In Spain, café con leche reigns supreme.
It’s an essential part of every Spanish breakfast and afternoon merienda. Spaniards often order it after a long and hearty lunch, or even after dinner to fuel a long night out.
Café con leche is delicious in its simplicity, and if you don’t watch out, you may just get addicted. But never fear; this classic coffee is easy to make at home, as long as you’ve got a good Spanish café con leche recipe.
What is café con leche?
Literally speaking, it’s coffee with milk. If you are trying to recreate it at home, you might think you can just brew up a cup of filtered coffee and add a splash of milk. But you would be mistaken, there is definately an art to making the perfect café con leche and to be honest to have the true experience, you can’t forget the details.
So what makes the perfect café con leche?
First of all, the café is a shot of espresso so in this case filter coffee will not work. The leche is steamed milk, which has its own distinct flavor.
Why steamed? In Spain, most milk is Ultra High temperature Pasteurized which means it's shelf-stable and doesn't need to be refrigerated before opening. If you are using "fresh" milk there will be a slight difference in taste. You can try to find something similar near you if you want, but whatever kind of milk you use, it’s essential to steam.
Our recipe!
Ingredients
- 100g Espresso
- 1/2 cup of milk
Method
- Pour hot water into a serving glass.
- Grind your beans.
- Make an Espresso in your machine or in stovetop coffee maker.
- Steam or heat your milk until it's as hot as possible without bringing it to a boil. If you don't have an espresso machine, skip to 5.
- In a small saucepan over low heat, pour the milk and heat gently until it steams and there are small bubbles around the edges. Do not let it boil. Stir occasionally to prevent a film from forming on the top.
- Slowly pour the steamed milk over the espresso and stir to incorporate.
