How Does Australian White Coffee Differ From a Latte?

In Australia, milk coffee is simply called White Coffee, and the Flat White is its best-known form. It uses a stronger espresso base with a thin, light layer of milk foam, so the coffee flavor comes through directly instead of sitting under thick foam. It is typically served hot rather than iced.

Starbucks added the Flat White to its menu in 2015, which spread the drink widely. The style grew after World War II, when Italian migrants brought espresso machines to Australia and baristas adjusted the coffee base, milk ratio, and foam thickness. Choosing mild or nutty espresso coffee beans helps recreate a rich, velvety cup at home.

In 2015, Starbucks introduced the classic Australian Flat White to its menu under the name "Fu Rui Bai," and from then on this coffee quickly became popular in China. What's the difference between a Flat White and a latte? Why is it only served hot? The key to making an authentic Flat White lies in the combination of the espresso base and the light, thin milk foam. This article will start from the historical origins of the Flat White, gradually break down Front Street Coffee's extraction parameters and milk frothing techniques, and recommend four espresso blend coffee beans suitable for making Flat Whites, including the mild-style Warm Sun Blend and three nutty-toned blends, helping you recreate a rich, velvety Flat White at home.

In 2015, Starbucks introduced an Australian milk coffee called Flat White, renamed it "Fu Rui Bai," and added it to its permanent menu, after which this drink began to sweep through coffee shops on every street corner. At Front Street, we call this drink Flat White coffee~

In Australia, milk coffee is simply called "White Coffee"

Coffee shops can be seen everywhere on the streets of Australia, which shows that Australians are particularly fond of coffee. Here, if you want to drink black coffee, the barista will make you a Black Coffee (Australian black coffee); if you want milk coffee, they will make you a Flat White, because here milk coffee is simply called White/White Coffee.

After the end of World War II, a large number of Italians emigrated to the Americas, Australia, and other countries to make a living, bringing espresso machines with them to these countries. At the time, traditional fancy coffees were mainly lattes and cappuccinos. Compared with these milk coffees, Australians preferred drinks with a stronger coffee taste, where the flavor could be tasted directly. So baristas began to adjust the coffee base, milk ratio, and foam thickness, gradually giving rise to the "Flat White." Flat means "level," and White refers to the white coffee with milk added.

The biggest feature of a Flat White is that, unlike a cappuccino, you do not have to first drink the thick foam on top before drinking the coffee liquid below. Instead, you can directly taste the rich aroma carried by the coffee crema, and drink the perfect fusion of hot milk with velvety dense foam and espresso. Starting in the 1980s, the Flat White began to appear on permanent menus in Europe, America, and other countries, becoming a standard drink in major coffee shops.

How do you make a delicious Flat White?

Compared with a latte, a Flat White highlights the flavor of coffee by adding milk. Coffee is the protagonist, and milk is only a supporting role. Therefore, in terms of taste, a Flat White has a fuller and richer coffee flavor. In addition, the upper layer of milk foam needs to be light, thin, and silky, so that every sip of strong coffee carries a velvety dense foam layer. A moderate temperature and a relatively small cup size allow it to be drunk quickly before the foam separates.

Front Street believes that the development of the Flat White stems from everyone's pursuit of the flavor and mouthfeel of specialty coffee beans. Therefore, each coffee shop presents a unique Flat White style based on the coffee beans it uses and its own understanding. For example, the espresso blend used by Front Street is its own roasted "Sunflower Warm Sun Blend," composed of 70% Honduras Sherry coffee and 30% Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry coffee. Sherry's whiskey, vanilla, and cream flavors combine with Red Cherry's tropical fruit and fermented notes, making the coffee in the cup rich yet mild.

For the coffee base, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) chooses a double ristretto. A 20g dose of coffee grounds extracts 30g of coffee liquid, with an extraction time of 22-24 seconds. Front Street needs to remind everyone here that the extraction plan for each coffee bean will differ slightly. This extraction plan is the parameter adjusted by the barista before business every day, based on the Warm Sun Blend used in the store.

Pour the extracted coffee liquid into a pre-prepared cup, then pour 150ml of milk into a milk pitcher and steam it. The milk should be aerated less than for a latte, and the foam layer should be thinner and denser. The temperature is best controlled at 55-60°C, making it easier to drink. Finally, pour the steamed milk into the coffee. Front Street's Flat White presents the mouthfeel of chocolate milk and whiskey liqueur chocolate, with a smooth, fragrant, and rich entry and a very long finish.

Why is there no iced version of Flat White coffee?

Usually when we drink lattes, we can choose to make them iced or hot, while Flat Whites are only served hot. This is because baristas hope that when drinking a Flat White, every sip can bring the perfect combination of milk foam and the milk coffee beneath. Only when the milk foam is very dense, relatively thin, and at a temperature suitable for drinking can you simultaneously taste both the milk foam and the rich coffee liquid in every sip, and finish it quickly before the foam separates. After adding ice cubes, the chilled milk coffee will be somewhat diluted and cannot achieve the above effect.

If you are after a rich milk coffee with an icy feel, Front Street suggests trying the "Dirty," which has also been quite popular in the past two years. Drip extracted espresso onto the top layer of chilled fresh milk, creating a "dirty" visual effect, and the alternating hot-and-cold mouthfeel is very unique.

Recommended espresso coffee beans for making Flat Whites

Some friends hope to recreate a delicious Flat White at home. Front Street believes that the first step is to choose the right coffee beans and extract a high-quality espresso as the base. Since the functions of most home espresso machines are not as stable as commercial machines, and their output is also very small, this places greater demands on our control of parameters. Therefore, Front Street recommends choosing espresso blend coffee beans with higher stability. Espresso blends combine the coffee flavors of different producing regions and use medium or darker roasting, giving us a higher margin for error during extraction.

Front Street's bean list offers four espresso blends for everyone to choose from, and we ensure that only coffee roasted fresh within 5 days is shipped, so that when you receive it, it is still in the best tasting period. In addition to the mild-style Warm Sun Blend mentioned above by Front Street, Front Street's espresso bean list also includes three cost-effective nutty-toned blend coffee beans. Their rich mouthfeel and intense aroma are equally suitable for making Flat White coffee.

Balanced and aromatic type — Front Street Specialty Blend Coffee Beans

Colombia washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazil semi-washed coffee beans (70%)

Colombian coffee is added to the classic Brazilian coffee's nutty tone. The espresso presents dark chocolate flavor, caramel sweetness, and a full roasted aroma. Blended with steamed hot milk, it presents chocolate, cocoa, and cream notes, like drinking a cup of unsweetened Ovaltine hot drink.

Classic rich type — Front Street Commercial Blend Coffee Beans

Robusta washed coffee beans (10%) + Colombia washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazil semi-washed coffee (60%)

The espresso has a rich golden crema and nutty aroma. When tasting the Flat White coffee blended with milk, there is a roasted coffee bitterness, but it is accompanied more by a creamy, full mouthfeel. After swallowing, the bitterness also fades away, leaving fragrance on the lips and teeth.

Slightly acidic and mild type — the espresso moka pot coffee beans recommended by many baristas — Front Street Black Cocoa Blend Coffee Beans

Yunnan washed Arabica coffee beans (30%) + Brazil semi-washed coffee beans (70%)

Yunnan Arabica coffee brings a mild acidity, paired with the rich aroma of Brazil Cerrado coffee. The espresso has flavors of caramel, nuts, and mild plum acidity, and when paired with milk it presents a relatively balanced and smooth mouthfeel.

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