The Spanish latte isn't very Spanish

A Spanish latte is basically espresso + milk + sweetened condensed milk. The condensed milk is what makes it creamier and sweeter than a regular latte, which is just espresso + steamed milk.

Spain does have relatives

• Café bombón, associated with Valencia: espresso poured over condensed milk, often served in a glass so you can see the two layers.
• Leche y leche, from the Canary Islands: espresso with condensed milk and regular milk. This is the closest one to what cafés here call a Spanish latte.

But the name grew up elsewhere

As far as I can tell, "Spanish latte" as a café menu name became popular in the Middle East and then spread across Asia through the specialty coffee boom of the 2010s. In Spain itself, you wouldn't usually order one by that name. I'm not fully sure about the exact origin, which is why this note is still a 🌱.

And we already had our own version

Southeast Asia has been doing the "strong coffee + condensed milk" thing for a long time: kopi susu, Vietnamese cà phê sữa, and every kopitiam's kopi. Condensed milk keeps without a fridge, which mattered a lot in hot countries. So maybe the Spanish latte is just a fancy cousin of something Malaysians have always known.

Best served: by a window, during light rain (see why rain smells nice).