Breve vs Latte

The difference between a breve and a cafe latte is all about the milk!

Breve vs Latte: What makes them different?

The difference between a breve and a cafe latte is all about the milk!

Do you like adding some cream to your morning coffee? If you do, let us introduce you to breves – a delicious coffee drink that you may already love but didn’t know the name of (probably!)

We are talking about breves, a coffee beverage similar to a latte, one of the most popular drinks, but with a twist. ‘Breve’ is the Italian word for ‘brief’ and it’s true – it’s not hard to make. You may see a breve called a breve latte, but there is a distinct difference between a caffe breve and a caffe latte. If you are interested in getting to know more about this drink and what makes it different from a regular latte including a breve coffee recipe below, keep reading to find out!

What is a traditional latte?

A latte starts with an espresso shot topped with steamed milk and then milk foam. Sometimes, baristas may add a pretty pattern. The greatest thing about lattes is that they can have many different flavors, like hazelnut, caramel, French vanilla, Irish cream, and more.

Espresso is the mixture of pressurized hot water, through a filter, to push finely ground coffee into the cup. Espresso tends to have a very rich and bitter taste, but because of the milk added to the latte, it tastes less strong.

A latte is one of the most common beverages in any coffee shop and restaurant. It’s very simple to order and most places carry it, and it will help you re-energize yourself just as much as a regular espresso.

There is no right or wrong way to make a latte. You can add more milk to give it a creamier taste, or less milk to make it taste more like a cappuccino. You can use light roasted beans to reduce the bitterness of the espresso or use dark roasted beans to increase the flavor.

Now let’s move onto what a breve is…

What is a breve?

Basically, a breve is a cappuccino with a twist. It has half light cream and half whole milk (aka ‘half and half’) which brings a very tasty flavor and richness to an espresso shot.

Breves is an American version of the Italian cappuccino. It’s as simple as a latte because it only has two ingredients, however- the big difference is that breves are made with half-and-half rather than milk. The half-and-half is frothed, just like the milk in a latte, and added to the espresso to create a delicious breve.

In Italian, breve means short or brief, which is exactly the way a breve is made. Other ways to call a breve are cafe breve, breve coffee, breve cappuccino or even a latte breve or breve latte (even though it’s not a latte). Order it like this anywhere you go and the barista will make you a rich, creamy drink.

The biggest differences between breve vs latte

breve vs latte graphic demonstrating ingredient ratio differences — Breves and lattes may sound similar, but there are some clear differences.

As we mentioned before, both drinks are pretty similar in terms of ingredients and method of preparation. The base is the same: espresso, milk, foam, and sugar if needed. The biggest difference is related to the amount and type of steamed milk and cream content.

In a latte, there is hot milk and a little foam on top, whereas in a breve, instead of just milk, there is steamed half milk and half cream. So the biggest difference lays in the texture and heavy body of your coffee. The use of half and half gives the breve a richer, creamier taste and mouthfeel from the high fat content.

Another difference is that latte can be served hot or cold and won’t have many differences except for the temperature. However, a breve can only be served hot because of the half-and-half.

The last difference is the amount of fat and calories; a breve contains around 10%-12% fat because of its ingredients and while it’s not much it’s a higher fat content than a latte. If you are tracking your calories, the higher calorie content of the breve is something to consider.

Compare a breve vs latte yourself

one hand holding a saucer and the other a cup of breve coffee

Here’s how you can do breve vs latte taste test!

First: how to make the perfect shot of espresso

shot of espresso in a glass on the drain pan of an espresso machine — Learning how to make a good shot of espresso is important for this recipe.

To make the perfect espresso base, the most important thing you need to pay attention to is the coffee ground size, which in this case, your coffee grounds need to be really fine. Here are the steps to making your espresso shot in a traditional espresso machine for a great breve. If you use a stovetop espresso maker or pod machine, that’s ok too!

1. Grind and measure your beans. We recommend dark roast coffee beans. Normally, a single espresso shot requires something between 6 and 8 grams of coffee grounds. Make sure your coffee beans are powdery and fine.

2. Distribute your coffee grounds. Put your coffee grounds in your portafilter and distribute them evenly, and use the tamper to tamp down the grounds.

3. Pull your shot. Lock the portafilter into your machine, place your cup underneath, and start your shot.

4.For a strong coffee you can add more shots of espresso (note: the breve recipe below already has a double shot of espresso!)

Now you are ready to make a caffè breve and caffè latte for your taste test.

Ingredients

2 shots of espresso (2 ounces)
10 ounces half-and-half

Tools

Espresso brewer

Milk frother, steam wand or a whisk and a glass

Small saucepan

Instructions

Pour the espresso into the mug.
Over medium heat, warm the half-and-half or milk in the small saucepan until very hot but not boiling.
Froth the half-and-half 20-30 seconds until you have a medium thick froth with no bubbles.
Holding back the foam with a spoon, pour the half-and-half or regular milk into the mug with the espresso.
Finally, spoon the remaining foam on top.

How To Serve

Serve in a medium ceramic coffee cup or glass mug large enough to accommodate the 12 ounce (plus foam!) serving size.

Tips

For best results, pre-warm the mug under hot water to keep your breve warm longer.
Add cold half-and-half instead of hot for the ‘iced’ version of a breve, as well as some ice cubes.
Drizzlie with chocolate syrup or sprinkle chocolate shavings, cocoa powder, cinnamon, or even a small strawberry on top to complete this dessert drink.
Don’t have any half and half? You can make it by combining 3/4 cup whole milk with 1/4 cup heavy cream.
Even if it’s not on the menu, you can get a breve at most coffee shops.

As you can see, both drinks are pretty similar in both ingredients and how much caffeine, the main difference becomes the taste and mouthfeel (the creamy texture) of the coffee and its creamy foam because of the type of milk used.

Since the kind of milk used is the key difference, so when doing a direct comparison of café breve vs café latte, you really can’t use non-dairy substitutions like coconut milk, soy milk or cashew milk.

We hope that this article was useful to you and you got a good idea about the basic difference between a Latte vs Breve.

Did you enjoy this article? You may want to try a flat white coffee too!