Dirty coffee and iced latte are very similar in appearance. They both have a layered structure with coffee on top and milk on the bottom, so it looks like the two are the same coffee. But in fact, these are two coffees. Although they are made the same, some differences in details make the two coffees have different experiences in terms of taste and texture.
Iced latte?
Iced latte coffee is actually easy to understand. It is a cold latte coffee. The main composition is espresso + a lot of milk. At the same time, in order to maintain the frozen feeling, ice cubes are added to keep it warm. The biggest difference between iced latte and hot latte is that there is no need to steam and heat to froth the milk, so there is no milk foam on the surface of iced latte. Under normal circumstances, iced latte needs to stir the coffee and milk evenly before handing it to the customer.
However, after the latte is stirred evenly, it will appear like a "milk tea" color. It cannot be said to be ugly. It can only be said that it does not look good before stirring. Especially now with the blessing of photographic attributes, whether the iced latte looks good is also a "deduction item" (no points will be added to the good taste, but points will be deducted depending on the mood). Therefore, the current way to make an iced latte is to simply pour espresso on top of the milk and hand it to the customer.
Dirty Coffee (X)
"Special" iced latte (✓)
Dirty coffee also has another name, called "dirty coffee". The origin of this name is the "dirty food" that was launched in 2019. It is actually food that uses food to create a visually dirty effect. Dirty coffee is one of this series. The popular Dirty coffee at that time was not the practice we see now. It uses milk foam or cream to create an overflowing effect, and then adds cocoa powder, nuts, etc. to create a "dirty" feeling.
The now popular Dirty coffee is a return to nature and taste. Visually, it is espresso poured on top of the white milk, and the coffee liquid slowly penetrates downwards. It looks like the visual effect of the white milk being "tainted" by the coffee. To achieve the perfect layering effect, you must choose the Front Street Classic Blend when making Dirty. This is a medium-dark roasted Italian recipe composed of three production areas. Its design is inspired by the "Mamba" that was popular in ancient times, namely Mandheling and Brazil. In order to add aroma and oiliness, the Front Street Classic Blend also contains a small amount of Robusta, thereby increasing the flavor intensity and allowing the concentrate to have golden yellow oil. This will form a conspicuous black and white match with the milk.
If you prefer complex nutty aromas such as almonds, almonds, and walnuts, we recommend the Front Street Premium Blend and the Front Street Black Cocoa Basic Blend. They both contain a large proportion of Brazilian coffee beans, so they provide a comfortable sweet and bitter taste and are extremely smooth in the mouth.
Among them, the Front Street Premium Blend has the nutty, chocolate and caramel aroma and appropriate acidity of Colombian coffee, and is as smooth as Ovaltine when paired with milk; the Front Street Black Cocoa Basic Blend combines the acidity of small ripe Yunnan plums and the sweetness of Brazilian beans. When ground into powder, it will exude the aroma of melon seeds and caramel, with a balanced taste, and has the taste of creamy chocolate when making latte or dirty.
From a visual point of view, the current iced latte can also be called "Dirty". In essence, dirty coffee can also be counted as a type of latte.
The detailed differences between dirty and iced latte production
In terms of production, although the main body of both is espresso + milk, and they both pour espresso on top of milk, there are still many differences in details.
The first point is the difference between milk ratio and cup size
The cup size of dirty coffee is smaller than that of iced latte. Generally, the cup size of dirty coffee is between 180-220ml, and the cup size of iced latte is between 280-320ml. The amount of milk added is also different. Generally speaking, Dirty coffee has less milk than iced latte.
Second point, Dirty cannot be added with ice.
This is also the biggest difference between Dirty and iced latte. Dirty coffee is made without ice. Under normal circumstances, iced latte needs to add an appropriate amount of ice to maintain low temperature. Of course, some customers will also request iced latte without ice.
The third point, Dirty uses iced cups
If it is strictly produced, Dirty coffee can only be eaten in dine-in, because it needs to be produced in iced cups to ensure that it is kept as cold as possible without adding ice.
The fourth point is that Dirty production is more rigorous in layering.
It is true that one of the selling points of Dirty coffee is the "dirty" feeling created by layering, so we will pay more attention to this aspect. Iced latte coffee does not have this hard requirement. Whether it is layered or not does not hinder the fact that it is a cup of iced latte.
The difference between drinking dirty and iced latte
Dirty coffee is what you drink with its distinct layers, so after the coffee is made, you don’t need to stir it evenly or use a straw, but drink it directly from the surface.
When we take the first sip, it is rich and warm espresso (with a small amount of milk), which makes us feel the rich coffee flavor; what we take in the second sip is the transition zone between coffee and milk, where part of the coffee and milk are unsaturated, and we can taste the fragrant milk chocolate flavor; what we take in the third sip is iced milk and a light coffee aroma. Without the dilution of ice cubes, the overall taste is very full, from bitter to sweet, from hot to ice, it is a very rich and multi-layered experience.
Although iced latte coffee has clear layers after being made, you need to stir the coffee and milk evenly when drinking it, and enjoy the balanced taste formed by the blending of coffee and milk.
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
