Cafe au Lait

The Café au Lait is a drink that’s been around for centuries, but it’s one that’s not necessarily been so popular on the boards of coffeehouses in the UK until recently. If you’ve spotted this exotic sounding coffee cropping up in your favourite coffee shop, you’ll likely be wondering “what is a café au lait?” and how does it differ to other coffee types? The Café au Lait is made using brewed coffee and steamed milk, in a typical ratio of one part coffee to one part steamed milk with no froth or foam on top (sometimes certain coffee shops will add it though). The coffee base is usually made with a French press or a drip and the milk must always be steamed. The Café au Lait is not the same as white coffee which is brewed coffee with cold milk or powdered whitener added in. The Café au Lait hails from France and in its home country the phrase literally translates to ‘coffee with milk’. The beverage dates back a long way and references to the Café au Lait is found in the letters of Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, the Marquise de Sévigné in the early to mid-17th century. Today the coffee is still enjoyed across France and it’s traditionally served in an oversized mug or bowl for the drinker to dunk pastries in during breakfast.