Iced Latte – A Beautiful Mess

As the temperature rises, many coffee enthusiasts find themselves craving a refreshing and chilled version of their favorite drink. The answer is simple: the iced latte.

With its smooth espresso combined with chilled milk and ice, the iced latte offers a delightful blend of rich flavors and a satisfying kick.

In this blog post, we’ll guide you through the simple steps to create a homemade iced latte that rivals the ones you’d find in your favorite coffee shop. Find even more great recipes in our drinks archive.

Related: Learn to make a classic (hot) latte at home too. As well as an affogato, cappuccino and whipped coffee.

Ingredients

• Espresso – or strongly brewed coffee
• Milk – or a milk alternative like oat milk
• Ice

You can choose to sweeten an iced latte if you want. This is how you could make it an iced vanilla latte or another flavor.

Sweetener Options

Directions

Start by brewing a shot or two of espresso. If you don’t have an espresso machine, you can use strongly brewed coffee instead. Allow the espresso or coffee to cool down for a few minutes before proceeding to the next step.

Fill a tall glass with ice cubes. The amount of ice you use will depend on your preference for a stronger or more diluted iced latte. More ice will result in a milder drink, while less ice will preserve the full coffee flavor.

Pour your freshly brewed and cooled espresso or coffee over the ice. Next, pour your chilled milk over the espresso and ice. Stir in sweetener if using.

Tips & Variations

• If you want a frothy, foamy iced latte, you can froth the cold milk using a frothing wand or whisk to incorporate air before pouring into your drink.
• If you have chocolate syrup on hand, you could make an iced mocha.
• Any percentage of dairy milk will work great in this recipe. You could also choose to use a milk alternative like soy, oat, almond, or learn to make your own non-dairy milk.

More Cold Coffee Drinks

Best Home Espresso Makers

• Cafe Automatic Espresso Machine – My current machine. It uses any whole beans, so if you use high quality beans you’ll get high quality espresso. It makes espresso shots automatically (no barista skills required) and includes a milk frothing wand to heat and froth milk. We’ve used this machine almost every day since we got it seven months ago and we love it! It comes in three colors.
• Stovetop Espresso – This is the cheapest way to make espresso at home. It’s more labor intensive and you will also need a way to grind your beans for best results. But this is a classic method that works great when done well.
• Breville Barista Touch – We bought this for a good friend as a wedding gift once and they said they love it. It’s a higher end machine that you will need some barista skills to operate, but it’s an excellent home espresso maker.
• Nespresso Vertuo – For those who want an espresso maker that uses pods, this is my favorite. Depending what pod you use, it can make espresso or coffee.