Since the materials used to make Dirty and Iced Latte are the same, both are iced milk and concentrate, and their appearance is similar, and they both have a layered structure created by milk and concentrate. Therefore, I am often asked by customers and friends who drink iced latte on Front Street: "Both are iced milk and concentrated. What is the difference between dirty and iced latte?"
Although the two are very similar and use the same materials, their production processes and drinking experiences are quite different. Especially for Dirty, there are things that need special attention when making and drinking! So today Front Street will share this question that everyone is very curious about: What is the difference between dirty and iced latte? So first of all, let’s briefly understand what an iced latte is and what Dirty is~
When making dirty, it is best to use medium-dark roasted blended beans or SOE single-origin beans, because they have a richer caramel-like aroma and a rich flavor, which can form a clear contrast with the sweet milk and have a long aftertaste. If you are looking for stability and cost-effectiveness, buy Front Street Classic Blend and Front Street Dark Cocoa Basic Blend. They are not only rich in oil, but also have rich aromas of butter and roasted chestnuts;
If you like the unique aroma of single-origin beans, we recommend Front Street Queen’s Estate SOE and Front Street Sumatra·Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling SOE. They will have rich caramel and chocolate aromas when extracted, which can form a more vivid contrast with purified milk;
If you want less contrast and a fresher coffee taste, you can choose medium or medium-light coffee beans for making. For example, the Front Street Strawberry Candy Espresso, Front Street Oiran SOE, etc. in the Front Street Bean Menu, which are specially roasted for Italian style, can extract a cup of espresso with a strong fruity flavor. The Dirty made with them and purified milk has a unique flavor~
Iced Latte and Dirty
The so-called iced latte is the cold version of latte coffee. Like a hot latte, it's made with lots of milk and espresso. It's just that the refrigerated milk no longer needs to be frothed, it can be poured directly into the cup and wait for it to blend with the concentrate. In order to maintain the low temperature of the latte for a long time, we usually add some ice cubes to keep it cold when making iced latte. Then, before drinking, you will stir it evenly with a straw, and then start tasting.
Dirty is also made with iced milk and espresso, and the order of pouring it into the cup is the same: first pour the iced milk into the iced cup, and then slowly pour the espresso on the surface of the milk. Because the espresso floating on the surface of the iced milk will slowly penetrate downwards and "stain" the milk, making the milk look dirty, so this cup of coffee was named "Dirty". Dirty means dirty in translation. When drinking Dirty, there is no need to stir, just take it in a big mouth~
In fact, from these two short introductions, we can see the similarities and many differences in the production of iced latte and dirty. Then Front Street will analyze in detail what are the differences between iced latte and dirty~
1. Different cup sizes: The first is the difference in cup size. Generally speaking, the cup size of Dirty is smaller than that of iced latte. The cup size of Dirty is generally between 180~220ml, while the cup size of iced latte is generally between 280~320ml.
2. The presence or absence of ice cubes: The reason for the difference in cup size is the presence or absence of ice cubes. As mentioned before, in order to keep the ice latte cold for a long time, the ice latte will add ice cubes to keep it cold, but Dirty does not need it because it will reduce the Dirty drinking experience. So this leads to the fact that the cup size of iced latte will be larger than that of dirty, and dirty is often called "de-iced latte".
What you need to know is that ice cubes are not a hard requirement. When we don’t want ice cubes in our coffee, we can ask the barista to remove the ice cubes from the iced latte~
3. Cup temperature: Since Dirty does not add ice cubes to keep it cold for a better drinking experience, it needs to use other methods to achieve the same effect. For example: a cooler cup!
By refrigerating the cup, it has a certain cold-keeping effect. Compared with cups stored at room temperature, refrigerated ice cups can not only keep the milk colder, but also enhance the layering effect of milk and espresso, because when the temperature of the milk is lower, the density is higher, and the layering effect is therefore better. Iced latte does not have too high requirements on the temperature of the cup. It can be refrigerated or at room temperature.
4. Layered production: The layered structure of concentrate on the top and milk on the bottom exists in both iced latte and dirty products. Because of this, many novices who are new to coffee cannot tell the difference between the two. But in fact, the layered nature of the two is very different.
The layers of iced latte are made for good looks. Compared with the monotonous color of coffee and milk, the clear black and white appearance will be more pleasing to the eye. So when making an iced latte, people will deliberately pour the espresso onto the ice, so that the punch of the espresso disappears and it floats on the milk to create a layered effect. But since it will be stirred at the end, it doesn’t really matter whether it is separated into layers or not.
The reason for making Dirty layers is to give coffee a unique drinking taste and experience. This layering is the main selling point of Dirty and can also be said to be its soul. Therefore, when making Dirty, we need to control various details to separate the concentrate and milk more thoroughly. For example, the use of ice cups, the temperature of the milk, or shortening the distance between the concentrated extraction and the milk.
And if Dirty does not create a layered effect, there will be no layered taste and experience. Now it can really be called an iced latte without the ice cubes.
The above is the difference in production between the two. What Front Street wants to share next is the difference in drinking method and taste between the two.
The difference between drinking dirty and iced latte
As Front Street has mentioned throughout, the key and soul of Dirty comes from the deliberate layering of concentrate and milk. Since milk and concentrate are separated, their temperatures and flavors are not completely integrated. If we drink the two together in one sip, our mouths and taste buds will receive a great contrast from the layers: the coldness of milk, the heat of concentration, the sweetness of lactose, and the bitterness of coffee, will collide and intertwine in the mouth, and the layers will be very rich.
To experience such an effect, we need to take a big gulp when drinking Dirty, so that we can drink the concentrate floating on the surface and the milk at the bottom at the same time. But if you just sip it in small sips, you will most likely only be able to drink the superficial concentration. If you are not intolerant of bitterness, this can be considered a kind of "torture".
The iced latte is not so particular, because as Front Street asked, why is latte the "TOP 1" sales volume in almost all coffee shops? As mentioned in this tweet, latte is more focused on making the coffee taste less bitter. For this reason, a large amount of milk needs to be added to balance the bitter taste of the coffee!
So the way to drink iced latte is very simple. We only need to use a straw to stir the milk and concentrate evenly before drinking, and then we can start to taste the balanced taste formed by the blend 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
