What is a café au lait?

Café au lait (pronounced ka-FAY oh LAY) means "coffee with milk" in French. Café au lait can mean any drink made with just coffee and milk, but it typically refers to moka pot or French press brewed coffee served with hot milk.

A graphic of a cup containing 125ml of hot milk and 125ml of brewed coffee
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Café au lait origins

During the 18th century when coffee became widely accessible, the addition of milk became popular in Parisian Cafés. People still use hot milk in France, especially at home, but the use of steamed milk is now commonplace in many cafés.

Traditionally, café au lait is served in a wide bowl rather than a cup. Often served at breakfast, many people enjoy a croissant or pain au chocolat by dipping it into their coffee.

Café au lait ingredients

Unsurprisingly, café au lait only contains coffee and milk. However lots of coffee drinks have only coffee and milk as ingredients (cafe latte, flat white, macchiato) and they're not all referred to as cafe au lait.

To be a café au lait the coffee must be a strong brew, but not an espresso. The typical methods use are a french press or moka pot.

The milk must be hot but not steamed. Although some modern cafes will use steam milk that defies what people typically expect.

Hot milk is just milk that's been heated up. Steamed milk requires a steamer and results in lighter, foamy or even frothy milk.

How to make a café au lait?

  1. Brew 125ml of coffee as you normally would in a moka pot or French press.
  2. Heat up 125ml of milk on a stove until it is hot but not boiled.
  3. Pour both into a ceramic bowl.
  4. Serve with a croissant.