Re: coffee lingo

"Jefe" <jefralston@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:eafc32bc-39f9-43ab-bdfb-b62db3771d66@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
My local coffee shop has a new 'barista' who refers to crema as 'the
pearl'. Has anyone ever heard that term used? He also calls a latte
'cafe au lait' which I believe is just espresso and milk, as opposed
to steamed milk. Should I tell this guy he's a dork, or is he just
from out of town?

A latte is café au lait. Latte is just the Italian word for milk. The actual full term is caffè latte, which most people shorten to simply latte. As you can see pretty much has the same meaning in Italian as the French café au lait. In American coffee houses, traditionally café au lait meant brewed coffee with milk, but I haven't seen an American coffee house serve café au lait in some time (there are a few exceptions like Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans), because the latte has become the American drink of choice in pretty much all coffee houses. In other parts of the world (especially Europe), café au lait means espresso and steamed milk, although that name is falling out of favor there as well. Even in France, you won't see café au lait on the menu much anymore.

Personally I think the shortened term latte is very descriptive. When you order a latte in an American coffee house and you get 12 oz of steamed milk, that's pretty much all you get. There is a bit of espresso thrown in for a small amount of flavoring, but of course this is generally masked with copious amounts of flavored syrup, chocolate powder, or God knows what else.

So is your "barista" a dork? Probably no more so than someone who would actually order a latte in the first place.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: coffee lingo
    ... He also calls a latte ... 'cafe au lait' which I believe is just espresso and milk, ... to steamed milk. ...
    (alt.coffee)
  • Re: coffee lingo
    ... He also calls a latte ... 'cafe au lait' which I believe is just espresso and milk, ... to steamed milk. ... Where they speak French, e.g., Quebec, you ask for un "café au lait" ...
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  • coffee lingo
    ... My local coffee shop has a new 'barista' who refers to crema as 'the ... pearl'. ... He also calls a latte ... to steamed milk. ...
    (alt.coffee)