Feb. 24--As if you needed another reason to splurge on that latte.
A latte is less likely to spill over and scorch your hands than a regular coffee, according to a new study.
The report, released Tuesday from the Physics of Fluids journal, promises that foam in a latte controls the potential sloshing in a cup.
Researchers found that when they tried to jolt java back and forth within a cup, the foam buttressed the liquid. Five layers of foam bubbles, each about 3 millimeters, were enough to decrease the slosh.
The experiment used a rectangular glass cup, researchers said, noting that results might be different with paper to-go cups or a differently shaped coffee mug.
Researcher Emilie Dressaire, a professor at New York University's Polytechnic School of Engineering, said she first considered foam's potential after she was told at Starbucks she wouldn't need a stopper for her latte.
Her colleagues, thinking while drinking in the south of France, had also noticed their Guinness beers, with their heavy foam, rarely sloshed over the mug.
Researchers hope the data can help with noncaffeinated problems, like transporting hazardous fluids.
Spencer Turer, vice president of testing laboratory Coffee Analysts, said a latte's makeup makes it a friendlier option for the spill-prone.
Unlike a drip brew -- such as what you'd pour out of your coffeepot at home, from ground coffee beans -- a latte is espresso-based, meaning it pulls espresso from an espresso machine, then tops with steamed milk.
"It's a very creamy, very rich, very dense beverage," he said.
Turer, who did not work on the research, said another potential spill-free option is a cappuccino. Cappuccinos usually contain one part espresso, one part steamed milk and one part foam.
"If you put three coffees next to each other, the cappuccino is probably the least likely to burn your hand, because it has the least amount of liquid on top," he said.
One plus for the drip-coffee order? Friendly to the calorie-conscious. A black coffee might have as little as five to 10 calories, Turer said.
"When you start adding dairy or any kind of sugar or sugar substitute, you're adding calories," he said.
But most caffeine chasers, he added, know what they'll order when they step into their neighborhood haunt.
"Coffee's usually not an impulse buy," he said.
