Café con Leche

Spain's everyday coffee: strong espresso with about an equal volume of hot milk in a cup or glass. Every Spanish-speaking country has its own proportions.

Espresso and milkServed hotFrom Spain

Volume
170ml5.7 US fl oz
Espresso
1shot
Caffeine
64mgderived, USDA FDC
Coffee to milk
1:2.4

The build

Watch it made, step by step
Mug, 200 ml. Layers in pouring order from the bottom, drawn by volume.
  1. Espresso50 ml29%
  2. Milk120 ml71%
Volume
170ml
Caffeine
64mg
Espresso
1shot

Scales every component together, so the ratio holds; caffeine scales with the coffee.

Roughly equal parts coffee and hot milk in Spain; Latin American versions vary from mostly milk to mostly coffee.

Caffeine

Derived
64mg

in a 170 ml café con leche

Derived per shot: USDA FoodData Central FDC 171891 (espresso, restaurant-prepared) lists 212 mg per 100 g; a standard 30 g shot is about 63.6 mg, times 1 shot(s). Real values vary with dose, roast and species (robusta roughly doubles it).

USDA FoodData Central record 171891 · read 2026-10-26

A derived figure: the reference food's caffeine per 100 g scaled to the coffee in this build. Real cups vary with the coffee, the dose and the shot.

Variants by country

4
NameCountryHow it differs
Cuban café con lecheCubaSweetened espresso stirred into a large cup of scalded milk.
Puerto Rican café con lechePuerto RicoStrong stovetop or espresso coffee with steamed whole milk, sweetened.
café lecheroMexicoVeracruz: hot milk poured from height into a glass of coffee.
manchadoSpainMostly milk with a stain of coffee.

History

Wikidata records Spain as country of origin and coffee and milk as parts. It is the standard breakfast coffee across Spain and much of Latin America.

Spanish everyday milk coffee.

Related drinks

Espresso and milk Café Manchado 165 ml · 64 mg

Hot milk stained with a little coffee, the Spanish drink for those who want colour more than caffeine.

 Espresso and milk Flat White 165 ml · 127 mg

A double espresso with steamed milk textured to a thin microfoam, served in a small cup. It is stronger and less foamy than a latte and smoother than a cappuccino.

 Espresso and milk Café Rápido y Sucio 180 ml · 127 mg

A double espresso poured over cold milk, unmixed and unsteamed. Listed because it appears in drink glossaries; its history is undocumented.

 Espresso and milk Dirty Coffee 180 ml · 127 mg

A hot double espresso poured over chilled milk and left unmixed, giving a 'dirty' layered look. A 2010s East Asian specialty-café creation.

 Espresso and milk Café Crème 160 ml · 64 mg

The Paris café milk coffee: espresso with steamed milk in a cup, close to a cappuccino with less foam. Confusingly, in Switzerland the name means a long black coffee.

 Espresso and milk Kaffee Verkehrt 160 ml · 64 mg

Vienna's 'inverted' coffee: mostly hot milk with a smaller share of coffee, the Austrian answer to the caffè latte.