The Extremely '90s History of the Flavored Latte

Published by  Maggie Hennessy
July 2022

At once beloved and maligned, the distinctly American practice of doctoring espresso with flavored syrups and copious amounts of steamed milk purportedly dates back to San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood in the early 1980s. Per San Francisco-based syrup maker Torani, a retired coffee industry veteran named LC “Brandy” Brandenburg walked into North Beach's Caffe Trieste in 1982 and glimpsed the Torani flavored syrup bottles lining the back bar. He asked owner and friend Giovanni “Papa Gianni” Giotta if he could take a few home to Portland, Ore., where he had an espresso machine. He started experimenting until he’d concocted the first flavored latte out of steamed milk, espresso, and vanilla and orange syrups, which he called the Fantasia.