Spanish Latte

A sweet coffee shop favourite

The Spanish latte borrows from Spain’s love of coffee with milk and from the habit, common in Spain, Portugal and Southeast Asia, of sweetening coffee with condensed milk. The drink sold under this name, though, became famous through coffee chains in the Gulf, and from there it reached Pakistan, where it is now on almost every café menu. It suits local taste well: sweet, milky and smooth, much like a café version of doodh patti.

What condensed milk does

Sweetened condensed milk is milk cooked down until most of its water is gone, with sugar added. That slow cooking gives it a light caramel flavour that ordinary sugar cannot match, and the concentrated milk solids make the drink taste richer without adding cream. Because it is thick and heavy, it stays at the bottom of the cup when hot milk is poured slowly over it.

The coffee goes in last and is poured over the back of a spoon so it spreads out and floats in a layer beneath the foam. The result looks like a café drink: pale sweet base, milk, a dark coffee band and white foam. Strong coffee is essential, as the condensed milk is sweet enough to hide weak coffee completely.

Variations

• Iced Spanish latte: stir the condensed milk into cold milk, pour over ice and top with coffee.
• Cardamom Spanish latte: add 2 crushed cardamom pods to the milk while it heats, then strain.
• Stronger: use 3 teaspoons of instant coffee per cup, or a double moka pot shot.
• Less sweet: replace half the condensed milk with plain milk powder for creaminess with less sugar.

Serving and storing

Serve in clear glasses to show off the layers, with a spoon for stirring. Opened condensed milk keeps for about two weeks in a covered jar in the fridge; let it come to room temperature first, or warm the jar slightly, so it pours easily.