Good Question: How to Make the Perfect Cafe au Lait?

published Feb 7, 2008
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All the coffe coverage has Cortney thinking about perfect cafe au lait…

Any tips on how to make the perfect cafe au lait? Whether it was in Paris, Bilbao or Madrid, the ones I had in Europe were so far superior to any I have been able to find in the US. I’d like to know how to make my own!

– Cortney

Cortney, this a hard one for us because we are not completely sure what makes a perfect cafe au lait. We do know that it is coffee with milk – usually steamed milk – and the coffee is actually espresso, when made out in cafes.

That may be the first key for you: do you use an espresso maker? The coffee needs to be strong in order to come through the steamed milk with its bold flavor intact. We would also suggest the Aeropress which only costs $30 and makes a very good concentrated coffee similar in flavor and body to an espresso.

If you used espresso beans with an Aeropress, French press, or espresso maker, then added steamed and foamed milk we think you’d be close. Use whole milk for a richer taste, and pour the coffee into the steamed milk – not the milk into the coffee.

Those are a few tips – now we’ll turn it over to the readers! Perfect cafe au lait – what would you suggest?