Café au lait
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| Type | Beverage |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | France |
| Main ingredients | coffee with hot milk |
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Café au lait (pronounced: [kafe o lɛ]; French for "coffee with milk") is coffee with hot milk added. It differs from white coffee, which is coffee with cold milk or other whitener added.
In Europe, "café au lait" stems from the same continental tradition as "café con leche" in Spain, "kawa biała" ("white coffee") in Poland, "Milchkaffee" ("milk coffee") in Germany, "tejeskávé" in Hungary, "koffie verkeerd" ("incorrect coffee") in The Netherlands and Belgium, and "café com leite" ("coffee with milk") in Portugal and Brazil. In the French-speaking areas of Switzerland, a popular variation is the "café renversé" ("reverse coffee"), which is made by using the milk as a base and adding espresso, in reversal of the normal method of making a café au lait. In Andalusia, Southern Spain, a similar variation is called "manchado" ("stained"). In northern Europe, café au lait is the name most often used in coffee shops.
At home, café au lait can be prepared from dark coffee and heated milk; in cafés, it has been prepared on espresso machines from espresso and steamed milk ever since these machines became available in the 1940s—thus it refers to the usual "coffee and milk" combination, depending on the location, not to a specific drink.
"Café au lait" and "caffè latte" are used as contrasting terms, to indicate whether the beverage is served in the "French" or the "Italian" way, the former being in a white porcelain cup or bowl, the latter in a kitchen glass and always made from an espresso machine, whereas "café au lait" might be espresso- or dark coffee-based.
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Wikipedia