Starbucks Caffè Latte

The Starbucks Caffè Latte costs £4.60 for a Tall and carries 151 calories in a Grande, which makes it the drink most people order when they want coffee without the sharp edge of an Americano. Two ristretto shots of Starbucks signature espresso go in first, then steamed semi skimmed milk, then a thin cap of foam about a centimetre deep.

The taste sits on the milk rather than the roast. Signature espresso is dark and cocoa heavy on its own, and the steamed milk rounds that into something closer to warm toffee, with a faint caramel sweetness that comes from the milk sugars rather than any syrup. Texture is the part regulars notice: properly steamed milk has a glossy, paint like body that coats the mouth, and the foam layer should hold its shape long enough to leave rings down the inside of the glass as you drink. Served in a clear glass mug, the two tone split between coffee and milk is visible until the first stir.

Caffeine lands at 89.1mg regardless of cup size, because Starbucks pours the same two shots into a Tall, a Grande and a Venti. A bigger cup buys more milk, not more coffee: a Tall has 124 calories, a Grande 151 and a Venti 204. That is the single most useful thing to know about ordering one. Anyone after a stronger cup should ask for an extra shot rather than a bigger cup.

It suits the parts of the day when coffee is the reason to sit down rather than a way to stay upright, which is why it dominates mid morning and mid afternoon orders. Oat milk is the most ordered swap and pushes the drink slightly sweeter. For something drier with more foam and less milk, the Cappuccino covers the same ground at 130 calories, and the Flat White uses the same shots in a smaller glass with a thinner milk layer.