The ingredients you'll need for an iced latte
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A glass with ice cubes (bigger cubes melt slower and dilute your drink less)
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A shot of espresso from your coffee machine; we recommend our Bukeye Hills beans for this
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Milk of your choice
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A straw
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Simple syrup, if you like a touch of sweetness
How to make an iced latte (step by step)
Step 1: Brew your coffee
Pull your espresso shot using our Bukeye Hills beans or another bean you love. We recommend 18g in, 42g out, over 23 to 25 seconds, meaning 18g of ground coffee, brewed into 42g of liquid espresso, over 23 to 25 seconds.
Step 2: Cool it down
Let the shot cool slightly while you prepare your glass. This stops it from melting your ice too fast and watering down the drink.
Step 3: Fill your glass with ice
Use a glass with plenty of ice cubes. Bigger cubes are best here. They melt slower, so your latte stays cold without turning watery.
Step 4: Pour and add milk or syrup
Pour milk over the ice first, leaving room for the espresso. Then pour the espresso shot over the ice and milk. Add syrup now if you'd like it sweeter.
Step 5: Stir and serve
Stir with a spoon or straw, and enjoy.
Our recommendation for the best iced latte
The beans you choose shape the whole drink, even once it's mixed with milk and ice. For iced lattes, we recommend Bukeye Hills, a washed Red Bourbon from Burundi with clean, citrusy notes that come through beautifully over ice and milk.
It's omni-roasted, meaning it works well brewed as filter or espresso, so for this recipe, just choose the espresso grind at checkout.
Tips for the best homemade iced latte
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Don't skip the cooling step. Pouring hot espresso straight onto ice melts it fast and waters down your drink, let the shot cool slightly first.
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Bigger ice, better latte. Smaller cubes melt faster and dilute the flavour. If you make iced lattes often, ice cube trays with larger moulds are worth it.
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Pour milk before espresso. This gives you that classic layered look, and lets you control how much espresso comes through before stirring.
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Taste before you sweeten. Espresso mellows out a lot once it hits milk and ice, you may need less syrup than you think.
FAQ about iced lattes
What is the secret to making a good iced latte?
Good beans, properly brewed, and letting your espresso cool slightly before it hits the ice. Rushing that last step is the most common reason homemade iced drinks end up watery.
What's the difference between an iced coffee and an iced latte?
Iced coffee is drip or filter coffee, brewed hot and then served cold over ice. An iced latte is different, it's built on espresso, topped up with milk, so it's smoother and creamier than a classic iced coffee.
Is it difficult to make an iced latte at home?
Not at all. It's easy to make an iced latte at home once you know the order to pour things in. With an espresso machine, milk, and ice, you can have an iced latte ready in a couple of minutes.
What are the main methods to make an iced latte?
An iced latte is always espresso-based: a shot pulled and poured over ice with milk. It's different from cold brew, where coarse grounds steep in cold water for hours with no heat at all, and from classic iced coffee, which is hot brewed and then chilled.
What are popular variations of the iced latte?
You can flavour an iced latte with syrups like vanilla, caramel, or hazelnut, swap in oat or almond milk, or add a dash of cinnamon on top. At Orsa, we always use a double shot as standard, for a fuller coffee flavour that still comes through over ice and milk.
How does an iced latte compare to other coffee types?
An iced latte is just one of many ways to enjoy coffee, sitting between milder milk based drinks and stronger, straight espresso options. If you want to see how it stacks up against the full range, from cold brew to ristretto to cappuccino, check out our guide to different coffee types.
Come try it at Orsa
We serve iced lattes at our coffee shops, so swing by if you want to experience one without making it yourself. You'll find us at Vesterbrogade 46, 1620 Copenhagen, and Landemærket 21, 1119 Copenhagen.
