Coffee Drink
Gingerbread Latte: A Measured Hot or Iced Recipe
A gingerbread latte combines espresso and milk with gingerbread syrup for a sweet baking-spice aroma. This small home version has fine milk foam, with a separate iced variation for a colder, lighter texture.
Drink Snapshot
- Caffeine
- About 75 mg (reference)Generic prepared espresso, 36 gCoffee and extraction affect caffeine.
- Calories
- Estimated 145 kcalOne hot recipe, without toppingsWhole milk and the named regular US syrup, without toppings.
Serving, sugar and sources
- Serving
- 36 g prepared espresso + 160 g (5.2 US fl oz) whole milk + 15 ml (1 US tbsp) Monin US regular Gingerbread Syrup
- Made with
- Espresso + whole milk + gingerbread syrup
- Sugar
- Estimated 19.6 g total. 8.1 g naturally occurring milk sugar plus 11.5 g sugar from syrup.
- Preparation
- About 5 minutes; espresso equipment ready
USDA SR28 records and Monin US regular Gingerbread label, checked 26 September 2026. Unrounded ingredient total: 146 kcal. See the full calculation or label comparison.
Key Takeaways
- Choose the syrup for the spice profile you enjoy; a gentler gingerbread flavor leaves more room for the espresso.
- Serve a biscuit alongside the latte if you want crunch while keeping the drink free of crumbs.
- Measure the syrup before mixing it into espresso; use less syrup first if the finished latte is too sweet.
On This Page10 Sections
Gingerbread Latte Recipe
Use a 250 ml (8.5 US fl oz) heatproof cup for comfortable pouring space; cup capacity is not an exact liquid yield.
Recipe
Measured Gingerbread Latte
- Makes:
- 1 serving
- Time:
- About 5 minutes; espresso equipment ready
Ingredients
- 18 g coffee, ground for espresso, to yield 36 g brewed espresso
- 160 g (5.2 US fl oz) cold whole milk
- 15 ml (1 US tbsp) Monin US regular Gingerbread Syrup
Equipment
- Espresso machine and grinder
- Scale, syrup measure and spoon
- Milk pitcher and thermometer, or small pan and handheld frother
- 250 ml (8.5 US fl oz) heatproof cup
- Espresso basket suited to 18 g and tamper
- Small heatproof pouring cup for the espresso
Method
- Measure 15 ml (1 US tbsp) gingerbread syrup into a warmed 250 ml (8.5 US fl oz) heatproof cup.
- Brew 18 g ground coffee to 36 g prepared espresso. Add it to the syrup and stir.
- Steam 160 g (5.2 US fl oz) cold whole milk to 60–65°C (140–149°F) with fine, pourable foam. Turn off the steam before removing the wand. If the portion is too small for your wand, warm it in a small pan and froth briefly.
- Swirl the pitcher, pour all the milk into the flavored espresso and serve promptly.
Estimated nutrition: 145 kcal · 19.6 g total sugar. Per latte, using whole milk and Monin US Gingerbread Syrup, without toppings.
This syrup-based home formula uses the named US product for its nutrition estimate. With another gingerbread syrup, use its label and adjust for flavor strength.
Equipment and Preparation
Follow the espresso brewing guide for the coffee: 18 g is the dry coffee input and 36 g is the collected drink output. The time assumes the machine is already warm and the milk is cold.
Use a pitcher that can texture this milk portion, or the small-pan and frother alternative in the recipe. For the underlying espresso-and-milk technique, see latte.
Iced Gingerbread Latte
Keep 36 g espresso and 15 ml (1 US tbsp) syrup, with 120 g (3.9 US fl oz) cold whole milk and 120 g (4.2 oz) ice. Stir the syrup into the espresso and let it cool briefly. Put the ice in a 350 ml (11.8 US fl oz) heatproof glass, add the cold milk, then pour in the flavored espresso and stir. Do not steam the milk.
With the ingredient references used here, that iced serving has an estimated 120 kcal and 17.6 g total sugar. The smaller milk portion leaves room for ice.
What Does a Gingerbread Latte Taste Like?
A gingerbread latte carries a warm baking-spice aroma through soft, creamy milk. With the Monin gingerbread syrup used here, cinnamon and ginger sit alongside a caramel-like sweetness, giving the impression of a spiced biscuit. Espresso adds a darker finish beneath those sweet aromas. I prefer a nutty espresso here because it echoes the biscuit-like flavor while leaving the ginger and cinnamon easy to notice.
How Much Gingerbread Syrup to Use
Use 15 ml (1 US tbsp) for the defined recipe; start with 10 ml (2 US tsp) if you prefer less sweetness. Measure in milliliters rather than assuming a pump delivers a standard amount.
For this public-label comparison, keep 36 g espresso and 160 g (5.2 US fl oz) whole milk fixed:
Swipe to see all columnsScroll to see all columns
| Regular syrup portion | Estimated calories, whole drink | Estimated total sugar |
|---|---|---|
| 10 ml (2 US tsp) | 130 kcal | 15.7 g |
| 15 ml (1 US tbsp), base recipe | 145 kcal | 19.6 g |
| 20 ml (4 US tsp) | 160 kcal | 23.4 g |
Every extra 5 ml (1 US tsp) adds an estimated 15 kcal and 3.8 g sugar with the named label. It also adds flavoring, so reducing sugar by reducing syrup changes both.
Monin’s published gingerbread latte uses syrup, espresso and steamed milk in a larger mug, with optional-style garnishes specified in that recipe. Our smaller untopped formula uses its own measured portions.
Syrup, Spice Powder and Molasses Are Different Ingredients
Gingerbread is a flavor description, not a requirement to dissolve a cookie in coffee. The named syrup’s manufacturer describes cinnamon and nutmeg notes; its ingredient list says cane sugar, water and natural flavors.
| Ingredient form | What changes in the latte |
|---|---|
| Prepared gingerbread beverage syrup | Supplies sweetness and flavor together; measure its volume and use its label |
| Ground ginger or a spice blend | Adds spice particles without replacing the syrup’s sweetness or liquid; use a recipe written for ground spices |
| Molasses | Adds its own sweetness and flavor, but does not supply the complete gingerbread spice profile |
| Homemade gingerbread syrup | Can combine sweetener and spices, but needs a defined recipe and final yield for sugar-per-ml calculations |
For a scratch-made syrup, follow a complete syrup recipe rather than replacing 15 ml (1 US tbsp) syrup with 15 g spice or molasses. If you mainly want cinnamon rather than a mixed gingerbread flavor, the cinnamon latte guide is the closer starting point.
Gingerbread Latte vs. Gingerbread Chai
This gingerbread latte uses espresso. A gingerbread chai uses a tea or chai-concentrate base with gingerbread flavoring; its caffeine and sweetener content depend on that preparation. A dirty chai latte combines chai and espresso. Shared spice aromas do not make those three drinks the same recipe.
Oat Milk and Other Variations
- Gingerbread oat milk latte: start with 160 g (5.6 oz) plant drink suitable for frothing and use the carton’s heating guidance. Combine it with 36 g espresso and 15 ml (1 US tbsp) gingerbread syrup. Use its label for nutrition and allergens.
- Without an espresso machine: start with 36 g (1.3 oz) prepared moka-pot coffee, with 160 g (5.2 US fl oz) whole milk and 15 ml (1 US tbsp) gingerbread syrup. Brew the pot normally, then weigh the coffee needed; its caffeine differs from the espresso reference.
- With whipped cream or a cookie: add the topping separately if you want it. It changes the serving’s calories, sugar and possible allergens; none is included in the recipe estimate.
Gingerbread Latte Troubleshooting
Too sweet? Reduce the syrup before adding more coffee or milk. Moving from 15 ml (1 US tbsp) to 10 ml (2 US tsp) preserves the rest of this recipe, which makes the change easier to assess. If you like the sweetness but dislike the spice aroma, try a different syrup rather than adding more of the same one.
If sweetness pools at the bottom, stir syrup into the warm espresso before pouring milk. If the texture is bubbly, introduce less air and swirl the pitcher to integrate the foam. Grit from added ground spices is a separate issue; the syrup-only recipe does not call for a spoonful of spice powder.
Gingerbread Latte Calories, Sugar and Caffeine
For 36 g espresso, 160 g (5.2 US fl oz) whole milk and 15 ml (1 US tbsp) Monin US regular Gingerbread Syrup, the estimates are 145 kcal, 19.6 g total sugar and 75 mg reference caffeine. It contains milk. The sugar total counts both milk sugar and the added sugar in syrup; a sugar-free syrup would not make a whole-milk latte sugar-free.
Serving calculation and source assumptions
USDA whole milk lists 61 kcal and 5.05 g sugar per 100 g: 160 g contributes 97.6 kcal and 8.08 g sugar. Generic prepared espresso lists 9 kcal and 212 mg caffeine per 100 g: 36 g contributes 3.24 kcal and 76.32 mg caffeine. Monin US regular Gingerbread Syrup lists 90 kcal and 23 g total and added sugar per 30 ml: 15 ml contributes 45 kcal and 11.5 g sugar.
The hot total is 145.84 kcal and 19.58 g sugar, rounded to 145 kcal and 19.6 g. The 10 ml and 20 ml syrup versions calculate to 130.84 and 160.84 kcal, with 15.75 and 23.41 g sugar. Calories are rounded to the nearest 5 kcal in the table.
Using 120 g milk for the iced version gives 121.44 kcal and 17.56 g sugar, shown as 120 kcal and 17.6 g. The 75 mg caffeine figure is a rounded composition reference, not a measurement of an 18 g coffee dose or a standard café shot. Use the current bottle label when its formula differs.