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Permalink Reply by Daniel Williamson on June 28, 2011 at 10:32am

Nick Cho does.  Haha

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Permalink Reply by Greg Hill on June 28, 2011 at 3:16pm

i get the best flavor/least bitterness by pulling my shot into a chilled shot glass. that brings the espresso down in temp enough to not melt ice or mess with the milk. also, i throw the shot(s) on top of the iced milk.

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Permalink Reply by Greg Hill on June 29, 2011 at 4:30am

oh, and with ice last...i hate it when i stick the straw in and get luke coffee milk from the bottom. please shake or toss it!

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Permalink Reply by Eric Tomeo on June 30, 2011 at 1:07pm

My shop adds the milk, flavor, ice and then espresso.  I am not sure mine is the best method though because you have to stir twice if your flavor is chocolate or a thick sauce like that.  And you always have to stir at the end to get the espresso to mix past the ice.  I do not find, however, that the espresso melting the ice is that big of a problem with this method.  I am not sure why...

 

But maybe shaking our iced lattes would solve all my problems. 

 

Now to experiment.

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Permalink Reply by Brady on June 30, 2011 at 3:13pm

Syrup, then milk, then shot, then ice, then shake, then serve.

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Permalink Reply by Brady on June 30, 2011 at 5:58pm

Three things to add to this:

 

We build these drinks in a heat-resistant measuring glass. This lets us measure the bases, milk, and then add ice to the proper level. This also guarantees at least one thorough mix, as it is tossed from this into the cold cup, and eliminates the problem of sweet pockets.

 

If a thick sauce is used it goes in the mixing glass first, followed by the espresso. A swirl helps thin the mixture. Then milk is added and everything combines quite nicely. As others have noticed, if you add cold milk to thick sauce, it gets even thicker and doesn't mix well. Ice goes last.

 

For the record, I've never noticed drinks being more bitter from the espresso being poured over ice. You'll definitely get a far waterier drink that way though, which is probably why the OP perceives the other way to taste creamier. That's also why I don't do it that way. Water doesn't add flavor. For those that haven't seen my past rants on this, I feel that the deleterious effects of "shocking" espresso by pouring it directly onto ice to be highly exaggerated.

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Permalink Reply by Rob Morrisey on August 29, 2011 at 10:55pm

We make ours just like Brady describes: flavor(or a little milk) first, then the shot to thin the sauce/syrup, then the milk. And all this goes into a shaker. I live by James Bond rule of "shaken not stirred." It really gives the milk a creamy, airy mouth feel to it and we never have flavor on the bottom. Plus the customer loves the theatrics of the shaker. Can't lose. Maybe we should add some flippy "Cocktail" moves.

Brady said:

Three things to add to this:

 

We build these drinks in a heat-resistant measuring glass. This lets us measure the bases, milk, and then add ice to the proper level. This also guarantees at least one thorough mix, as it is tossed from this into the cold cup, and eliminates the problem of sweet pockets.

 

If a thick sauce is used it goes in the mixing glass first, followed by the espresso. A swirl helps thin the mixture. Then milk is added and everything combines quite nicely. As others have noticed, if you add cold milk to thick sauce, it gets even thicker and doesn't mix well. Ice goes last.

 

For the record, I've never noticed drinks being more bitter from the espresso being poured over ice. You'll definitely get a far waterier drink that way though, which is probably why the OP perceives the other way to taste creamier. That's also why I don't do it that way. Water doesn't add flavor. For those that haven't seen my past rants on this, I feel that the deleterious effects of "shocking" espresso by pouring it directly onto ice to be highly exaggerated.

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