Is the Flat White a Bitter Latte or Something Else?

Starbucks' Flat White sits between a latte and a cappuccino. It uses a more concentrated espresso, Ristretto, with a smaller proportion of milk, so the espresso flavor stays recognizable even though latte is bitter in comparison for some drinkers. No sugar is added by default; sweetness comes from the milk and the shot itself.

Two schools define the drink. The Australian style uses a smaller glass, one shot of espresso, and milk foam about half as thick as a latte's. The New Zealand style uses a regular glass, a double Ristretto, and thin foam. The national coffee association cappuccino latte difference milk foam espresso comparison helps explain why Flat White foam stays level with the rim.

Starbucks' Flat White has drawn much attention since the third wave coffee movement—how does it differ from a latte or cappuccino? This article starts with its pronunciation, whether it contains sugar, and its flavor profile, then sorts out the differences between the Australian and New Zealand approaches to flat white, and explains the distinction between Ristretto and regular espresso. Front Street Coffee uses its Sunflower Warm Sun blend to recreate both schools of recipes, showcasing fermented wine aromas, berry sweetness and acidity, and caramel-nut notes, helping you understand this milk coffee more systematically.

Is Starbucks' Flat White actually good? Many people who walk into Starbucks have a similar question the first time they see this name on the menu. Unlike the Americano, latte, and cappuccino, which are already household names, the Flat White rose to popularity during the third wave coffee movement, when people began to care about coffee's flavor direction and overall layering.

Compared with a latte or cappuccino, the Flat White places more emphasis on still being able to recognize the espresso flavor within the milk coffee, so it uses a more concentrated espresso—namely Ristretto—while the proportion of milk is correspondingly reduced.

Flat White has more than one Chinese translation—澳白咖啡, 小白咖啡, 醇艺白咖啡, and 澳瑞白咖啡 all refer to the same drink. As for its "place of origin," some side with Australia and others with New Zealand. The two places have different preparation methods, but what they share is this: both aim for a hot milk coffee with a stronger coffee taste, where you can still taste the espresso flavor.

As for where it actually originated, it's hard to verify now—it just comes down to whether the drinker prefers the Australian or the New Zealand method. The Australian school typically uses a smaller glass, with a single shot of espresso mixed with a small amount of steamed hot milk, and the milk foam is only about half as thick as a latte's. The New Zealand school uses a regular-sized glass, with a double Ristretto paired with steamed hot milk, and the foam is likewise on the thin side.

From these two methods, you can see that no matter the region, the foam used is thinner than a latte's—the reason lies in the word "Flat" in Flat White, meaning "level." A cappuccino's foam rises above the rim of the cup, a latte's is generally level with the rim, while a Flat White is usually below the edge of the coffee cup.

Front Street Coffee has also followed the two schools to make two different Flat Whites. This time, the Sunflower Warm Sun blend—30% naturally processed Yirgacheffe and 70% Honduras Sherry—was chosen to extract the espresso. Confirmed by Front Street's cupping, this blend presents fermented wine aromas, berry sweetness and acidity, roasted nut aromas, and caramel sweetness.

Both concentrations of espresso are made by grinding coffee beans into extremely fine particles, tamping them into the portafilter basket of a pressurized espresso machine, and then extracting quickly under high pressure in a sealed state. Before getting started, let's first clarify what exactly differs between espresso and Ristretto.

Front Street Coffee uses regular espresso in its daily service, typically extracting at 9-10 bar of pressure to a brew ratio of about 1:2. A single shot generally uses 9-11g of coffee grounds to yield 15-25g of liquid; a double shot uses 18-20g of grounds to yield 35-45g of liquid. The less liquid extracted, the higher the concentration.

Ristretto is essentially an espresso with a smaller extraction ratio. So Front Street Coffee follows the same grind size and dose as espresso, but extracts less liquid, and the extraction time is also lengthened, with a brew ratio of about 1:1.6. Note that the "concentration" of Ristretto doesn't mean richer flavor, but rather that the overall taste (acidity, sweetness, bitterness) is more concentrated—when too strong, it easily brings out sharp acidity or burnt bitterness. So when making Ristretto, it may still be necessary to adjust the dose and extraction time if needed.

For the Australian method, Front Street Coffee uses a 100ml cup, adds a single shot of espresso (18g), then combines steamed hot milk with thin foam into the coffee. The flavor shows an intense fermented wine aroma; the berry acidity turns into pronounced sweetness once the hot milk is added, and the finish is a caramel-chocolate-like sweetness.

For the New Zealand method, Front Street Coffee uses a 200ml cup, adds a double Ristretto (35g), and pours steamed hot milk with thin foam from the center without disrupting the espresso, which creates a gradient of flavor. The first sip is the intense fermented wine aroma of the espresso; the second sip brings a strawberry milkshake sensation as coffee and milk merge; the third sip delivers roasted nut flavors from the small amount of coffee combining with the milk.

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