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The first thing my New Orleans born-and-raised husband taught me to make more than 20 years ago is how to make a good cafe au lait. We still live here and drink it daily -and now you can too!
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What Makes a Café Au Lait?
A café au lait is made up of strongly brewed coffee with milk. In New Orleans, we typically use ground coffee mixed with chicory when we brew it.
You can brew the coffee in a traditional coffee machine (drip) or using a French press. And, once you have a strong, richly brewed coffee you mix it with steamed milk.
One thing to note is that a café au lait does not have foam, the top of the coffee is flat. You can also make beignets at home using this beignet mix.
Where is Cafe au Lait From?
A café au lait is a French coffee where the literal translation is coffee and milk. However, it’s also a typical New Orleans-style coffee of chicory coffee and milk.
Can You Make Cafe Du Monde Coffee At Home?
You can absolutely make Cafe Du Monde coffee at home by brewing a strong coffee and chicory and serving it with milk.
One of the distinct flavors of Cafe Du Monde coffee is from the coffee itself because their French roast coffee includes roasted chicory, a ground root that gives the coffee a distinct earthy and strong flavor.
Ingredients
To make a great café au lait at home, you’ll need 3 simple ingredients. Below, I explain what works best, and the measurements are in the recipe card below.
- New Orleans-style coffee: this is a ground blend of French roast coffee and roasted chicory. Check out the recommendations below.
- Water: needed to brew the coffee in a traditional drip coffee machine or a french press.
- Milk: traditionally, we make café au lait with whole milk so the denser texture of the milk can mix equally with this stronger brewed coffee. If using dairy-free milk, thicker options such as oat milk and barista blends work best.
Best Coffee for Café au Lait
In New Orleans, we make our café au laits by brewing a strong French Roast coffee that includes chicory. Make your own blend by mixing ¾ cup of ground French roast coffee with ¼ cup of ground roasted chicory. Or, you can brew a New Orleans blend that includes chicory, like the Cafe Du Monde Coffee, the classic Community Coffee, or French Market Coffee.
How Much Milk is in a Café au Lait?
Steamed milk is the other key ingredient to a good café au lait, which is always equal parts brewed New Orleans-style coffee and milk. This means that for 1 cup of coffee, you’d heat up 1 cup of steamed milk. A café au lait does not have foam.
How to Make Café Au Lait
If you can brew coffee, you can make a café au lait just like we enjoy in New Orleans at home! Here is what you’ll do:
- Measure
Use a New Orleans blend coffee with chicory or mix your own. Use 1 cup water per 1 tablespoon of coffee with chicory. - Brew
Brew a strong coffee in a classic drip coffee machine or with a French press. - Heat the milk
Steam the milk, warm it up in the microwave, or in a pot on the stove. - Serve
Combine equal parts of brewed coffee and milk into a cup.
What to Serve with Your Morning Coffee
Your café au lait tastes even better when enjoyed with one of these Cinnamon Coffee Cake Muffins, a slice of this incredible Blueberry Coffee Cake, one of these Classic Scones, or with homemade beignets (I use this mix).
Coffee and Chicory Blend and Cafe au Lait Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup coffee, brewed*
- 1 cup milk, steamed
Instructions
Brew the coffee:
- Either in a French press or drip coffee maker, brew a strong cup of coffee using 1 tablespoon of French roast coffee with chicory (New Orleans-style) per 1 cup of water.
Steam the milk:
- Warm up the milk using a steamer, in a small pot on the stovetop, or (alternatively) in the microwave.
Serve:
- Combine equal parts of steamed milk and brewed coffee inside a mug. Sip away and enjoy.
Notes
- Make your own New Orleans-style coffee blend by mixing ¾ cup of ground French roast coffee with ¼ cup of ground roasted chicory. This 1 cup mix will yield enough for 12 cups of coffee which can be measured out in 1 tablespoons per cup or used to brew a full pot.
- If using coffee without chicory, add a little extra to ensure the coffee is nice and strong.
- I use this beignet mix to make them at home for my kids.
Mary says
this was so good!
Steve H. says
I see many people are asking about the brew method. For even stronger brew try a drip pot. That’s how we have always brewed it. Native New Orleans
John says
Dripped SLOW and hot, I was born, raised, and lived in New Orleans for the first fifty years of my life (I’m now 82). I can’t remember NOT. drinking chicory cafe au lait (or as we said, cafe con leche–my father was from Cuba). Making coffee every morning in an enameled or aluminum drip pot took at least a half hour and was almost an art form. Except for outlining the brew process, itself, Miss Fuentes is spot on.
Laura Fuentes says
Thank you, John, for sharing that my description of this Cafe Au Lait recipe is spot on. While my brewing process does take a little longer, if I wrote it out like my husband’s grandmother would make it -like you shared that it took muuuuch longer, people today wouldn’t make it! Here is to many more years of ejoying cafe au laits.
Ben Guitreaux says
I live about half way between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Whenever the opportunity arises, my wonderful wife of 48 years (we were both only 19 when we married) and I, enjoy cruising down to the Big Easy to the Cafe du Monde for cafe au lait and beignets early on a Sunday morning. We like to get there just as the sun begins to rise and sit out on the terrace. As the fog rolls in from the Mighty Mississippi, we enjoy the rich flavorful coffee and fresh hot beignets while the city comes alive with the sights and sounds, not to mention the smell of coffee brewing and bread frying. That, my friend, is just plain good for the soul!
I encourage everyone to make the trek to New Orleans, and be sure to visit the French Quarter. It is bucket list worthy.
Kris Moczkowski says
Hi,
I found original Cafe du Monde in the Chinese Market, 2 for $10 bucks :D))
Laura Fuentes says
Score!!!
Jes goss says
Hi Laura! Stumbled across this recipe trying to duplicate that New Orleans taste. Went once and feel absolutely in love. Thanks so much for posting! Do you have a NC mug? I’m in Asheville and I don’t think they have specific Asheville ones but can certainly pick you up a NC one.
Laura Fuentes says
Hi Jes! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I do have a NC one, thank YOU! I cannot wait to go back and visit.