Espresso, vanilla syrup, milk and ice. Five minutes, and the version you make at home costs a fraction of what a coffee shop charges for the same four things.

The order matters more than the ingredients do.

Dissolve the syrup in the warm coffee

This is the step that separates a good iced latte from a mediocre one, and it takes ten seconds.

Stir the vanilla syrup into the espresso or coffee while it is still warm, before anything cold happens. Sugar syrups dissolve readily in warm liquid and poorly in cold, and a latte built by pouring syrup over ice ends up with sweetness pooled at the bottom and none through the drink.

You will taste the difference immediately. Every sip should be evenly sweet rather than the last inch being syrupy.

Let the coffee cool slightly first

Brewed and then left a minute or two before it goes anywhere near the glass.

Hot espresso poured directly over ice melts a good deal of it instantly, which waters the drink down before you have even started. Cooling it slightly means less of the ice sacrifices itself.

Not fully cold, since you still want it warm enough to dissolve the syrup. Warm rather than hot is the target.

Use strong coffee

One to two shots of espresso, or half a cup of strong brewed coffee.

The single most common problem with a homemade iced latte is that it tastes weak and watery. Between three quarters of a cup of milk and a glass of ice, there is a great deal of dilution happening, and ordinary strength drip coffee disappears into it entirely.

If you are using brewed coffee rather than espresso, make it noticeably stronger than you would drink hot. Double the grounds, or use a moka pot or an AeroPress, both of which produce something closer to espresso strength.

Milk over ice, then coffee

Glass filled with ice, milk poured over, then the espresso added and stirred gently.

This order is what gives you the layered look before you stir, with the coffee sitting over the paler milk. It is also practical: adding milk to a glass already full of coffee tends to mix everything immediately, and pouring coffee over milk gives you a moment to look at it.

Stir gently rather than vigorously. You are combining, not aerating.

Whole milk is the creamiest

Three quarters to one cup, and the choice changes the drink considerably.

Whole milk gives the fullest texture and the closest thing to a coffee shop latte. Its fat coats the mouth and carries the vanilla.

Oat milk is the best of the alternatives and it is genuinely good here, since it is naturally sweet and thick. Barista-formulated versions are worth the extra, as they are made to hold up in coffee without separating.

Skim milk and almond milk both make a thinner drink. They work and they taste noticeably lighter.

Adjust the syrup gradually

One to two tablespoons, and the range is wide because sweetness preference varies enormously.

Start at one tablespoon and taste after stirring. Adding more is easy. Removing sweetness is not possible.

Homemade vanilla syrup takes about five minutes: equal parts sugar and water heated until dissolved, off the heat, then vanilla extract stirred in. It keeps a month refrigerated and costs almost nothing.

Cold foam on top

Optional, and it is the thing that makes a home version look like a bought one.

Vanilla sweet cream cold foam sits on the surface and slowly sinks through, so the drink changes as you go. Any flavoured cold foam works the same way. <p>Around 150 calories as written, depending on the milk and how much syrup you use. ## Making it ahead Brew a batch of espresso or strong coffee, stir the syrup in while warm, and keep it refrigerated for up to three days. Then it is a matter of pouring over ice and milk, which takes under a minute.

Do not assemble the full drink ahead. The ice melts and the milk separates from the coffee within an hour.

Iced versus cold brew

This uses hot-brewed coffee cooled down, which keeps the brighter acidic notes of the beans. Cold brew is steeped cold for hours and comes out smoother and less acidic. Either works and they taste different rather than one being better.