Cafe Con Leche Recipe

Cafe con leche is a Spanish-style espresso drink with equal amounts of coffee and steamed milk that's popular throughout Spain, Latin America, and beyond. Cafe con leche simply means "coffee with milk" in Spanish, and it's a very easy drink to make at home in about 10 minutes.

There are no special tricks for making coffee house quality cafe con leche in your own kitchen. You don't need a big expensive espresso machine, either. This coffee recipe requires nothing more than a stovetop espresso maker or moka pot to brew the coffee and a small pot for heating milk.

The Best Moka Pots for Making Strong Stovetop Coffee

Once you learn how easy it is to prepare cafe con leche, you'll want to make it more often. It's a satisfying morning coffee drink, a tasty afternoon pick-me-up, and a quick way to serve guests a great cup of coffee. A three-cup espresso maker makes one small latte-sized drink or two to three demitasse cups. You can brew a larger batch or add flavor—cinnamon is a favorite in Spain.

The Ingredients for a Perfect Cafe Con Leche

• Coffee: For the best cafe con leche, grind whole coffee beans using a manual or electric coffee grinder. An espresso roast will give your cafe con leche a wonderfully robust flavor, but feel free to experiment with various roasts and different types of beans. Grind the beans on the fine setting just before brewing. If you don't have a grinder or prefer to use ground coffee, look for a fine grind—Café Bustelo is a popular and excellent choice!
• Milk: Whole cow's milk is traditional, and while you can certainly make cafe con leche with skim or reduced fat milk, you won't get that classic rich flavor. The same goes for alternative milks, like oat, soy, and almond—you can use them but expect your drink to have a different flavor profile and mouthfeel.
• Sugar (Optional): If you order a cafe con leche in a Cuban or Puerto Rican establishment, it may be already be sweetened. If you like your coffee sweet, you can add sugar to the milk while it's heating or stir it into the drink after you've combined the coffee and milk.

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Cafe Con Leche vs. Cappuccino vs. Latte

While cafe con leche, cappuccinos and lattes are all made of espresso and milk, there are a few differences.

Steamed vs. foamed milk: While cafe con leche is made with steamed milk, cappuccinos and lattes are made with frothed milk.

Coffee to milk ratio: The ratio of coffee to milk is the other big differentiator: The traditional cafe con leche recipe uses equal parts of freshly brewed espresso and steamed milk, whereas cappuccino is a 1:2 ratio and lattes are typically a 1:3 ratio.

Tips for an Amazing Cafe Con Leche

• Starting with 1/2 cup (4 ounces) each of water and milk results in 3 1/2 ounces each for a 7-ounce drink. When increasing the recipe, take into account that small loss from the heating process.
• Use a larger espresso pot to make a few drinks at once. Increase the amount of steamed milk in proportion.
• Turn on the heat for both the coffee and milk simultaneously and they'll be ready at the same time.
  
• If you don't have an espresso maker, you can use strong coffee brewed in a French press, pour-over brewer, or a similar nonelectric brewing method.