Many people opt for a cup of coffee when in need of an energy boost due to the beverage’s caffeine content. Some make their own at home while others regularly treat themselves to one while they’re out, whether that be an espresso, cappuccino, americano or mocha.
In summer months and periods of hot weather, many opt for an iced version, and might even consider making it at home to cut down on the cost. An iced latte, made with espresso, milk and ice, is a refreshing and creamy choice. However, Josh, the owner of a coffee shop based in Martinsville, Virginia in the US has posted a video on TikTok to explain how people have been making iced lattes the wrong way.
The coffee expert said: “I hate to break it to you but you’ve been making iced lattes wrong this entire time. I own a coffee shop and I’m gonna show you the most common mistake I see when people are making iced lattes at home and I’ll show you how we make them at our coffee shop.”
Starting off with an example of what not to do, Josh remarked that the most important thing when making an iced latte is the order in which you assemble the ingredients. He explained: “So, what a lot of people do is they’ll start with ice and then they’ll take hot espresso and then they’ll pour the hot espresso directly onto the ice and what happens when you pour hot liquid onto ice, yeah you got it right, it melts and that turns into water.”
The coffee shop owner added that water is the “number one thing” you don’t want in an iced latte. He shared that the second “mistake” he has seen people make is waiting until the end of this process to end sweeteeners, like syrup, sauces or honey.
Josh said that the problem with this is the sweeteners will be “suspended in the cold liquid” and “won’t actually dissolve into the drink.” This leads to getting a mouthful of sweeteners or watery, coffee milk, when you take a sip of the iced latte, according to him.
He then demonstrated the “right way to make an iced latte”, starting with a cup of ice before getting a separate container to firstly add the sweetener and then the hot espresso to let the flavours combine. The coffee expert noted that what’s most important is to dissolve the sweetener so that it mixes evenly with the milk.
Josh mentioned that you can stir the sweetener and espresso together but this step is optional. Next, he pours the milk into the container with the sweetener and espresso because it’s “not as cold as the ice and it’s not gonna melt the ice.”
The coffee shop owner shared that after this, it’s time to pour the mixture into the cup of ice and then take what’s in the cup and pour it back into the container and then pour it into the cup again to be left with a “perfectly balanced iced latte that’s gonna taste the same with every single sip.”
Josh’s iced late TikTok tutorial has racked up a staggering 3.7 million views, 325,100 likes and more than 3,500 comments in four days. One viewer admitted: “Yep I wasn’t doing it right.”
Another said: “I just made this and WOW can I taste the difference! I usually pour the hot espresso over iced then add milk and it never tasted like a coffee shop. Now I just made this and it’s perfecto.”
A third chimed in: “I’ve never been able to achieve it correctly and thought that I would have to pay crazy prices for iced lattes for the rest of my life but I might just have to try this!!” A fourth commented: “Just tried it this morning. I’m never going back to my routine lol.”