Milky Coffee Drinks
Your guide to coffee with milk: 19 milk coffee drinks explained
Love coffee with milk? Want to know more types of milk-based coffee drinks? Let’s explore them together! In this milk coffee guide, you will find a list of 19 milky coffee drinks, their names, coffee to milk rations, and how they are served.
You’ll find inspiration here, whether you want to try out new milky coffees in your local coffee shops or make new milk-based coffee drinks at home.
What are the differences between milky coffee drinks?
The main differences between milk-based coffees are in the proportion between coffee and milk and the level of milk frothing. From espresso with milk foam on top only to milk with just a bit of coffee in it, you can adjust the coffee to milk ratio according to your personal preferences.
Apart from that, you can use cold milk or hot milk. The level of frothing can also be different, milk can be steamed without much foam in it or frothed in a way that it contains a lot of air and becomes very light and creamy. It all has an influence on how much coffee taste comes through and how sweet and milky your coffee tastes.
What to expect from milk based coffees in coffee shops?
It’s also worth mentioning that different baristas and coffee shops have their own interpretation of what is called latte, cappuccino, flat white, cortado etc. Some shops serve latte, cappuccino and flat white in the same cup size, some use double shots of espresso for flat white or cappuccino while some use a single shot. The coffee to milk ratio may also vary significantly. There simply isn’t one standard for various milk coffee drinks.
An ultimate guide to milk coffee drinks
What is a milky coffee called? Which coffee is milky?
If you want to know which coffee contains milk, here is our guide to milk coffee drink names. In the list below we’ve included the most commonly used names, but you may come across other names in different cafes and in different countries.
A list of milk-based coffee drinks:
- Latte
- Cappuccino
- Flat white
- Cortado
- Mocha
- Macchiato
- Latte macchiato
- Piccolo latte
- Frappe
- Breve
- Chai latte
- Galao coffee
- Irish coffee
- Cafe miel
- Vienna coffee
- Cafe au lait
- Cafe Medici
- Marocchino coffee
- White coffee
Let’s talk about the details.
Milk-based coffees explained
Latte
What is latte?
Latte is a milk coffee drink with a single shot of espresso, steamed milk and about 1 inch of froth on top. It’s a very milky coffee drink where the coffee to milk ratio can be as much as 1:14. It’s usually served in cups from 150 ml to 300 ml, but sometimes it can be served in tall glasses.
Cafe latte highlights the sweetness of steamed milk and the taste of espresso, it’s smooth, delicate and very milky. It’s one of the most popular milk coffees.
Cappuccino
What is cappuccino?
Cappuccino is an espresso-based milky coffee drink. It’s another milk coffee classic, where the milk for cappuccino is frothed to a high level, and the foam forms a dome on top. There is more froth in cappuccino as compared to latte. In cappuccino, you get a stronger coffee taste as there is less milk and more air bubbles in the same cup size.
The milk to coffee ratio varies between cafes, and can be 1:6 or 1:7. Cappuccino can be served in larger cups from 150 ml to 300 ml. Note, that some cafes serve cappuccino with 2 shots of espresso, some with 1, so the caffeine content may vary.
Flat white
What is flat white?
Flat white is a double espresso with steamed milk. (Although some coffee shops use a single espresso shot and serve it in a smaller cup). Anyhow, the point is that in flat white you get a stronger coffee taste and there isn’t much froth in the milk.
The coffee to milk ratio in flat white is 1:4. For flat white we use shorter milk steaming time, so less air gets into the milk. Flat white is usually served in 190 ml – 200 ml cups.
In this drink you get the amount of milk between cortado and cappuccino. It’s similar to cortado but the size of the drink is bigger.
Cortado
What is cortado?
Cortado, also called Gibraltar, is a single shot of espresso with foamed milk. In this milk-based coffee drink, you get the punch of espresso smoothed out by the milky foam. It’s similar to flat white, but it’s a smaller serving.
The coffee to milk ratio is usually 1:4, but you can come across baristas making it using equal parts of coffee and milk.
Cortado is served in 100 ml – 120 ml glasses.
Mocha
What is mocha coffee?
Caffe mocha or simply mocha, is espresso with chocolate and steamed frothy milk. In another way, we can describe mocha as a latte with chocolate.
To prepare mocha coffee we mix chocolate powder or sauce with espresso and then add milk to it. Sometimes mocha is topped up with whipped cream for extra creaminess and often sprinkled with chocolate powder on top.
Mocha can be served in tall glasses, mugs or cups, in a similar way to latte.
Espresso macchiato
What is macchiato?
Macchiato is the smallest milky coffee drink, it’s an espresso with a little bit of frothed milk on top.
Traditionally espresso macchiato contains just a drop of foamy milk and the milk foam is spooned out on top. However, some baristas make it with the milk to coffee ratio of 1:1 or 1:2.
Regarding the amount of coffee, you can come across cafe macchiato made of two shots of espresso or a single shot of espresso.
Macchiato is served in an espresso cup.
Latte macchiato
What is a macchiato latte?
Latte macchiato is an indulgent milky coffee drink where frothed milk is topped up with espresso. Macchiato latte is served in a tall glass topped up with two shots of espresso, often with a layer of white foam on top.
The important difference between latte macchiato and other milky coffees is that here we add coffee to milk, not the other way round.
Macchiato means ‘stained’ or ‘spotted, so it has a literal meaning for these coffee types. You stain milk by pouring espresso into it or you stain espresso with a drop of milk.
Piccolo latte
What is a piccolo latte?
Piccolo latte is milk coffee that is popular in Australia.
To make piccolo latte we need a ristretto shot and top it up with milk foam. The coffee to milk froth ratio in ristretto is 1:4.
Frappe
What is frappe?
Frappe is a delicious, sweet, milky iced coffee drink. It contains espresso or instant coffee brew, ice cubes and milk.
Caffe frappe is served in a highball glass and can be topped with whipped cream.
If you want to prepare frappe at home, you will find our frappe recipe here:
Breve
What is breve?
Breve is a type of milky espresso. The coffee to milk ratio in this milk coffee is 1:1 and breve is served in espresso cups.
Chai latte
What is chai latte?
Chai latte is simply a latte with chai tea added to it. The Chai latte consists of chai tea concentrate, a double shot of espresso and frothed milk. Preparing a chai latte we pour the milk and tea mixture into the coffee and we can serve it in cups or glasses like a latte. Sometimes different spices are added to chai latte, e.g cardamom, cinnamon and others.
Galo coffee
What is galo?
Galao is a Portuguese style milky coffee, similar to latte and cappuccino.
Galao coffee is made with espresso with frothed milk and served in a large cup or a tall glass. In galo the coffee to milk ratio is 1:4.
Irish coffee
What is Irish coffee?
Irish coffee in coffee with whiskey and whipped cream.
To prepare this truly indulgent coffee drink you need to stir in a spoon of sugar to an espresso, add a shot of whiskey and top it up with whipped cream. Irish coffee is served in a tall glass and looks really spectacular.
Cafe miel
What is cafe miel?
Cafe miel, also called cafe con miel or cafe miel latte, is a milky coffee with honey. Sweet, simple and healthy it will put a smile on your face. Miel latte can be prepared in the same ways as regular latte with a spoon of home mixed into espresso. Cafe miel is usually served in a glass and can be topped with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Vienna coffee
What is Vienna coffee?
Vienna coffee or Viennese coffee is an espresso with whipped cream and sugar.
The proportions between coffee and cream are about 1:1 and Vienna coffee is served in tall glasses.
This is the classic type of Viennese coffee, but there are many variations of this cream and coffee drink, including adding chocolate to the espresso, various syrups and chocolate topping.
Cafe au lait
What is cafe au lait?
Cafe au lait is coffee with frothed milk. The main difference between cafe au lait and other milky coffees is that here milk and coffee are poured at the same time into the cup, which looks very theatrical. Another difference, which I often find is that cafe au lait is made with filter coffee instead of espresso – this is one of my personal favorite types of coffee with milk.
The coffee to milk ratio in cafe au lait is similar to latte and it’s served in a large cup.
Cafe Medici
What is cafe Medici?
Cafè Medici is a double espresso poured over chocolate syrup and orange peel. It is served in an espresso cup and topped with whipped cream.
Marocchino coffee
What is a Marocchino coffee?
The marocchino is a milky coffee drink with chocolate, it’s similar to mocha coffee. Marocchino coffee is made by layering cocoa powder, espresso, and milk foam in a small glass. To make cafe marocchino we pull a shot of espresso, sprinkle it generously with cocoa powder, pour steamed milk to it and top it up with another layer of cocoa powder.
White coffee
And finally, let’s talk about the most simple of all milky coffees – the white coffee!
What is white coffee?
White coffee is simply black coffee with cold milk added to it. Coffee and milk proportions are entirely up to you as well as the type of the serving cup!
Questions about milky coffee answered
What’s the difference between flat white, latte and cappuccino?
Latte, cappuccino and flat white are the 3 most popular milky coffees in modern cafes.
How they are made and served depends on the cafe, the coffee dose and the serving size can vary.
These three milk coffee classics usually have the same amount of coffee (a single espresso shot) but a different amount of milk. The main difference is in the level of milk frothing and how much air is added to the milk.
Flat white vs latte vs cappuccino
As we mentioned, the main difference is in the amount of froth, which is:
- Flat white – 5 ml
- Latte- 10 ml
- Cappuccino – 15 ml
Here are more details:
Flat white
For flat white, you mostly stem the milk and froth it only for a very short time.
The milk is thinner, with not much bubbles – that’s why it’s called flat.
Flat white has the strongest coffee flavor and is often made with two shots of espresso. In such cases, it will have a higher caffeine dose.
Some cafes also use a smaller serving size for flat white when compared with cappuccino or latte.
Latte
Latte has more milk and less coffee when compared to flat white and cappuccino. It’s the milkiest drink out of these three.
Cappuccino
Cappuccino is the most frothy one out of the three milky coffee classics. The extra air in the milk and more froth makes it taste less milky and you can taste more coffee. It’s often served with chocolate powder on top, while the other two are not.
Which is stronger: latte or cappuccino?
Cappuccino is stronger than latte. Sometimes cappuccino is made from two shots of espresso, while a latte is made from one shot of espresso. However, if both are made with one shot of espresso, the cappuccino still tastes stronger than the latte because it has less milk than a latte.
Which is milkier latte or flat white?
Latte coffee has a lot more milk than flat white. The milk smooths out the espresso flavor while flat whites have higher coffee to milk ratio, so the flavor of espresso is more powerful.
What is the most milky coffee?
Latte is the milkiest coffee. Apart from the highest milk to coffee ratio, it’s also the largest of milk and coffee drinks.
What is fluffy coffee called?
The fluffy coffee is called dalgona coffee or whipped coffee. Dalgona is a Korean coffee trend that became popular through TikTok, especially during the lockdowns. It’s visually attractive and simple to make as you need only: instant coffee, sugar, water, and milk.
What is a creamy coffee called?
Cappuccino is the most creamy milk based coffee. Milk for cappuccino contains a lot of air, which makes it frothy and creamy and the drink is topped with a layer of foam.
What coffee is sweet and milky?
The café latte is sweet and milky. The steamed milk gives the latte a sweet flavor. Out of all the milky coffees, it has the highest content of milk which gives it sweetness and a smooth texture.
What is coffee with cold milk called?
Coffee with cold milk is called white coffee. If ice is added to the cold milk, it’s called a cafe frappe.
Final note
There are many interpretations of milky coffee classics such as latte, cappuccino and flat white. There isn’t one universal standard of what coffee dose and the amount of milk you will get in your milky coffee drink, so expect the unexpected when trying out coffee in different coffee shops. But doesn’t it make it even more exciting? It also gives you a lot of freedom when designing your milk coffees at home!
What’s your favorite milky coffee? What milk coffee drinks we haven’t mentioned which should be here?