How does the long black fit into Australian coffee culture?

A flat white is a milk coffee that originated in Australia and became widely known after Starbucks introduced it in China on September 29, 2015 under the name Fu Rui Bai. It uses a thinner layer of textured milk foam than a cappuccino, giving a stronger coffee taste relative to the milk, and it sits on menus next to drinks such as the long black and piccolo.

Australia and New Zealand both claim its birthplace, a debate that remains unsettled; Italians brought espresso machines to Australia in the early 1970s and local drinkers preferred less foam than a traditional latte. Making one means pulling a shot of espresso and steaming milk to a fine microfoam, then pouring so the white dot stays visible on the surface.

Flat White, this milk coffee originating from Australia, quickly became popular after Starbucks introduced it to the public under the name "Fu Rui Bai." How exactly does it differ from a latte or cappuccino? Why do both Australia and New Zealand claim to be its birthplace? How should a proper flat white be made? This article will take you through the naming story and origin controversy of the flat white, compare the differences in milk foam thickness among the three hot milk coffees, and break down in detail the complete process from espresso extraction to milk steaming. It also specifically shares Front Street Coffee's extraction parameters and flavor performance when using the "Sunflower Warm Sun Blend" to make a flat white, making it suitable for every coffee lover who wants to understand this coffee in depth.

As coffee culture continues to spread in China, coffee shops of all styles have sprung up like bamboo shoots after rain, and menus are iterating at a startling pace. In addition to classics such as Americano, latte, mocha, and cappuccino, many once "niche" categories have also appeared, such as Flat White, Dirty, Piccolo, and Long Black. Driven by Starbucks, Flat White successfully joined the ranks of popular coffees and became widely known to consumers under the Chinese name "Fu Rui Bai."

The Mystery of the Origin of Flat White Coffee

On September 29, 2015, Starbucks China released a new product at the first Coffee Culture Festival—Flat White—and named it "Fu Rui Bai." In this name, "Bai" is a free translation of White and also refers to the white dot that appears on the surface of the cup during latte art; "Fu Rui" sounds similar to Flat White and literally conveys a rich and fragrant meaning. After that, major chain brands followed suit with their own versions of Flat White: COSTA called it "Chun Yi Bai," Luckin Coffee called it "Ao Rui Bai," and there were also various names such as "Xiao Bai Coffee," "Ao Bai Coffee," and "Ping Bai Coffee." Despite the many aliases, they all refer to the same coffee drink originating from Australia—Flat White.

As for the birthplace of Flat White, Australia and New Zealand each insist on their own account, and this debate remains unresolved to this day. In the early 1970s, Italians brought espresso machines to Australia, sparking a new wave of coffee culture. Compared with traditional lattes, Australians preferred milk drinks with thinner milk foam and more prominent coffee flavor. By the 1980s, Flat White had already appeared on the regular menus of many Australian coffee shops and gradually spread to coffee shops in Europe and America.

According to Australian standards, a latte should be served in a thick-walled, wide-mouthed ceramic cup, and the milk foam layer should be at least 1 cm thick to be considered acceptable; some can even reach an inch thick. The thick, fine milk foam gives the latte a soft and dense layered texture, so that when drinking it you can taste the coffee aroma and also take a big mouthful of milk foam. A flat white, however, requires the milk foam layer to be kept below 5 mm, with a smooth and delicate texture and a high degree of integration between the foam and the coffee liquid. The mouthfeel brought by thin, fine milk foam is not the "softness" of a latte, but a silky "smoothness."

How to Make a Proper Flat White?

To make a proper flat white, you first need to distinguish it from hot milk coffees such as latte and cappuccino.

In terms of milk foam thickness, cappuccino > latte > flat white. Cappuccino has the thickest milk foam, usually forming a 1–2 cm high "hamburger shape," and you must take a big sip of the foam before drinking. The milk foam thickness of a latte is between 0.5 and 1 cm, pursuing a soft and balanced mouthfeel. Flat white has the thinnest milk foam, generally 0.3–0.5 cm, and it must be thin enough to be level with the rim of the cup, without a domed foam layer, so that every sip of strong coffee liquid carries dense foam.

Baristas in New Zealand believe that to make coffee stronger, the ratio of coffee to milk should be adjusted. So they switched to a smaller cup than a latte (about 150 ml) for serving, and uniformly used a double shot of espresso as the base. With less milk, the proportion of coffee increases, and the flavor naturally becomes more intense.

Baristas in Melbourne, on the other hand, replace the base with a double shot of Ristretto and incorporate milk foam of a thickness comparable to that of a latte into a 150 ml cup. Ristretto refers to extracting less liquid weight from the same dose of coffee, and can be understood as a shrunken version of espresso, with extraction concentrated in the front and middle stages and a richer mouthfeel, which therefore places higher demands on coffee bean quality.

The espresso coffee produced by Front Street uses its own roasted "Sunflower Warm Sun Blend," composed of 70% Honduras Sherry coffee and 30% Yirgacheffe sun-dried Red Cherry coffee. The whiskey aroma, vanilla, and cream flavors brought by Sherry, combined with the tropical fruit and fermented notes of Red Cherry, make the coffee rich yet soft in mouthfeel. When making a flat white, Front Street retains the characteristics of a small cup volume, thin milk foam, and a double Ristretto espresso base.

Since most espresso drinks in the store use Espresso as the base, the baristas at FrontStreet Coffee use standard-extraction Espresso as a reference before opening. Each coffee bean has slight differences in its extraction plan, and this plan is the extraction parameter adjusted before opening every day according to the Warm Sun Blend used in the store. Front Street Espresso extraction plan: extract 40 g of coffee liquid from 20 g of coffee grounds, in 28–30 seconds. For Ristretto, keep the grind size and dose unchanged, also use 20 g of coffee grounds, extract 27 g of coffee liquid, in 20–25 seconds. In terms of flavor, it shows a richer berry acidity, whiskey aroma, and caramel flavor.

Pour the extracted coffee liquid into a pre-prepared cup with a capacity of about 200 ml, then measure 150 ml of milk into a milk pitcher and steam it. When steaming the milk, the air intake should be less than for a latte, the foam layer should be thinner and denser, and the temperature is best controlled at 55–60°C, so that it is more comfortable to drink. Finally, evenly incorporate the steamed milk into the coffee liquid; latte art is optional.

Front Street's flat white presents aromas of vanilla, cream, chocolate milk, and whiskey-filled chocolate, as well as the sweet-and-sour notes of berries. It is soft, fragrant, and mellow on the palate, with a very long finish.

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.