ghetto latte

n. a purchased espresso to which is added a free dairy condiment such as milk, half-and-half, or whitener. Subjects: English, Food & Drink, Slang

Editorial Note: Ghetto as an adjective meaning “fake, imitative, improvised, shoddy” has been used for at least nine years.

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Citations: 2005 [maggotpunk] maggotpunk (July 3) “Assholes suck”: Anyway, he doesn’t want to pay the extra so he says for me to forget the breve and just put the shots into a tall cup which I do. He then pours in some cold half and half himself. We call this a ghetto latte because cheap ass people do this when they want to cut costs. 2005 Jimmy Oneschuk Espressolab (Canada) (Oct. 14) “simonelli lever machine reflections”: Should I be attacked by henchmen and/or henchwomen while preparing a shot (it does happen…remember the skanky ghetto latte customers?) I can use my espresso machine as a lethal weapon. 2006 [Barry Jarrett] Usenet: alt.coffee (Jan. 1) “Re: Quick coffee price survey”: “So I just ask for the double over ice, then go to the condiments and pour in my “free” 1/2 cup of milk.”…“in the trade this is known as a “ghetto latte”, and i think you’ll find a growing intolerance of this practice.” 2006 Starbucks Gossip (Sept. 6) “A reader asks: Is it fair for a customer to order a ‘ghetto-latte’?”: The “ghetto-latte” is ordering any size Iced Americano, with no water and half ice (This lady’s drink is an Iced Venti, no water, half ice, Americano). She then takes the drink and goes to the condiments bar and adds her own half and half.

Posted 21 Sep 06 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Reader comments:

This is a curious example of what goes around comes around in that the “Ghetto” was originally the Jewish quarter of, I believe, Venice. The word lost its Italian connection for generations, only to find it again with this coinage in its applicability to drinks of (putative) Italian lineage.

by Elliot Essman 21 Sep 06, 1132 GMT

Call it what you want, i.e. Ghetto Latte, but when Starbucks charges an extra $1.25 to add a few tablespoons of milk to expresso, that is highway robbery!! How come it is okay for Starbucks to rip off the customer, but it’s not alright for the customer to save a buck here and there. I’m just upset that I didn’t think of this strategy sooner.

by penelope 23 Nov 06, 1159 GMT

I’ve been drinking what you call ‘ghetto lattes’ for over a decade. I’ve always looked at the extra $1-2 for steamed milk as a sucker’s tax.

by aniwho 19 Dec 06, 0632 GMT

Starbuck “cult customers” need to stop taking starbucks so serious. The flaw is in Starbucks pricing, there should not be such a loop hole. The really pathetic people are the ones who pay the 1.25 just so they don,t look cheap, another Starbucks donation. Their coffee is great and their marketing genius, but, would you pay an extra $100 dollars for a pair of shoes if the same pair was right next to it on sale, just to say you did? Don’t think so.

by Matt 28 Dec 06, 1024 GMT

Latte Schmatte.
1/2 cup of milk is a bit excessive, but people have been putting creamers on the table at the diner for decades. Why are the kids behind the counter so upset? They aren’t paying for the milk, the owner is. I don’t bother with starBUCKS, or any other place where snotty little kids are serving overpriced coffee and begging for tips with a little jar. You want tips? Get a job where they are warranted and don’t beg, you arrogant little puke. Anyone who deserves a tip will at least have the decency to accept it from me directly, but these people can’t be bothered to have that much contact.

by Earl 01 Jan 07, 0327 GMT

Does it still go on in NYC that when you order coffee in a diner they ask white or black? And if you answer, white, they put the milk in it and hand you the cup, having figured out how to make a profit in any ghetto.

by SBQuill 06 Jan 07, 0505 GMT

My “ghetto latte” is usually the result of ghetto beans—crap brew that requires milk or 1/2 & 1/2 to reach drinkable flavor. Truly good espresso does *not* need such adulteration. In the greater SF Bay Area region, Graffeo, Illy, and Monterey Roasting Company reach this distinction. Sadly, other beans, including markedly Starbucks, do not (sorry Peets, you neither).

by Some Guy 15 Jul 08, 1152 GMT