What is a Café au Lait?

The Café au Lait hails from France and in its home country the phrase literally translates to ‘coffee with milk’. The beverage dates back a long way and references to the Café au Lait is found in the letters of Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, the Marquise de Sévigné in the early to mid-17th century.

Today the coffee is still enjoyed across France and it’s traditionally served in an oversized mug or bowl for the drinker to dunk pastries in during breakfast.

Interestingly, the Café au Lait has many variations in countries across the world, in Poland it’s known as the ‘Kawa Biala’, Germany ‘Milchkaffee’, Hungary ‘Tejeskávé’, Dutch ‘Koffie Verkeerd’ and in Brazil ‘Café com Leite’. One of the most interesting distinct versions of the Café au Lait is found in New Orleans where the coffee is combined with chicory for a very strong, intense and bitter flavour that’s also thicker in consistency. This variation dates back to the American Civil War when coffee was very scarce so it was mixed with chicory to make it last longer.

The Café au Lait is often confused with the Latte as it’s another milky coffee, however they are rather different. For a start, the latte is milkier as it’s made with two distinct and thicker layers of steamed and foamed milk. The Café au Lait also tends to be made with regular brewed coffee (from a French Press or drip), whereas the Latte is always made with an espresso base.