Latte recipe: a double shot from 18 g of coffee to about 36 g of espresso, plus about 8 fl oz of milk for a 12 oz drink. For an iced latte, use cold milk and build it in a 16 oz glass full of ice.
The real difference: espresso and milk vs brewed coffee
The two drinks differ in their coffee base and in how much milk goes in.
An iced latte starts with espresso. A double shot is only about 36 g of liquid, a little over an ounce, but it is very concentrated. It gets poured over ice and around 8 fl oz of cold milk. By volume the drink is mostly milk, which is why it tastes smooth, rounded and a little sweet even without sugar.
Iced coffee starts with brewed coffee. Drip, pour over or French press coffee is brewed hot and cooled over ice. The whole glass is coffee. Milk is optional and usually just a splash. The flavor is brighter and more direct, closer to your morning mug, only cold.
Neither one is cold brew. Cold brew steeps in cold water for 12 hours or more and tastes different again. If that is the drink you are weighing, see cold brew vs iced coffee.
Side by side
| Iced latte | Iced coffee | |
|---|---|---|
| Coffee base | A double shot of espresso, about 36 g | Brewed coffee, about 9 to 12 oz |
| Milk | About 8 fl oz, part of the recipe | Optional, usually a splash |
| Flavor | Creamy, mellow, coffee in the background | Bright, crisp, coffee up front |
| Texture | Rich and smooth | Light and clean |
| Equipment | Espresso machine, or a moka pot or AeroPress as a stand in | Drip machine, pour over or French press |
| Time at home | About 5 minutes | About 5 minutes |
| Our recipe | 18 g coffee, 8 fl oz cold milk, ice | 30 g coffee, 270 g hot water onto 180 g ice |
What about caffeine? It depends on the shot, the brew and the size of the glass, so there is no single answer. As a rough guide, a full glass of iced coffee often carries as much caffeine as a double shot or more, because there is simply more coffee in it.
Pick an iced latte if you like your coffee creamy, take milk anyway, or want a drink that stands up to syrups. Pick iced coffee if you drink your coffee black or want to taste the coffee itself.
Iced latte recipe
Makes one drink in a 16 oz glass. The bigger glass leaves room for ice, which is what keeps the roughly 10 oz of milk and espresso cold.
Ingredients
- 18 g finely ground coffee, for a double shot of about 36 g of espresso
- 8 fl oz (about 240 ml) cold milk
- About 2 cups of ice, enough to fill a 16 oz glass
- 1 to 2 teaspoons simple syrup (optional)
Steps
- Fill a 16 oz glass to the top with ice.
- Pour the 8 fl oz of cold milk over the ice.
- Pull a double shot, 18 g of coffee to about 36 g of espresso, in 25 to 32 seconds.
- If you want it sweet, stir the simple syrup into the hot espresso so it dissolves.
- Pour the espresso slowly over the milk and ice, then stir before drinking.
Why milk first? Pouring hot espresso straight onto ice melts more of it and waters the drink down. Landing the shot on cold milk cools it gently, and you get the layered look in the glass before you stir.
No espresso machine?
Make 2 to 3 oz of strong coffee with a moka pot or an AeroPress, or brew drip coffee at about twice your usual strength. Stir in any sweetener while it is hot, then pour it over the milk and ice the same way. It will taste a little lighter than a cafe iced latte, and it is still very good.
Variations
- Oat or other plant milk. Swap it one for one. Barista style versions are thicker and taste closer to dairy.
- Iced vanilla latte. Use 1 to 2 teaspoons of vanilla syrup in place of the simple syrup.
- Iced mocha. Stir 1 tablespoon of chocolate sauce into the hot espresso before pouring.
- Stronger. Cut the milk to 6 fl oz, or pull a triple shot from about 27 g of coffee.
- Coffee ice cubes. Freeze leftover coffee in an ice tray and use it instead of ice, so the drink never waters down.
Common iced latte mistakes
- Too little ice. A half full glass melts fast and leaves a warm, thin drink. Fill the glass to the top.
- Sugar added last. Granulated sugar and thick syrups sink to the bottom of a cold drink. Always sweeten the hot espresso first.
- Letting the shot sit. Espresso loses its aroma within a minute or two. Pour it over the milk as soon as it finishes.
- Frothing the milk. Foam on an iced drink collapses into the ice and goes flat. Use plain cold milk, or make a cold foam separately with a handheld frother if you want a topping.
- Stale beans. Milk and cold both mute flavor, so a tired coffee tastes like almost nothing here. Fresh beans make the biggest difference.
Making iced coffee instead
If the iced coffee side of the table sounds more like you, the method is simple: brew coffee hot at double strength directly onto ice. For one 16 oz glass, that is 30 g of coffee and 270 g of hot water brewed onto 180 g of ice, an overall 1:15 ratio once the ice melts. Our step by step guide on how to make iced coffee at home covers the grind, the brewers that work best, and how to keep it from tasting watery.
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