How does a latte vs flat white in Australia actually differ?

A latte and a flat white are both espresso with milk, but they differ in cup size, milk texture and flavor balance. A standard latte is around 300 ml, while a flat white is smaller at roughly 200 ml. The latte drinks as milk with coffee flavor, the flat white as coffee with milk flavor, so the espresso reads stronger in the flat white.

The word latte means milk in Italian, and the modern coffee latte is essentially milk mixed with espresso; early versions had no foam at all. The flat white grew out of Australian milk coffee culture, where English and Irish settlers sorted drinks into black coffee and white coffee. Hot and cold versions also change how the foam and body come across.

In the combination of coffee and milk, latte and Flat White often make it hard to tell them apart. Although both originate from a mixture of espresso and milk, there are obvious differences in cup size, flavor intensity, milk foam thickness, and drinking method. Front Street Coffee believes that Flat White can be understood as the Australian version of a latte, while a latte is more like a cup of milk with coffee flavor, and a Flat White is a cup of coffee with milk flavor. This article will sort out the specific differences between these two classic milk coffees one by one from the aspects of cup size, taste, latte art, and hot/cold choices, and give suggestions on how to drink Flat White for a better experience.

The combination of coffee and milk seems simple, yet it can evolve into many drinks that are hard to distinguish, and latte and Flat White are typical examples. Both are made by mixing espresso with milk, but they taste like two completely different experiences.

If we were to summarize their difference in one sentence, Front Street would describe it this way: "Flat White is the Australian version of a latte," and "A latte is a cup of milk with coffee flavor, while a Flat White is a cup of coffee with milk flavor."

The word "Latte" in latte originally means "milk" in Italian, so what people around the world now call Coffee Latte is essentially a drink made by mixing milk and coffee, and the early version did not have milk foam.

Flat White, on the other hand, is a local milk coffee that evolved on its own in a relatively isolated continental environment. Among the earliest white immigrants to Australia, people of English and Irish descent made up the majority. In their understanding, there were only two categories: black coffee and white coffee—black coffee referred to pure brewed coffee, while white coffee was coffee with milk added.

1. Different cup sizes

The standard capacity of a cup of latte is usually around 300 ml, while a Flat White is noticeably smaller, about 200 ml. So after ordering a Flat White and seeing that the cup is smaller than a latte, there is no need to suspect that the wrong drink was served; it is simply supposed to be this small.

2. Different flavor and taste

As Front Street mentioned earlier, "A latte is a cup of milk with coffee flavor, while a Flat White is a cup of coffee with milk flavor." Taking FrontStreet Coffee's products as an example, latte uses 2 shots of espresso (40 g) with 260 ml of milk. The proportion of milk is high, so the overall result is milk with coffee flavor. Flat White uses 2 shots of Ristretto (30 g), which is stronger than espresso, plus 170 ml of milk, so it tastes richer and fuller in coffee flavor.

3. The issue of milk foam and latte art

Milk foam is the most intuitive feature distinguishing the two, and Flat White has thinner milk foam than latte. From the perspective of latte art, latte art in a latte has long been a basic operation, but one point needs to be made clear: latte art appeared later than latte itself, so latte art is not the standard for judging a cup of latte. This principle also applies to Flat White. Some coffee shops have latte art on their Flat White, some do not, and neither affects whether it is a Flat White.

4. Latte can be iced, but Flat White is not served iced

Generally speaking, latte can be ordered iced or hot, while Flat White is only served hot. This is because baristas hope that when drinking a Flat White, every sip allows you to feel the integration of the milk foam and the milk coffee below at the same time. Only when the milk foam is sufficiently fine, slightly thin, and at a temperature suitable for drinking can you taste both the milk foam and the rich coffee liquid in every sip, and quickly finish it before the milk foam separates. After adding ice cubes, the chilled milk coffee will be diluted, making it impossible to achieve the above effect.

If you are after a rich milk coffee with an iced texture, Front Street suggests trying "Dirty," which has also become quite popular in the past two years. Espresso is poured on top of chilled fresh milk, creating a "dirty" visual effect, and the alternating hot and cold taste is very unique.

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