''Café au lait'' (; ;
French for "coffee with milk") is coffee with hot milk added. It differs from
white coffee, which is coffee with cold milk or other whiteners added.
In France, it is typically served as a breakfast drink, often as a large portion in a handleless bowl.
Variations
Europe

In
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, ''café au lait'' stems from the same continental tradition as ''
caffè latte'' in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, ''
café con leche'' in
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, ("white coffee") in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, ("milk coffee") in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, in Hungary, ' ("incorrect coffee") in the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
and
Flanders
Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
, ' (“coffee with milk") in
Catalan Countries
The Catalan Countries (, ) refers to the territories where the Catalan language is spoken. They include the Spanish regions of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Valencian Community, and parts of Aragon ('' La Franja'') and Murcia ( Carche), as ...
and ' (“coffee with milk") in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
and
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. The Portuguese language has many more terms for slightly different forms and served either in a large cup or in a glass, such as ' or '. In
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, numerous variations go from a simple ''caffè latte'' to ''latte macchiato'' to ''cappuccino''. In both Italian and Portuguese languages, there is a lot of further elaborate terminology for clarifying the desired strength of the coffee, its roasting, the temperature at which the final product is to be served, ... In the French-speaking areas of
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, a popular variation is the ''café renversé'' (“reverse coffee"), or commonly just ''renversé'', which is made by using the milk as a base and adding espresso, in reversal of the normal method of making a ''café au lait''. In
Andalusia
Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...
, Southern Spain, a similar variation is called ''manchado'' (“stained"). In northern Europe, ''café au lait'' is the name most often used in coffee shops.
At home, ''café au lait'' can be prepared from dark coffee and ''heated'' milk; in cafés, it has been prepared on
espresso machine
An espresso machine brews coffee by forcing pressurized water near boiling point through a "puck" of ground coffee and a filter in order to produce a thick, concentrated coffee called espresso. Multiple machine designs have been created to produ ...
s from
espresso
Espresso (, ) is a concentrated form of coffee produced by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground coffee beans. Originating in Italy, espresso has become one of the most popular coffee-brewing methods worldwide. It is cha ...
and
''steamed'' milk ever since these machines became available in the 1940s—thus it merely refers to a "coffee and milk" mixture, depending on the location, not to a specific drink.
''Café au lait'' and ''caffè
latte
Latte () or caffè latte (), also known as , or , is a List of coffee drinks, coffee drink of Italian cuisine, Italian origin made with espresso and steamed milk, traditionally served in a glass. Variants include the chocolate-flavored ''caf ...
'' are used as contrasting terms, to indicate whether the beverage is served in the "French" or the "Italian" way, the former being in a white porcelain cup or bowl, the latter in a kitchen glass and always made from an espresso machine, whereas ''café au lait'' might be espresso- or dark coffee-based.
United States
In many American
coffeehouses, a ''café au lait'' is a drink of strong
drip brewed or
French pressed coffee, to which steamed milk is added; this contrasts with a ''caffè latte'', which uses espresso as a base. American ''café au lait'' is generally served in a cup, as with brewed coffee, being served in a bowl only at shops which wish to emphasize French tradition.
At Starbucks, Cafe Au Lait is known as "Caffe Misto" which is served with 1:1 ratio of French Press brewed Coffee and frothed milk.
''Café au lait'' is a popular drink in
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
, available at coffee shops like
Café du Monde and
Morning Call Coffee Stand, where it is made with milk and coffee mixed with
chicory. Unlike the European café style, a New Orleans-style ''café au lait'' is made with
scalded milk (milk warmed over heat to just below boiling), rather than with steamed milk. The use of roasted chicory root as an
extender in coffee became common in Louisiana during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, when
Union naval blockade
A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force.
A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...
s cut off the
Port of New Orleans, forcing citizens to stretch out the coffee supply. In New Orleans, café au lait is traditionally drunk while eating
beignets dusted with powdered sugar, which offsets the bitterness of the chicory. The taste for coffee and chicory was developed by the French during their civil war. Coffee was scarce during those times, and they found that chicory added body and flavor to the brew. The
Acadians
The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French colonial empire, French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern Americ ...
from
Maritime Canada brought this taste and many other French customs (heritage) to Louisiana.
See also
*
Cappuccino
Cappuccino (, ; from German ) is an espresso-based coffee drink traditionally prepared with steamed milk, including a layer of milk foam.
Variations of the drink involve the use of cream instead of milk, using non-dairy milk substitutes ...
*
Flat white
*
Latte
Latte () or caffè latte (), also known as , or , is a List of coffee drinks, coffee drink of Italian cuisine, Italian origin made with espresso and steamed milk, traditionally served in a glass. Variants include the chocolate-flavored ''caf ...
*
List of coffee beverages
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cafe au lait
Coffee drinks