National Cafe’ Au Lait Day in USA

The Café au Lait is a drink that’s been around for centuries, but it’s one that’s not necessarily been so popular on the boards of coffeehouses in the US until recently. The Cafe’ Au Lait hails from France and in its home country the phrase literally translates to ‘coffee with milk’. The beverage dates back a long way and references to the Café au Lait is found in the letters of Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, the Marquise de Sévigné in the early to mid-17th century.

While it will be prepared with espresso in many cafés, it can be made with any highly-concentrated coffee at home. It is simple and easy to prepare, and variations of it are drunk all across the world under different names.

In Europe, the café au lait is made by adding steamed milk to a shot of espresso in a 1:1 ratio. The drink is topped with little or no foam. In the US, however, it is often prepared by adding steamed milk to concentrated filter coffee.