Is Cafe Latte Bitter, and How Does a Flat White Compare?

A flat white does contain milk foam, but only a thin layer of fine microfoam, unlike the thicker foam cap on a cappuccino. All three classics, latte, cappuccino, and flat white, start with espresso plus milk; the difference lies in strength, foam thickness, and mouthfeel, plus the ratio of espresso to milk.

Whether a cafe latte tastes bitter depends largely on the espresso itself and on how the milk is steamed. An espresso that is concentrated but clean, with bitterness that is not harsh and a noticeable sweet aftertaste, keeps the milk drink balanced. Grinding fresh beans fine and extracting at 9-10 bar with water near 94°C produces that small, highly concentrated shot.

On the menus of specialty coffee shops, latte, cappuccino, and flat white are often called the three classics among milk coffees. They all use espresso as their base and add milk, yet they present distinctly different strength, foam thickness, and mouthfeel. The quality of the espresso directly determines the flavor direction of the milk coffee, while the way the milk is steamed deeply affects the drinking experience. In this article, Front Street Coffee will explain espresso extraction, milk steaming techniques, and the specific ratios of the three milk coffees, to help coffee lovers understand whether a flat white has milk foam and whether it or a latte tastes better.

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Latte, cappuccino, and flat white—these three drinks have almost become the indispensable "three golden flowers of milk coffee" on specialty coffee shop menus. Although they are all made from espresso plus milk, their strength, foam thickness, and mouthfeel are all different. Next, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will talk about the differences between them.

Making espresso

The three milk coffees mentioned above all rely on espresso and milk as their base. As the foundation, espresso holds a very key position. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) believes that an ideal espresso should have a strong, full flavor, a clean mouthfeel, bitterness that is not harsh, and a noticeably sweet aftertaste.

When making espresso, freshly roasted beans need to be ground into a very fine powder, then placed into a dedicated espresso machine. With 9-10 bar of pressure, hot water at about 94°C quickly passes through the coffee bed, ultimately producing a very small amount of highly concentrated coffee liquid.

Because it is highly concentrated, after espresso spread to different places, people continuously added different ingredients according to local tastes. Milk was the easiest to obtain, so it gradually became the most common pairing, and from this many kinds of milk coffee were derived.

The taste of the espresso will influence the performance of the entire cup of milk coffee. A milk coffee that leaves a lasting impression on those who drink it cannot be separated from consistent output. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) stores daily choose blended beans to extract espresso, because compared with single-origin beans, blended beans can better keep the taste and quality of each espresso stable.

What Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses is the Sunflower Warm Sun blend made of 30% naturally processed Yirgacheffe and 70% Honduras Sherry. After cupping confirmation by Front Street, this blend presents fermented wine aroma, berry-like sweet acidity, roasted nut aroma, and caramel sweetness.

Freshly roasted beans contain a large amount of carbon dioxide inside and continue to release it every day, so before extracting espresso each day, the parameters must be checked and adjusted to ensure the espresso is stable.

When producing drinks at Front Street stores, 19.5-20g of coffee powder is used to extract 38-40g of coffee liquid, with the time controlled at around 27-32 seconds. Different coffee machines and grinders have different performance, so the parameters cannot be directly copied. You can first extract according to a 1:2 powder-to-liquid ratio (20g powder corresponding to 40g liquid), for 28-32 seconds, and then decide how to fine-tune based on the taste the espresso presents.

Steps for steaming milk to make milk coffee

1. Best capacity for milk steaming: Leave reasonable space when steaming milk. The baristas at Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) suggest using 40-60% of the total capacity of the milk pitcher. Too little or too much milk makes greater demands on skill. Of course, it should also be combined with the actual amount of milk needed for a cup of coffee to avoid waste. The milk pitcher used at Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) stores is 550ML, filled with 250ML of milk (just to the bottom of the pitcher spout).

2. Steaming position: Before preparing to steam, first open the steam wand switch and release the residual condensed water vapor (close it after releasing). Then pull out the steam wand, keep it at a 45-degree angle, and use the pitcher spout to fix the position of the steam wand. In this case, the steam vortex is counterclockwise, and the steam wand is located to the right of the center cross on the liquid surface, in a half-buried state.

3. Aeration and steaming stage: After opening the steam switch, you will hear a "squeak—squeak" sound, and this is when the steaming stage begins. The thicker the milk foam needed, the longer the steaming time. Usually, steaming milk from 50% to 60% volume (the foam thickness for a latte) takes about 3 seconds. The milk rotates in a consistent direction, forming a vortex.

4. Texturing stage: At this point, fully submerge the steam holes and only heat without adding more air. Do not place the steam holes at the very bottom; it is recommended to keep them in the milk foam layer, which helps turn coarse bubbles into fine ones. When to stop? It depends on the milk temperature, generally controlled between 55-65°C. Too high a temperature will denature the proteins. Well-steamed milk foam is fine and dense; when swirled it looks like set yogurt, and the surface reflects like a mirror, with a very silky feel.

Making a latte

Once a latte is made well, it highlights the sweetness of the milk without covering the aroma and richness of the coffee, so it still has a slight bitterness when drunk.

When Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) makes a latte, it uses 40g of espresso liquid plus hot milk heated and steamed to 1cm thick silky foam. After the two are fully integrated, latte art is poured. The finished drink is about 300ml.

Making a cappuccino

Cappuccino is also called liquid marshmallow. The first sip lets you feel the espresso crema and marshmallow-like milk foam blending in the mouth; the second sip brings the mixture of milk and coffee, plus the dense milk foam, so two sips can bring a triple experience.

When Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) makes a cappuccino, it uses 25g of espresso liquid plus hot milk heated and steamed to 1.5cm thick dense foam, then pours the thick foam and milk from the center into the espresso. The finished drink is about 200ml.

Making a flat white

Flat white can be understood as a richer version of a latte, an espresso milk coffee that better highlights the coffee flavor.

It uses 40g of espresso liquid plus hot milk heated and steamed to 0.5cm thick silky foam. Finally, the milk and coffee are slowly poured from the center into the ristretto, without breaking the crema, increasing the coffee's rich mouthfeel. The finished drink is about 180ml.

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