A lot of people are confused about the difference between a caffe latte and a cappuccino; this includes a lot of people who make them. If you ask at your local coffee shop you will probably get some vague answer that really doesn’t explain anything. What you have to know is that the two drinks are largely interchangeable and there is very little difference between the two drinks.
A caffe latte can be used as an alternative to cappuccino because in reality they are basically the same thing. The difference will depend on where you order yours. The original caffe latte was created in Italy largely as a way to allow people to replace the cappuccino at breakfast with one that they could make at home. In this case the caffe latte is a mixture of espresso and warmed milk but there is no foamed milk served on top of it since making this without a machine can be a problem. If you are looking for a beverage that can be made at home to replace your cappuccino this is a good option.
In the United States and most other places the difference between a caffe latte and a cappuccino is somewhat different. In this case the only difference is in the amount of milk that is mixed with the espresso. Both have steamed milk mixed with espresso with foamed milk on top. In the case of a cappuccino the amount of milk is twice that of the espresso in the case of the caffe latte the amount of milk is three times that of the espresso.
Because the difference between a caffe latte and a cappuccino is just about the amount of milk in most places many people are not able to tell the difference between the two. If you taste them side by side the cappuccino will be stronger and the caffe latte will have a more milky taste to it. Part of the problem is that there are few standards when it comes to producing these kinds of drinks. While the large chains will have strict standards when these beverages are made most of the smaller stores don’t. As a result a caffe latte made by one person could actually have less milk that a cappuccino made by another.
It is probably a good idea to taste both a caffe latte and a cappuccino at your favorite coffee place to determine which one you like better. In many cases you will find that you actually prefer the one that you normally don’t drink. Really the choice is yours since in large part we are talking about beverages that are interchangeable. In truth most people have no idea what the difference between them is so if you order one you can be fairly sure that it will taste pretty much the same as the other.
