A latte is an espresso and steamed milk, generally in a 1:3 to 1:5 ratio of espresso to milk, with a little foam on top.

In Italy it is called caffè latte or caffelatte, which means “coffee and milk”. In northern Europe and Scandinavia the term ‘café au lait’ has traditionally been used for the combination of espresso and milk, but this term is used in the US for brewed coffee and scalded milk. In France, ‘caffè latte’ is mostly known from American coffee chains; a combination of espresso and steamed milk equivalent to a ‘latte’ is in French called ‘grand crème’ and in German ‘Milchkaffee’ or ‘Melange’. In Portuguese it is called galão.

Variants include replacing the coffee with another drink base such as masala chai (spiced Indian tea), mate or matcha, and other types of milk, such as soy milk or almond milk are also used.