How does one actually go about achieving that end result?


Bit like this?

http://www.food.com/recipe/latte-macchiato-3-layered-coffee-58617

I presume the milk just has to be more dense than the coffee, which isn't a good sign.


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## seeq (Jul 9, 2011)

RisingPower said:


> I presume the milk just has to be more dense than the coffee, which isn't a good sign.


Milk is more dense than coffee. If you pour the shot over the back of a spoon through the foam it will sit between the milk and the layer of foam and still be a true latte.


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## RisingPower (Dec 27, 2009)

seeq said:


> Milk is more dense than coffee. If you pour the shot over the back of a spoon through the foam it will sit between the milk and the layer of foam and still be a true latte.


Even if the coffee is very oily?


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## seeq (Jul 9, 2011)

RisingPower said:


> Even if the coffee is very oily?


Oil is much lighter than water, so yes.

There isn't a whole lot of difference, both are made up primarily of water, both fat (in milk) and oil (in coffee) are lighter, and both liquids become less dense as they become hotter. Milk is the denser of the two, but not by much. That is why you can layer them, but of you mix them together they won't separate (at least for a day or two).


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## Sam__G (Sep 4, 2011)

Wando64 said:


> It looks very intentional and probably requiring some skills too. Clearly the owner is not up to speed with the terminology as used in the UK and US. Ask for a (caffe)latte in Italy and you likely get something similar (only with the coffee mixed to the milk) in a tall glass. Rather naming and shaming it might be more useful (certainly to the owner) explaining what a "latte" means over here.


What does a latte mean over here then? Costa, Starbucks et al will serve one similarly (maybe sans the 'artistic flair') and 99% of the population would expect a similar looking beverage when asking for a latte, that is, a weak white coffee served in a tall glass...


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## RisingPower (Dec 27, 2009)

seeq said:


> Oil is much lighter than water, so yes.
> 
> There isn't a whole lot of difference, both are made up primarily of water, both fat (in milk) and oil (in coffee) are lighter, and both liquids become less dense as they become hotter. Milk is the denser of the two, but not by much. That is why you can layer them, but of you mix them together they won't separate (at least for a day or two).


Jeez, I just thought about what I typed, really not awake


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## Wando64 (Feb 28, 2011)

Sam__G said:


> 99% of the population would expect a similar looking beverage when asking for a latte, that is, a weak white coffee served in a tall glass...


The original poster must be part of the 1% then.

Though, there seem to be quite a bit of confusion over what a latte should be.

Every time I have asked for a latte in one of the establishments you mention, it has been served to me in a cup and (unless I specifically require a single) made with a double as standard. Hardly a weak white coffee.

I don't profess to know how a latte should be, but I know what I get if I ask for one in Italy and in the UK and they are not the same.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

There is no way a latte 'should' be, there has never been a widely accepted standard so they are whatever the owner deems them to be.

Think of the various coffee like a cocktail, they vary from bar to bar but the base ingredients are usually the same, and they usually taste pretty similar.

You could apply this to just about anything, think of all the various types of milk chocolate, they all claim to be one thing but are all very different.

Variety is the spice of life folks


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## hopsyturvy (Jan 7, 2013)

To add some confusion: I would call coffee poured into milk (rather than the other way round) a latte macchiato, and expect it to be milkier than a latte. I've been served 'lattes' looking like that, back in the 90s. I actually (secretly) think it's quite attractive, and it's not in itself a sign of a bad coffee. But, because it's so unfashionable, a place that serves you a latte looking like that probably isn't taking care of it in other ways.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Back to the OP. The drink served seems to be an americano in a tall glass but milk instead of water.... Lattecano


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## Chris_on_caffeine (Jul 21, 2012)

Well, as I mentioned, if the drink had tasted nice I would have had respect for the effort. However, the milk wasn't textured in anyway and I had to use both sugars and I still couldn't hide the bitterness. If those chocolate sticks were soluble, I probably would have thrown that in too!

As I was leaving, the 'coffee serving person' didn't have much to do so started grinding away, filling up the doser to the brim, probably to last the rest of the day. Just bad service all round. Funny, this sort of thing never used to bother me


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

smokeybarn said:


> Funny, this sort of thing never used to bother me


It's a curse ^_^


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## espressotechno (Apr 11, 2011)

Ask for a "Latte" in rural Italy and you're liable to get a glass of hot milk & a quizical look.........


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## Steve_S_T (Dec 7, 2012)

Well to me the drink at the top of the post is a latte Macchiato, and it's my wife's coffee dink of choice, albeit with lower than a 1 to 5 milk ratio. She enjoys the initial taste of espresso followed by the sweetness of the milk as it bleeds through the coffee layer. If you steam the milk to 65/ 70 degrees C then put the coffee in very slowly - the Rattleware spouted double shot glass is great for that (or using the back of a spoon as mentioned earlier in the thread) - then the layering effect is achieved. If the op's coffee tasted bad I'd suggest that it was the espresso element that was poor and that it would probably have tasted bad on its own anyway. However, it's not a latte and I can understand why people might dislike it's look and taste.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD


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## seeq (Jul 9, 2011)

I always thought a latte macchiato as being weaker and usually more foam?

Personally I think you're all being over snobby, something I've been guilty of myself. Had that drink just been mixed together as normal (forgetting the taste element) you would all agree its a latte. Just because someone has tried to be artistic and suddenly it isn't one anymore? It has a decent milk to coffee ratio and a small layer of foam.... Thus by most standards it's a latte.

The taste of it on the other hand maybe a different story.


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## Steve_S_T (Dec 7, 2012)

I believe that the literal translation of latte Macchiato is "stained" or "spotted" milk. Caffe or espresso Macchiato is an espresso stained by a blob of foam.

Steve.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD


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## Chris_on_caffeine (Jul 21, 2012)

seeq said:


> Personally I think you're all being over snobby, something I've been guilty of myself. Had that drink just been mixed together as normal (forgetting the taste element) you would all agree its a latte.


 You're probably right, I was just really annoyed with the whole experience.


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## baristaschmiede (Feb 14, 2013)

Look a like panna cotta with 3 cm toffee...

I would prefer hot water in this case


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