Is latte different from coffee? How can they be different when a latte is just a form of coffee? – Do these questions tickle in your mind every now and then? Well, here are the answers. Check out this post to find out the difference – Latte vs Coffee!
While visiting a local café or preparing coffee at home, we hardly notice the thin liner differentiating one coffee drink from another. However, true coffeecionados are always ultra-sensitive about their coffee experience, so they prefer to understand the core nature and characteristics of every different coffee recipe so that they can cherish the versatility of joe.
I’m sure you are one of them because your curiosity about the difference between coffee and latte has dragged you here. While apparently, people take coffee and latte as synonyms, the real picture doesn’t match well with this perception. A cafe latte and a regular cup of joe aren’t the same – in actuality, they are two different beasts, and this post points out the areas that create this differentiation. Keep reading and enrich your joe’ knowledge base.
Coffee vs Latte – 5 Prominent Differences
Typically, the primary difference between a coffee and a latte is that all lattes are coffee, but not all coffees are essentially lattes. You can call it coffee when any hot or iced drink is prepared with ground coffee beans.
To be more theoretical, coffee is a brewed drink made with roasted coffee beans. These coffee beans are the seeds of berries from specific plants that belong to the Coffea genus. To produce coffee, the seeds are separated from the coffee fruit, and then those green coffee beans are roasted to different levels. After roasting, the beans are ground to make the beverage.
On the other hand, you can define latte as the fusion of espresso, a concentrated form of coffee (that involves pressurized preparatory methods), and steamed milk. Latte is that gorgeous canvas that is crafted with beautiful artistic designs. Let’s delve deeper and find out 5 significant differences between regular coffee and a latte.
1. Content
When comparing Latte vs Coffee based on their ingredients, here’s something vital that you need to know. Regular coffee is all about hot water and freshly ground coffee beans. Other than these two, anything else is nothing but the result of customization. If you add a little milk to your coffee, it will become a milk coffee, but you can’t call it a cafe latte. Contrarily, when it comes to talking about latte ingredients, it essentially includes coffee, water, and steamed milk.
2. Equipment
Regular coffee can be made using several methods, including Drip, French press, Aeropress, Moka pot, or Pour-Overs. Now when it comes to making a latte, you must need an espresso machine as a latte can’t be prepared without a shot of espresso.
3. Strength
When compared based on strength or robustness, the regular coffee wins some extra votes, and the reason for the same is straightforward. To make a latte, you should essentially add milk to your espresso. Granted, espresso is one of the boldest coffee drinks, but it loses half of its potency when you mix it with hot milk. Besides, you can also mix your latte with ice to enjoy its iced version, making it more refreshing than strong.
On the other hand, if you drink a cup of milk-free regular coffee, there’s nothing to obstruct your cups’ strength as you are not diluting your drink anyway. However, exceptions are there. In case instead of following the traditional one-shot espresso method, you make your latte with two or three shots of espresso; it can be way stronger than a cup of regular coffee.
4. Grind size
Regular coffee allows you to experiment with the grind size as different coffee brewing methods require different grinds. To clarify, for French press or cold brew, you need a coarse grind, and for drip coffee, you need a medium grind. Talking about the Aeropress and Moka pot method, you need a fine grind. On the other hand, a latte made of espresso requires nothing but a fine grind, and you are left with no option but to toy with that.
5. Roast
To make regular coffee, you can pick up roasted beans to your preferred level (light to medium). However, when it’s a latte, naturally, it’s espresso, so it’s all about dark roast beans.
Wrapping up
So, these were the primary differences between latte vs coffee. If you are confused about the caffeine content of each drink, let me help you with that. Both regular coffee and latte have almost similar levels of caffeine content. However, again, if it’s a latte with a double or triple shot, then its caffeine content will be higher than a cup of regular coffee.
Now that you know the key differences, prepare the type you love the most and enjoy fantastic coffee experiences whenever you want. Brew better for better sips!
How is a latte different from coffee?
Put simply, a latte is an espresso-forward and premier version of regular coffee. Unlike regular brews, it’s incomplete without milk.
Can you make a latte without coffee?
Well, yes, if you are more fond of drinking boiled milk. A latte essentially needs at least one shot of espresso, and thus the attempt to make lattes without coffee is nothing but chasing after something which doesn’t even exist.
Do lattes fight sleepiness?
Lattes contain caffeine, and your body absorbs caffeine very quickly. Then, it elicits its most praised effect – helping you fight sleepiness and stay awake.
Is coffee good for the heart?
Drinking 2-3 cups of coffee a day lowers the risk of cardiovascular diseases and high heart rhythms, aiding in better heart health.
Latte or coffee – What should I drink?
Well, it ultimately depends on your preference. A latte can be your ideal choice if you love milk-infused coffee beverages. On the other hand, if you are more turned on by the raw water and coffee fusion, you should stick to regular coffee.
