Café con leche
Strong coffee with about the same amount of hot milk: the everyday breakfast coffee of Spain.
Spain · Moka pot · Hot · Medium
- Coffee
- 15 g
- Water
- 150 ml
- Milk
- 100 ml
- Ratio
- 1 : 10
- Temperature
- Just off the boil
- Time
- 8 min
- Caffeine
- About 105 mg
1 : 10 in the moka pot, then about equal parts coffee and milk. Just off the boil, in the base.
Dark roast, medium-fine grind- Hot milk 100 ml
- Moka pot coffee 120 ml
Ingredients
- 15 gGround coffeemedium-fine, for a 3-cup moka pot; or a double espresso
- 150 mlWaterjust off the boil, for the moka pot
- 100 mlMilkfull-fat
- 4 gSugaroptional
Method
Brew the moka pot: hot water below the valve, the basket filled level without tamping, low heat, lid open. Take it off when it starts to sputter.
Brew4:00Meanwhile, heat the milk in a saucepan until it steams, with small bubbles at the edge, about 65 °C. Do not boil it.
Pour the coffee into a large cup, then the hot milk, in about equal parts.
Sweeten to taste.
Tips
- Heat the milk only until it steams, about 65 °C; boiled milk tastes cooked and forms a skin.
- The French café au lait is the same idea, made with filter or French press coffee and served in a wide cup or bowl.
About this drink
Café con leche, coffee with milk, is the everyday breakfast coffee of Spain and much of Latin America: strong coffee with about the same amount of hot milk. In Spanish bars the coffee is espresso; at home it is often made in a moka pot. The milk is heated rather than frothed, so the drink is smooth, with little foam.
