Milchkaffee is by far my favourite coffee drink. Everyone else can keep their lattes, cappuccinos and macchiatos and I’ll just take my big, round mug of Milchkaffee. When I exclaim how much I love the taste of coffee (which is more often than you’d think being that I’m related to people that don’t like the taste of coffee), what I’m actually saying is that I love the taste of coffee and hot milk combined in a 50/50 fashion as it is here. No cream. No half and half. No a soy or nut substitute. Definitely no flavoured coffee creamer. Just coffee and hot milk, please!

The word Milchkaffee translates literally to “milk coffee”, just like café au lait translates to “coffee with milk”. They’re basically the same coffee drink, which is why I listed the primary post title as “café au lait” since it’s the more well known term for this English. Though, I suppose most coffee drinks don’t really have names in English, do they?

In Germany, I’ve seen Milchkaffee served pretty much anywhere you can get coffee. Though, the restaurants, ice cream shops, and the konditorei (pastry shop + cafe) are the most popular places to have a coffee. For me, it’s the perfect coffee to have with cake in the afternoon.

German Café au Lait or Milchkaffee | The Kitchen Maus

A beautiful mug of Milchkaffe at the Ole Müllern-Schün in Müden, Germany.

Coffee + Milk Drinks

You might be asking what the difference is between all the milk-centric coffee drinks. I’ll admit the differences can be somewhat slight, especially if you’re not much of a coffee drinker. Here’s how I understand it:

Caffe Latte (or just Latte) – 1/3 espresso, 2/3 steamed milk & a layer of milk foam.

Cappuccino – 1/3 espresso, 1/3 steamed milk & 1/3 hot milk foam.

Latte Macchiato – More of a technique than a ratio. Anytime espresso is poured through the milk foam (instead of topping the drink with it), it’s a macchiato. The emphasis with this drink is on milk foam with espresso added to it, rather espresso topped with milk foam. If you pour the espresso through the frothed milk just right, it’s supposed to create a lovely layered effect with a coffee “dot” in middle of the top milk foam layer.

Milchkaffee or Café au Lait– 1/2 strong brewed coffee (rather than espresso), 1/2 hot milk (steamed or scaled) & a layer of milk foam.

Apparently, Starbucks’ answer to a Café au Lait is called a Cafe Misto. Some sources I read online said its coffee base is an Americano (espresso + water), instead of brewed coffee, but I don’t know for sure as I haven’t asked a Starbucks barista to confirm. I’ll try to remember to check next I’m at Starbucks, but that’s so rare nowadays.

Milchkaffee

(German Café au Lait)

Ingredients:

1 cup of very strong or bold Coffee
1 cup of scalded Milk (whole works best)
1/4 cup of 2% Milk for the Foam

Optional:

Sugar or Sweetener of your choice
Cocoa Powder for dusting

You can adjust the amount of coffee and milk to whatever you wish. Just remember it needs to be a 50/50 ratio.

To get the best flavour (or one most reminiscent to Milchkaffee in Germany) , you’ll want to use whole milk . However, according to the Kitchn, 2% works best for the milk foam. So, unless you have both on hand, you can use 2% for the whole deal. I do.

So, let’s get started with the perfect afternoon pick-me-up!

First things first, brew your coffee strong. Use 1 – 2 extra scoops from what you’d normally use when you brew your coffee.

We use a French press, so it’s easy to bump up the 4 tablespoons we usually use to 6.

Like I said… strong.

While your coffee is brewing, start heating the milk in a small, heavy bottomed pot on the stove at medium low. Stir the milk frequently while it heats through. There’s not exact time frame but we’re looking for rising steam and small bubbles forming along the edges.

A close up of those small bubbles.

You can also scald milk in the microwave. It’s definitely quicker. I prefer just the control and taste you get using a pot on the stove.

Also, here’s a great video from The Kitchy Kitchen that might better explain the technique:

Now for the assembly of the Milchkaffee.

Begin by pouring your scalded milk into your mug first.

Follow it with your hot coffee.

Next, we froth the milk. Put your extra 2% milk into a mason jar with a lid. Remember to close tightly, or you’ll end up with a leaky milk mess, like I did the first time I tried this.

For these images, I’m using a 1/2 cup of milk so that it’ll show up better. I normally only use 1/4.

Shake it with some vigor for 30 – 60 seconds.

See, it’s basically doubled.

Take the lid off the jar and microwave it for 30 seconds. This really stiffens up the foam.

I learned this technique of frothing your milk without a fancy espresso machine from The Kitchn. Here’s the link with more information, if you’re interested – how froth milk in the microwave.

Spoon out the milk foam and place it on top of your coffee. The peaks and valleys will settle pretty quickly, if that’s important at all.

Maybe I’m just weird but I don’t think that the leftover microwaved milk under the milk foam tastes as good as the milk scalded on the stove. I’ve tried is several times in my Milchkaffee but I prefer it without. Therefore, I don’t use it in my drink after I’ve spooned out the milk foam. It’s perfectly fine if you want to use as part of your 50% ratio. Just take it into account.

Note: It’s important to leave making the foam until the very end as it dissolves quickly if you just let it sit. It should be used right away.

You can dust it with a little cocoa powder, if you wish. I like the hint of chocolate it gives.

There you have it. Homemade Milchkaffee.

Of course, if you have an espresso machine with a steamer at home, you can totally nix scalding the milk on the stove and making milk foam in the microwave!

Scaled milk has an inherent sweetness all on its own. I guess this is why Milchkaffee tastes better to me than just cold milk added to coffee.

Do you make Milchkaffee at home? If so, what’s your technique?

Enjoy, my friends!

As always,

und Alles Liebe,
Diony