If you want to know what is breve latte and get all the details about this rich and creamy decadent coffee beverage and know how it compares to other popular coffee drinks and get an amazing recipe with easy-to-follow instructions this is the article for you.

If you are in a rush, here is the quick and easy answer!

A Breve latte is a latte that is made with half-and-half cream instead of whole milk or regular dairy milk.

Keep reading for the detailed answer!

What Is Breve Latte?

A Breve Latte is a very Americanized version of the classic Italian latte. It’s an espresso based drink made with steamed half-and-half cream instead of steamed whole fat milk. The use of half-and-half milk makes a breve latte richer, creamier and with a more luxurious mouthfeel and texture than a regular latte.

It’s also heavier and leaves your stomach with a fuller feeling, as is often enjoyed as a dessert by coffee lovers. Like all lattes, it can be flavored with a simple syrup, with vanilla, caramel and salted caramel popular choices.

• Breve Latte: An espresso drink made with steamed half-and-half milk in an espresso to dairy ratio of 1:2.
• Caffe Latte: An espresso based drink made with steamed milk in an espresso to milk ratio of 1:2

A caffè breve is also an espresso based coffee drink. It is incredibly similar to a cortado with the only difference between the two beverages being the type of steamed milk used with a cortado being made with steamed whole milk and a caffè breve made with steamed half-and-half cream.

How a caffè breve and a breve latte differ is as follows:

• Caffè Breve: A double shot of espresso with steamed half-and-half cream in equal ratios and topped with milk froth.
• Cortado: A double shot of espresso with steamed whole milk in equal ratios and a little milk foam added.

It’s a short and concise drink, which is to be expected as breve translated from Italian into English to mean short, brief and concise.

A drink that you will get at any good coffee shop.

Read: What is a Breve coffee?

The Origins Of A Breve Latte

Despite the use of the Italian word, a breve latte has its origins in the United States Of America, which is why I referred to it earlier as an Americanized latte.

A breve is made by mixing heavy cream with whole fat milk in equal amounts, steaming it and adding it to a single or double shot of espresso.

The drink, a humble and tasty breve latte, can be traced way back to 1927 and Lake Worth Beach, Florida and William A Boutwell. The idea came to him as he was managing Boutwell Dairy and has been with us ever since.

Breve Cappuccino

A breve cappuccino is very similar to a regular cappuccino with the only difference being the type of dairy used. It is made with a single or double shot of espresso with an equal amount of steamed half-and-half milk and milk foam.

• Breve Cappuccino: An espresso based coffee beverage with steamed half-and-half cream, espresso and milk foam in ratios of 1:1:1.
• Regular Cappuccino: An espresso drink with steamed whole fat and milk, milk foam and espresso in ratios of 1:1:1.

It’s a richer and more decadent cappuccino.

Read: How to make a breve coffee

Breve Latte Starbucks

At Starbucks don’t just order a breve by just staying that one single word as you will only get a serving of half-and-half cream. You must specify the type of coffee that you want your breve with be it a breve latte, a breve cappuccino, breve mocha, breve macchiato or whatever.

A Starbucks breve latte is made with half-and-half instead of steamed milk.

Breve Latte Pronunciation

The correct and perfect pronunciation of the Italian word breve is easy. Pronounce it in two syllables, Breh-Veh.

Breve Latte Calories

A Breve latte has a lot of calories with a Tall 12 ounce (360 ml) Starbucks breve latte having 426 calories.

Despite the elevated calorie count, this not necessarily an unhealthy drink as long as you remain within the suggested limits for calorie, fat and sugar intake as well as the limits for caffeine on a daily basis.

If you are on a diet or trying to lose weight, making this as your daily coffee or morning coffee is not a good idea.

How To Make A Breve Latte

To make the perfect double espresso shot start by weighing 40 grams of dark roasted coffee beans. The better your beans, the better your espresso shot will be. beans. Use the best tasting premium quality beans that you can find.

Use whole beans for a fresher and better tasting coffee.

Grind to a very fine powder like grind size using a conical ceramic burr grinder.

Tamp your grounds with care and attention using an even pressure of approximately 30 kilograms of pressure.

Pull your doubleshot of espresso and monitor the brew time. The perfect brew time is 25 seconds with a variance of plus or minus 5 seconds.

If your brew time is perfect, bullseye! Move on to steaming your half-and-half cream.

If your brewing time is less than 20 seconds, assuming all other variables and settings for your espresso machine are perfect, you will need to adjust your grind size. Your first port of call for checking what is wrong should always be the easiest adjustment that you can make. This is your grind size.

If your shot is pulled too quickly, the hot water is flowing past your coffee grinds too fast and has reduced contact with them, resulting in an under brewed and slightly weaker than expected and sour shot.

The most probable reason is your grind size is too large. Adjust and make it a little smaller.

If your shot takes too long to pull, the most probable reason is your grind size is too small, causing excessive contact between your hot water and your coffee grounds, resulting in a strong, over extracted and excessively bitter shot.

Make your grind size slightly larger.

Read: Breve

Steam Your Half And Half Cream

If you want to make your own half-and-half cream, that is perfectly fine. Simply use equal amounts of whole fat heavy cream and whole milk and mix them together well.

You can also buy it ready-made for convenience.

Fill your metal milk jug to no more than an inch (2.5 cm) below the V where the spout starts and steam your half-and-half cream by inserting your steam wand to more than half an inch below the surface.

When you hear a sound that is similar to magazines ripping, a screeching sound, you have enough foam. Dip your wand further and spin your dairy. You should see a whirlpool vortex forming. Stop when your milk jug is too hot to hold for 3 seconds or when your color changing temperature tag reads 55C (130F). This turning of the foam into your half-and-half cream creates the silky texture.

Create a little milk foam and let your half-and-half rest. Bang your milk jug on the counter to free trapped air bubbles. Give your milk jug a swirl like you would swirl a glass of red wine. This is to shine and polish your half-and-half.

Pour your steamed half-and-half cream into your double espresso, using twice as much as there is espresso, and spoon on some milk foam.

Serve and enjoy.

Frequently Asked Questions About What Is Breve Latte

What’s The Difference Between Breve And Milk?

The biggest difference between breve and milk is the fat content. Breve is half-and-half cream and regular milk is whole fat milk.

In the context of a caffé breve, it is an espresso drink that is made with steamed and frothed half-and-half cream instead of regular milk.

Why Is It Called A Breve Latte?

The name comes from the Italian language, breve latte translates to short latte. It is also called breve coffee.

Is Breve Latte Good?

Yes, a breve latte is a rich and creamy latte that is a more decadent latte. It can be enjoyed as it naturally with a shot or two of espresso as the base with steamed half-and-half cream, or it can be flavored with simple syrup like vanilla, salted caramel or whatever flavor you wish.

Is Breve Healthier Than Milk?

No, a breve has more fat, sugar and calories than whole milk and therefore by definition milk is healthier than breve.

A regular latte is healthier than a breve coffee drink.

Does Breve Taste Like Coffee?

A breve latte has a very similar taste to a regular latte as they are basically the same drink only made with a different dairy product. A Breve is more decadent due to using half-and-half and being creamier, richer and with a more velvet-like texture.

There is a notable coffee taste.

Is There Caffeine In A Breve?

Yes, there is caffeine in a breve. A Starbucks breve both the Short 8 Oz (240 ml) and a Tall 12 Oz (360 ml) is made with a single shot of espresso and thus has 75 mg of caffeine each.

A Grande 16 Oz (480 ml) is made with a double espresso shot and thus has 150 mg of caffeine. A Venti 20 Oz (600 ml) also has 150 mg of caffeine.

Is Breve Stronger Than Espresso?

No, a breve coffee is made with an espresso shot or two depending on the drink size and thus cannot be said to be stronger in terms of caffeine content.

However,

in terms of flavor, like all latte beverages it has a mild coffee flavor and therefore an espresso is stronger.

Why Do People Drink Breve?

Coffee lovers and coffee fans drink a latte breve due to wanting to enjoy a creamier, heavier latte that has a richer and more appealing texture and flavor as well as being naturally sweeter.

Final Thoughts – What Is Breve Latte?

If you are scanning down for a quick answer to what is breve Latte, you missed out on the details above! It’s a more decadent latte and is very easy to make with the instructions above. I suggest you make it with an Italian roast. and make the half-and-half cream yourself since it is so easy to make.

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