Why does blending coffee suit espresso drinks?

Flat white and latte differ in espresso base, milk volume, foam thickness and serving temperature. A flat white, also called Australian white coffee, carries a more prominent coffee flavor with less milk and a thinner foam layer. New Zealand baristas typically build it on a double ristretto, while Australian baristas often use a single espresso. In Australia it is served hot only, since ice dilutes the cup.

Light roasts are poorly suited to espresso because they can taste sharp and thin under pressure, which is why blending coffee became the mainstream approach. Front Street's four espresso options are Sunflower Warm Sun, Specialty Blend, Commercial Blend and Black Cocoa Blend, each with its own recipe and flavor profile. Matching a blend to the drink helps determine whether the cup reads as flat white or latte.

Flat white and latte are often confused with each other, but the two have clear differences in espresso base, milk volume, milk foam thickness and serving temperature. Starting from Front Street Coffee's serving standards, this article compares in detail the differences between flat white and latte in cup size, ratio and flavor, and systematically explains the logic for choosing espresso beans—why light roasts are unsuitable for espresso and why blended beans have become the mainstream. It also introduces the recipes and flavor characteristics of Front Street Coffee's four espresso beans: Sunflower Warm Sun, Specialty Blend, Commercial Blend and Black Cocoa Blend, helping coffee lovers find espresso blend beans suited to their own taste.

For more specialty coffee knowledge, please follow: Front Street Coffee (Frontsteet Coffee)

Those familiar with flat white know clearly that this drink usually does not come in a cold version. Once ice cubes are added, the concentration in the cup is diluted, and the final result is basically equivalent to a latte. Does this mean flat white is inherently stronger than latte in concentration? And which of the two is sweeter? Below, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will discuss these questions and also explain clearly how to tell flat white and latte apart.

What is Flat white coffee?

Flat white is a coffee drink that originated in Australia, so it is also called Australian white coffee, though some insist its place of origin should be New Zealand. Beyond the dispute over its origin, preparation methods also differ from place to place. Overall, flat white is a milk coffee with a more prominent coffee flavor, less milk and a thinner layer of milk foam. As for the espresso base, New Zealand baristas customarily use a double ristretto to make flat white, while their Australian counterparts prefer a single espresso.

In addition, according to Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), in Australia flat white is only served as a hot drink. The reason is that once ice cubes are added, the overall concentration is diluted, and the cup of flat white loses its essence, so it can also be understood that a cold flat white is a latte.

Then what is latte coffee?

Latte is actually a transliteration of the Italian word "Latte," meaning milk, so if you order a latte at an Italian coffee bean shop, what you get may be a cup of milk. In Italy, latte coffee actually means milk coffee. Moreover, with the appearance of espresso machines, the steam wand became standard equipment on espresso machines, making it easy to heat milk on the coffee machine, and modern latte coffee took shape accordingly. So much so that in the 1980s, baristas from Seattle, Washington, began to "paint" with richly textured milk, which was the prototype of latte art.

And because each coffee shop uses espresso blend beans with different flavors and different models of espresso machines, latte coffee will have subtle differences from shop to shop in the ratio of milk to coffee, the beans used, extraction parameters and so on. But generally speaking, latte coffee is a coffee drink made by adding a large amount of milk to espresso. Lattes made with different coffee beans will also have different flavors, lattes made with different milks will also have different flavors, and even different ratios of coffee to milk can present different flavors.

How to distinguish flat white coffee from latte coffee?

As for how to distinguish flat white coffee from latte coffee? Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) believes this depends on the espresso ratio between them, because in fact every shop's flat white and latte ratios differ. Taking Front Street Coffee's (FrontStreet Coffee) servings as an example, as follows:

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) latte standard: A 300ml ceramic coffee cup is used, the espresso base is 40g, and milk plus milk foam is 260ml. The milk foam thickness is about 1 cm (foaming degree: milk filled to the 5th mark whipped to the 7th mark of milk foam).

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) flat white standard: A 220ml glass is used, the espresso uses 30g of espresso, and milk plus milk foam is 190ml. The milk foam thickness is about 0.5 cm. (Foaming degree: milk filled to the 5th mark whipped to the 5.5–6th mark of milk foam).

Differences: In terms of cup size, latte is larger than flat white. Visually, latte's milk foam is slightly thicker and slightly domed, while flat white's milk foam is slightly thinner and flat. In terms of flavor, latte has a richer milky taste, while flat white has a more prominent coffee taste. Therefore Australians joke that a latte is coffee-flavored milk (meaning it is essentially milk), while a flat white is milk-flavored coffee (meaning it is essentially coffee).

How to make flat white coffee?

So how exactly do you make flat white coffee? And how do you make latte coffee? What coffee beans are suitable for making espresso? Next, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will answer these one by one.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses a Pegasus E98 espresso machine, and the extraction parameters are as follows: Pressure: 9 bar Temperature: 90.5–96°C Time: 25–33 seconds Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:1.7–1:2 Dose: 12g (single espresso) 20g (double espresso) Extracted espresso yield: 20ml (single) 40ml (double)

Recommended milk-to-coffee ratio for flat white

Milk: whole fresh milk (Front Street uses Vitasoy fresh milk) Milk steaming temperature: 50–60°C (too low a temperature cannot activate the lactose in the milk, while too high a temperature destroys the protein in the milk, giving a gritty texture) Milk foam thickness: 5mm (1cm of milk foam is for making latte, 1.5cm-thick milk foam is for making cappuccino) Espresso content: 40ml Milk content: 140ml

And the ratio for making latte coffee is as follows:

Front Street uses a Pegasus E98 espresso machine. Pressure: 9 bar Temperature: 90.5–96°C Time: 25–33 seconds Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:1.7–1:2 Dose: 12g (single espresso) 20g (double espresso) Extracted espresso yield: 20ml (single) 40ml (double) Front Street uses a double espresso to make latte, and the flavor performance of the coffee beans after extraction is: obvious fruit acidity, a faint berry aroma lingering, rich wine aroma and chocolate flavor, and a comfortable sweet aftertaste.

Milk: whole fresh milk (Front Street uses Guangming Fresh Pasture milk) Milk steaming temperature: 50–60°C (too low a temperature cannot activate the lactose in the milk, while too high a temperature destroys the protein in the milk, giving a gritty texture) Milk foam thickness: 1 cm (milk foam thinner than 1 cm is for making flat white, milk foam thicker than 1 cm is for making cappuccino)

The above are the parameters used by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) when making Flat white coffee and latte coffee. Secondly, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) understands that each coffee shop uses espresso blend beans with different flavors and different models of espresso machines, so latte coffee will have subtle differences from shop to shop in the ratio of milk to coffee, the beans used, extraction parameters and so on. But generally speaking, latte coffee is a coffee drink made by adding a large amount of milk to espresso. Lattes made with different coffee beans will also have different flavors, lattes made with different milks will also have different flavors, and even different ratios of coffee to milk can present different flavors.

What coffee beans are used for espresso

Generally speaking, coffee beans used to make espresso must be suitable for espresso machines, so coffee that is too lightly roasted is not suitable for making latte. The darker the roasted coffee beans, the stronger the coffee taste of the latte made from them (caramel, bitterness). And the lighter the coffee beans, the more obvious the milky taste of the latte made from them. Therefore the roast level should be chosen to be moderate, so that coffee and milk are better compatible.

Because espresso machines have a very distinct characteristic, which is that they amplify the original flavor of the coffee beans, and lightly roasted coffee beans themselves have relatively prominent acidity, if extracted with an espresso machine the acidity will be even more obvious, so lightly roasted coffee beans are not suitable for making espresso.

In addition, the coffee beans used for espresso now seen on the coffee market are all blends of beans from multiple origins, commonly known as espresso blend beans. This is because the origin of blended coffee comes from Italy, and the common espresso drinks in coffee shops, whether latte, mocha or cappuccino, all use blend beans, because blend beans can make coffee that is originally not mellow enough become more mellow.

The initial appearance of Italian blended coffee was because at that time rich, sweet-and-bitter espresso was popular, while single-origin coffee has flavor bias, that is, advantages and disadvantages coexist. In addition, high-quality single coffee beans are expensive, while blend coffee is more cost-effective, priced lower than single-origin coffee, yet can also have a unique flavor, so at that time many Italians chose blend coffee rather than single-origin coffee, and thus blend coffee developed and has remained popular to this day.

Moreover, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) believes that the main purpose of blending coffee is to maintain a stable flavor and balanced taste, because the coffee fruit is always a crop, and each year climate and environmental issues cause the flavor of the coffee fruit to be unstable; it may be sweeter this year and less sweet next year, and mixing several coffee beans together can solve this problem well, at least keeping the coffee flavor tasted each year consistent.

For example, the Front Street Sunflower Warm Sun series currently used in Front Street Coffee's (FrontStreet Coffee) shop is Front Street's most proud blend creation so far. It is blended from Honduras Sherry coffee and Yirgacheffe sun-dried Red Cherry coffee, and when blended into milk it highlights rich chocolate, caramel and tipsy flavors.

Next, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will introduce the characteristics of this coffee bean!

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Sunflower Warm Sun Blend Flavor: Obvious fruit acidity, a faint berry aroma, wine aroma, rich chocolate flavor, and a noticeable sweet aftertaste. Recipe: Honduras Sherry : Yirga Red Cherry = 7:3

For this blend, Front Street uses Yirgacheffe sun-dried Red Cherry and Honduras Sherry. Front Street's design concept for this blend bean is that it can be used for both espresso and pour-over. The flavor it gives off when used to make espresso has an obvious fermented wine aroma; on the palate the acidity of citrus and berries immediately emerges, with the aroma of whiskey, and the aftertaste is dark chocolate.

Next, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) has also developed three other espresso blend beans for coffee lovers to choose from. Each blend bean has its own characteristics, and you only need to choose according to the flavor you like.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Specialty Blend Flavor: Soft and slightly acidic, fresh and sweet, with a nutty sweet aftertaste, and the overall impression is not too stimulating but平和, with medium crema. Recipe: Colombia : Brazil = 3:7

For this blend, Front Street uses Brazil and Colombia. It tastes of a faint roasted grassy aroma, with a light fragrance and slight bitterness, smooth and pleasant, with a refreshing aftertaste. This is because coffee beans from Colombia's Huila region have a pleasant acidity, an aromatic smell, moderate acidity and rich sweetness that is very intriguing, while coffee beans from Brazil's Cerrado region have a comfortable sweet-and-bitter taste and an extremely smooth entry. So the combination is simply wonderful.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Commercial Blend Flavor: Caramel sweetness, nutty and cocoa-like, dark chocolate flavors, balanced acidity and sweetness, with a slight sweet bitterness and a lingering aftertaste. Recipe: Colombia : Brazil : Robusta = 3:6:1

For this blend, Front Street uses coffee beans from Brazil and Colombia plus 10% Robusta coffee beans. The taste is classic. Front Street believes this blend tastes of rich crema and mouthfeel and caramel sweetness, and also carries nutty and cocoa-like, dark chocolate flavors, with balanced acidity and sweetness, a slight sweet bitterness and a lingering aftertaste. This commercial blend, like Front Street Coffee's (FrontStreet Coffee) Specialty Blend, uses a ratio of Colombian and Brazilian coffee beans, but the difference is that Robusta is also added to provide rich crema, making the coffee's mouthfeel more mellow.

The espresso moka pot coffee bean recommended by many baristas at Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)—Front Street Black Cocoa Blend Flavor: With soft fruit acidity, caramel sweetness, nutty and dark chocolate flavors, smooth and viscous, but the taste is on the lighter side. Recipe: Yunnan : Brazil = 3:7

For this blend, Front Street uses Brazil and Yunnan. Front Street believes it tastes of soft fruit acidity and caramel sweetness, as well as nutty and dark chocolate flavors, smooth and viscous, but the taste is on the lighter side. This is because Yunnan's natural conditions are very similar to Colombia's—high altitude, large temperature difference between day and night—and its flavor is of the mellow-aroma type, with moderate acidity, a rich and mellow taste, even granules, high oil content and fruity notes, and its quality and mouthfeel are similar to Colombian coffee. However, it is still slightly lighter in taste than Colombian coffee, while coffee beans from Brazil's Cerrado region have a comfortable sweet-and-bitter taste and an extremely smooth entry. Therefore the flavor of these two coffee beans mixed together is also quite good, and this espresso moka pot coffee bean recommended by many baristas—Front Street Black Cocoa Blend coffee beans—is very cost-effective and suitable for espresso beginners and small coffee shops.

The above is the relevant content about flat white coffee compiled by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee). We hope it can help coffee lovers who want to learn related knowledge, so that in the future they can choose espresso blend coffee beans suited to their own taste.

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