What Is a Breve Coffee?

Welcome back to another session of expanding your knowledge of all things coffee. If you haven’t picked up from the title, today we are talking about breve coffee. What is it? Where is its origins? How can we make it? All of these questions as well as some bonus tips will be answered in this one article. 

Breve Coffee may be a new term for some of you. If you have heard of it before, you still might not understand what breve coffee is. Lucky for you, we are on the case and are ready to break down the full overview on cafe breve to expand your options for the next time you want to try something new at the coffee shop or at home. 

Ingredients

Unlike loads of other espresso options that are quite complicated and difficult to master, breve coffee is made up of only two things: espresso and half and half. If you aren’t familiar with half and half, it is made up of half whole milk and half cream, hence the name. Like a cappuccino, breve coffee involves frothing, but to the half and a half rather than milk. This is standard frothing, luckily. No complicated barista abilities to create microfoam or create foam layers are needed for this drink. 

Breve coffee also involved no added sweetener like a cappuccino. Many people love breve as the different milky version of a cappuccino. While it doesn’t have a sweetener, the whole milk and cream provide a bit more flavor to it than straight espresso and milk, so if this has been a dilemma for you, you may have found your perfect drink. 

Origins

The word breve actually means short, little, or brief in Italian. Capitalizing on this, cafe breve is a little treat that has a lot of punch attached to it. There are a few different versions of this drink as we will alternate between within this article: cafe breve, breve coffee, and even latte breve. They all mean the same, however. 

So where did this unique take on an espresso drink come from? A cafe breve is an American drink that wanted a fluffier and lighter alternative to the classic Italian latte. As you can guess, the only difference is the dairy option that is added, but this has become quite a popular option for the froth lovers out there. 

Another very American characteristic of a breve coffee is that it is much more unhealthy due to the high content of calories that come with such thick cream and whole milk. The fat and cholesterol run wild, so be mindful of this if you are looking for a health conscientious option. Think of this as a once in a blue moon dessert rather than an everyday drink to start the morning. 

How to Make a Breve Coffee

The key to making this tasty treat is the proportions. Luckily, breve coffee is very simple with its proportion of half and half and espresso. Add one shot of espresso into your cup. Then, add an equal part frothed half and half and voila. This can be done in the home if you have your own espresso maker with an attached milk frother. Just be sure to switch out the milk for half and half, but the process is the same. 

Like a cappuccino, this drink is made hot and does best when made this way. However, there is a cold option. This includes ice, a shot of espresso and cold half and half. The biggest loss on this version is the frothed aspect which gives the extra kick of creaminess. But for the iced coffee obsessed, there is an option for you as well. Just be sure to let the espresso cool down a tad before adding in the ice cubes and half and half to help prevent a watered-down cafe breve. This is not an Americano everyone. 

Since breve coffees are so simple and only take two ingredients, you can get away with your simple home espresso machine with only two buttons to accomplish the job. However, if you are looking to learn how to operate a classic espresso machine rather than an easy to use home option, hop on over to our article explaining the ins and outs of the machine as well as how to pull an espresso shot and operate the frother to perform barista level skills for your drink. 

Now, go explore the world of coffee a bit more and try this drink at home or at your local coffee shop. We hope you love this tasty treat just like us!