What does flat white share with the cappuccino name origin debate?

A flat white is a milk coffee that originated in Oceania, with Australia and New Zealand each claiming its invention. It is defined by a richer coffee flavor and a thinner, more delicate milk foam than a latte or cappuccino. The drink appeared in writing in the 1980s, including a Sydney cafe menu in 1985, though the term itself was used earlier in a 1960s British film to mean thin, watery coffee.

The three drinks differ mainly in milk ratio and foam thickness, which shapes how each one tastes. For anyone comparing a cappuccino or learning how to make a hot vanilla latte, the flat white is a useful reference point because it keeps the espresso flavor forward and the milk texture light. Front Street Coffee's in-store practice shows how these ratios play out at the bar.

Among the many milk coffees, Flat White has seen continuously rising popularity in recent years, with many enthusiasts walking into a shop and ordering one by name. This drink originated in Oceania, but Australia and New Zealand each claim its invention. Flat White wins with its rich coffee flavor and delicate mouthfeel, and it differs clearly from latte and cappuccino in milk ratio and milk foam thickness. This article will start from the controversy over its origin, production standards, and the extraction principles of espresso, and combine them with Front Street Coffee's in-store production practice to sort out the complete knowledge framework of Flat White, helping readers understand once and for all the core differences between it and latte and cappuccino.

When coffee is mentioned, many people's first reaction is the milk-added style. Everyone is used to walking into Starbucks or any cafe on the street and blurting out an order for a latte. In recent years, friends who come to Front Street stores will also casually order a flat white. In fact, flat white is the English name of Flat White.

The reason Flat White carries the character "Ao" is that it originated in Australia. However, the origin of this Australian-style white coffee has never been conclusively settled on the other side of Oceania: Australia insists that flat white is its own invention; neighboring New Zealand claims that the birthplace of flat white should belong to New Zealand.

As early as the 1960s, the term flat white appeared in the British film "Danger by My Side," though in the film it was used to refer to thin, bland, watery coffee.

It was not until the 1980s that the modern sense of the flat white drink was documented in writing.

[Australia]

In May 1983, an article reviewing refined cafes mentioned "flat white";

In April 1984, a Sydney newspaper, when satirizing the then-popular latte, used "flat white" to refer to it;

In 1985, a cafe in Sydney called Moors Espresso listed "flat white" on its menu, and the owner said this "white coffee-flat" was something he brought to Sydney from Queensland;

In 1985, the menu of the restaurant at Parliament House in Canberra marked "flat white only."

[New Zealand]

A cafe in Auckland called DKD invented flat white to replace latte;

In 1989, at Bar Bodega in Wellington, a barista used skim milk to steam milk for a cappuccino, but it failed because the milk foam was too thin, and instead the result was a flat white.

Whether Flat White originated in Australia or New Zealand remains a hotly debated topic. Setting aside the place of origin for now, Flat White, with its strong coffee flavor and delicate mouthfeel, has won the favor of many coffee enthusiasts and also earned praise from many milk coffee fans.

More interestingly, although it is also called flat white, the production standards in Australia and New Zealand are very different. Australians prefer to use a single shot of espresso, while New Zealanders are accustomed to using a double shot of espresso. At this point, some friends may ask Front Street: what exactly is espresso?

Espresso and the espresso we usually drink have both similarities and differences. The similarity is that both are concentrated coffee liquid extracted using the same principle. The difference is that espresso, as the name suggests, has a richer and more concentrated flavor.

When extracting espresso, the coffee liquid that first drips out is dark in color and thick in texture; as the extraction time lengthens, the later-stage coffee liquid becomes lighter and lighter in color and thinner and thinner in texture.

Espresso, however, only takes the first and middle stages of espresso during extraction, so compared with ordinary espresso, its coffee flavor is more intense and its mouthfeel is fuller.

Although FrontStreet Coffee's menu does not list "Flat White" separately, when customers order it, Front Street stores will still serve it. When FrontStreet Coffee's baristas make Flat White, they use a double shot of espresso as the base.

FrontStreet Coffee Flat White production method

Front Street's standard for producing espresso is: extract 40 grams of espresso liquid from 20 grams of coffee grounds, with an extraction time of 28 seconds.

When Front Street makes Flat White, it uses a cup with a capacity of about 240 milliliters. Because Flat White's milk foam is very thin, when steaming milk foam, Front Street recommends first getting the milk moving, then introducing a small amount of air, and finally steaming the milk foam until it is dense.

After integration is complete, because the milk foam is extremely thin, subsequent latte art is not easy to form. Front Street recommends using a centered fixed-point pour to form a small dot, or pouring a heart shape.

The Flat White made by Front Street has a rich vanilla and cream flavor on the palate, as well as a distinct whiskey barrel aroma. Drinking it in winter makes people feel warm. This is because Front Street stores use Sunflower Warm Sun blend coffee beans to make espresso. This espresso blend is composed of 70% Honduras Sherry coffee beans plus 30% Ethiopian natural Red Cherry coffee beans.

Sherry coffee beans are fermented at low temperature for 30 to 40 days in Sherry whiskey barrels, so the flavor of Sherry whiskey seeps into the green coffee beans. Sherry whiskey has rich vanilla and cream flavors and explosive sweetness, and this Sherry coffee bean also carries a flavor similar to Sherry cask whiskey.

The varieties of this Honduras coffee bean are Caturra, Catuai, and Pacas. With the support of Bourbon genetics, the sweetness of the Sherry coffee beans is made more prominent. At the same time, the Sherry coffee beans have the characteristics of Honduras coffee beans, being balanced overall, with acidity that is not too assertive.

What are the differences among Flat White, latte, and cappuccino?

If you have tasted Flat White, latte, and cappuccino separately, you will find that latte has a stronger milky taste, cappuccino has a prominent coffee flavor and a denser mouthfeel, while Flat White emphasizes the flavor of the coffee itself more, and the presence of milk is weakened.

From the perspective of the ratio of milk to coffee liquid, latte has the highest proportion of milk among the three, while Flat White uses relatively less milk, so in terms of flavor, latte has a stronger milky taste and Flat White tastes stronger.

The simplest way to distinguish these three is to look at the thickness of the milk foam. When Front Street produces these three milk coffees, Flat White has the thinnest steamed milk foam, latte is in the middle, and cappuccino has the thickest milk foam among the three.

For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account cafe_style)

For professional coffee knowledge exchange, please add WeChat ID kaixinguoguo0925

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