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Café au Lait

Name: Café au Lait
Total time: 10 min
Yield: Serves 1
Cuisine: France
Ingredients: 15g Ground Coffee (dark roast); 150ml Water; 150ml Milk; to taste Sugar

Drink

⏱ 10 min

👥 Serves 1

Difficulty ⭐

Café au lait is equal parts strong coffee and warm milk — France’s homestyle breakfast drink. It’s served in a big bowl for dunking croissants and buttered tartines.

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📖 The Story Behind This Drink

In France café au lait is a breakfast drink made at home; at a café you’d usually order a café crème. Pouring it into a large handleless bowl and dipping buttered baguette or croissants is a classic French morning scene.

🌆 Where it’s enjoyed: At the kitchen table in the morning, someone cradles a steaming bowl in both hands and dips a tartine spread with butter and jam.

🥕 Ingredients (serves 1)

Ground Coffee (dark roast) 15g
Water 150ml
Milk 150ml
Sugar to taste

👩‍🍳 Instructions

Brew 150ml of strong dark-roast coffee with a pour-over dripper or French press.
Heat the milk in a small pan until tiny bubbles form at the edge (about 65°C). Boiling makes a skin and dulls the flavor.
Froth the warm milk lightly with a whisk.
Pour the coffee and milk into a large cup or bowl at the same time. Sweeten to taste.

💡 Tips for Success

The standard ratio is 1:1. Brew the coffee dark and strong so the milk doesn’t drown it.
The bowl makes dunking bread easy — still everyday practice in French homes.
A latte is Italian and uses espresso; café au lait uses brewed coffee.

🍽 Goes Well With

Croissant

Pain Perdu

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