Not for me, for the SO. Do you normally throw the espresso in over the ice first, or do you mix the ice and milk and then throw the espresso in?

Thanks.

Ice, milk, then espresso creates a beautiful cascading effect.

Thanks! The main reason I ask is that the SO keeps saying the recent iced lattes we're making seem "bitter". I make the shot before I leave for work and then the SO mixes it. However I found out recently that the SO has been letting the shot sit for a while before dumping directly on the ice.

I pull the shot over a cup of ice then pour off the espresso into a fresh glass using one of those drink strainers and then add the milk; I like this because you get a nice cold latte that isn't watery or bitter

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

I don't know if I truly believe it, but I always pour the espresso into the milk and then add ice in an effort to not "shock" the coffee and make it bitter.

I've done multiple ways, as even listed by others in this thread. I just pull into a shot glass, pour some milk over the ice, then the shot, then rest of the milk. That's how the wife and I like it. I use double walled tumblers so it doesn't really get watered down and last awhile to sip on. Drinking one right now lol. Refreshing, I hardly every drink hot coffee, I live in South FL who the heck wants to drink hot coffee in this heat in the summer

If it tastes bitter it's because you're over extracting the espresso in the first place. There's no such thing as "shocking" the espresso, as it's chemically stable once extracted except for slight increase in concentration due to evaporation and possibly deesterification if it's held at a constant high temperature.

The order in which you add the espresso and milk is mostly inconsequential unless you extract directly onto ice which may preserve some of the volatile aromatics. Behind the bar, I typically add espresso after, as I prep the drink during extraction. The addition of 12oz of milk typically negates the slight preservation of volatile aromatics.

Maxwell Mooney wrote:The addition of 12oz of milk typically negates the slight preservation of volatile aromatics.

Coffee shops these days are purveyors of milk more than anything else.

I pour my shot into my cool glass, then add cold milk, ice, and the rest of the milk. Seems to slow the ice-melt a bit this way.

Not as cool looking as adding the shot last, but it taste great.