Protein Café au Lait
Equal parts coffee and steamed milk, French style, with 26g of protein in the bowl.
You'll Need
- Wide bowl-cup or a large mug
- Small saucepan or microwave-safe jug
- Whisk
Ingredients
- ✓2 scoops Original Protein Coffee (one 40g serving)
- ✓1/2 cup hot water - hot, not boiling
- ✓1/2 cup milk of choice, steamed
- ✓A pinch of salt (optional)
Instructions
- 1Boil the kettle and let it stand a minute. Whey clumps in water straight off the boil.
- 2Whisk both scoops into two tablespoons of the hot water until smooth, then add the rest of the water.
- 3Warm the milk separately until it steams. Do not let it boil.
- 4Pour the coffee into a wide bowl, then pour the hot milk in from a height so the two meet in the middle.
A café au lait is half coffee, half hot milk, served in a bowl rather than a cup. It is a softer, gentler drink than a latte because the coffee is brewed rather than espresso, and this version keeps that character while carrying 26g of protein. The bowl matters more than it sounds — wide mouth, no handle, both hands around it.
Nutrition Per Serving
| Serving size | 1 bowl (about 10 oz) |
| Calories | 236 |
| Protein | 26g |
| Total carbohydrate | 16g |
| Total sugars | 6g (naturally occurring, from the milk) |
| Added sugar | 0g |
| Total fat | 7g |
| Sodium | 120mg |
Why This Works
The one-to-one ratio is what makes this a cafe au lait rather than a latte. Equal parts coffee and milk gives you a drink where you can still taste the coffee clearly through the dairy, which is the whole point - a latte buries it under three times as much milk. Keep the ratio and the drink works.
Temperature is the only thing that can ruin it. Water straight off the boil will seize the whey into fine threads that no amount of whisking fixes. Let the kettle stand a minute, and steam the milk rather than boiling it. Both liquids should be hot enough to drink and no hotter.
Tips From Our Kitchen
- Warm the bowl with hot water first and tip it out. A wide bowl loses heat fast.
- Pouring the milk in from six inches up mixes the two without a spoon and gives a little foam.
- The pinch of salt is a French trick - it takes the edge off any bitterness without adding sweetness.
- Full-fat milk is traditional and noticeably better here than skimmed.
Swaps & Variations
- Stronger: use 1/2 cup of brewed coffee instead of water and keep the milk the same.
- Dairy-free: oat milk. It steams closest to dairy of any alternative.
- Spiced: a cinnamon stick steeped in the milk while it warms.
- If you want it sweet: a teaspoon of honey. Nothing in the powder is sweetened.
Common Questions
What is the difference between a cafe au lait and a latte?
Ratio and coffee type. A cafe au lait is equal parts brewed coffee and hot milk. A latte is espresso with roughly three times as much milk. The cafe au lait tastes more of coffee and less of dairy, and it is traditionally served in a wide bowl.
How hot can the water be?
Hot but not boiling. Let the kettle stand a minute after it clicks off. Whey seizes into threads in water straight off the boil and you cannot whisk that out afterwards.
How much protein is in it?
26 grams - 22g from one 40g serving of Original Protein Coffee plus about 4g from the half cup of milk.
Is there caffeine in it?
Yes, from the real arabica instant coffee blended into the powder. It is a low-caffeine blend, roughly half a standard cup.
Which mushrooms are in it?
Four - Lion's Mane, Wild Chaga, Maitake and Reishi - fruiting body extract with no less than 30% beta-glucans, alongside 100% grass-fed whey.
Original Protein Coffee
Just coffee and 22g of protein. Nothing else. No flavoring at all. Real arabica with 22g of grass-fed whey protein and 4.5g of BCAAs to support muscle recovery and keep you full, plus organic adaptogens and a pre and ...
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