A latte (also referred to as a caffè latte ) is a type of coffee drink made with hot milk .

Italian or American origin?

In Italian , latte ( IPA :  ['lat?t?e] , anglicised as IPA : /'l??te?/ ) is simply the word for milk . What in English-speaking countries is now called a latte is shorthand for " caffelatte " or " caffellatte " (" caffè e latte "). The long Italian form literally means "coffee and milk", similar to the French café au lait , the Spanish café con leche and the Portuguese café com leite . Caffelatte is today part of the defined international coffee menu, which also includes cappuccino and espresso .

The origin of the espresso-based caffe latte came from Caffe Mediterraneum in Berkeley, California —created by then owner Lino Meiorin in 1959. As the sign inside states: "Caffe Latte Invented Here - While Seattle may have made this drink famous, It was invented here at the Caffe Mediterraneum in the late 1950's". Lino Meiorin, one of the owners, was the first Italian-trained barista in the Bay Area . Customers were not used to the strong flavor of a traditional Italian cappuccino and would ask Lino for more milk. Speaking in Italian, Lino would tell the barista to put more latte (milk) in their cup. Eventually he put a larger drink on the menu with the same amount of espresso but more steamed milk, and called it a caffe latte . It was originally served in a bowl, but switched to a pint beer glass. Today lattes are often served in a wide mouth cup in order to show off hearts, rosettas and other latte art designs.”

Extensive write-up in Kenneth Davids' Coffee: A Guide to Buying, Brewing and Enjoying . "At least until recently, ordering a " latte " in Italy got you a puzzled look and a cold glass of milk. The American-style caffe latte did not exist in Italian caffes, except perhaps in a few places dominated by American tourists...Obviously breakfast drinks of this kind have existed in Europe for generations, but the caffe version of this drink is an American invention...."

While there can be significant variation, on a per-volume basis, espresso contains approximately three times the caffeine content of regular brewed coffee (1.700 g/l (50 mg per fluid ounce) of espresso versus 0.50–0.75 g/l (14–22 mg per ounce) for brewed coffee). Compared on the basis of usual serving sizes , a 30 ml (1 fluid ounce) shot of espresso has about half the caffeine of a standard 180 ml (6 fluid ounce) cup of American-style coffee, which varies from 80 to 130 mg.