Latte
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Latte.jpg
Latte is Italian for milk. Outside Italy it usually refers to one of several types of coffee beverages made with hot milk. In Italian these are known as "caffè e latte" (commonly "caffelatte"), literally "coffee and milk", analogous to (but not the same as!) the French "café au lait", and latte macchiato which is very similar.
As the term has come to be used in the United States since approximately 1985, a latte is prepared to the proportions of one third espresso and two-thirds steamed milk. Thus it has more milk than a cappuccino, and has a milder, milkier taste. Lattes should be prepared by pouring milk and coffee simultaneously, from either side of the drinking vessel.
The evolution of this term (and this particular form of the beverage) is relatively recent and probably dates from the spread of the 1980s Seattle coffee craze to the rest of the United States (and beyond) via the growth of Seattle-based Starbucks. Some cafes create designs in the frothed milk.
As recently as 1980, if you ordered a "latte" in an Italian coffeehouse in San Francisco, you would expect to get a glass of milk. If you ordered a "caffè latte," you would get a beverage with far less milk in it than what has now come to be called a "latte." Keep in mind, ordering a "latte" in a café in Italy will result in the barista serving you a plain glass of milk.
Since around 2000, coffee shops such as Starbucks have started topping lattes with whipped cream.
In other parts of the world (eg Australia) lattes are commonly served in a glass (served on a saucer with a napkin which can be used to hold the (usually very hot) glass. These beverages are usually made using an espresso machine and topped up with scalded or frothed milk.