How Does a Flat White Differ From a Latte or Cappuccino?

A flat white uses a ristretto base, a restricted extraction that pulls only the sweet front and middle segments of the shot, then doubles the dose with a double espresso. It is served with a small amount of milk and a thin foam layer of about 0.5 millimeters, giving a full-bodied, sweet and silky cup that is less milky than an italian latte or a cappuccino.

Starbucks brought the flat white to a wider market in 2015, and it now appears on menus in most specialty coffee shops, with Australia treating it as a local specialty and New Zealand also claiming its origin. It began as a small milk coffee without latte art, so mouthfeel rather than decoration explains its popularity.

Since Starbucks introduced the Flat White in 2015, it quickly became a hit, and today it is a staple on the menu of almost every specialty coffee shop. In Australia, it is even regarded as a local specialty drink, and New Zealand also claims to be its birthplace. Unlike lattes and cappuccinos, the Flat White was originally a small milk coffee without latte art, winning people over through its mouthfeel and flavor. Its espresso base uses a "Ristretto," which reduces bitterness by limiting the amount of extracted liquid and takes only the essence from the front and middle segments of the shot, then doubles the concentration with a double espresso, paired with a small amount of milk and an extremely thin milk foam of only 0.5mm, presenting a rich, full-bodied, sweet yet not bitter, silky smooth character. This article will also analyze the specific differences between the Flat White, latte, and cappuccino, and explain the Chinese meaning of Flat White.

After Starbucks brought the Flat White to market in 2015, this coffee swept the world at an astonishing speed. Today, the Flat White can be found on the menu of almost any specialty coffee shop. In Australia, it is even treated as a local specialty drink and has become one of the must-try representatives for coffee lovers visiting Australia. New Zealand has also joined this "dispute over the place of origin," which shows just how popular the Flat White is.

Why is the Flat White so highly sought after?

Unlike traditional Italian milk coffees such as lattes and cappuccinos, when the Flat White first appeared it was just a small milk coffee without latte art. With no pattern decoration, it clearly did not rely on appearance to attract people, so it can be inferred that mouthfeel and taste are the key to its standing out.

That is indeed the case. Compared with most conventional espresso drinks, the Flat White's recipe is more distinctive. For example, its espresso base — the "Ristretto."

By controlling the amount of extracted liquid, it is possible to reduce the release of bitter substances and extract only the essence from the front and middle segments of the coffee, making the flavor sweeter and more aromatic.

But without enough bitter substances, even if the concentration is high, the coffee can easily be overwhelmed by the taste of milk. So clever Australian baristas came up with the idea of increasing the dose and using a double Ristretto to double the coffee's concentration, ensuring that the coffee is not bitter while also not being drowned by milk.

The milk used to make a Flat White is also very particular. Even if the espresso is doubled, too much milk will still mask the coffee's flavor, so a Flat White does not use too much milk, which also determines that its cup size is on the smaller side. At the same time, in pursuit of a silkier mouthfeel, the Flat White abandons the dense, creamy texture brought by the thick milk foam of traditional milk coffees and instead uses an extremely thin milk foam of only 0.5mm, giving the entire cup of coffee a completely different experience.

It is not like a latte, where the flavors of coffee and milk are balanced and the sweetness stands out; nor is it like a cappuccino, where the coffee concentration is high and the mouthfeel is thick and steady. The Flat White has a rich, full-bodied coffee flavor while being sweet without bitterness, with a very silky mouthfeel. Therefore, it is a drink different from traditional Italian milk coffees. Because of this, once such a cup of milk coffee was launched, it quickly won the affection of people from all walks of life and gradually became second only to the latte.

Thanks to the spread of the concept of "specialty coffee," coffee bean quality has been well managed and improved. People no longer need to use extremely dark roasts to cover up the defective flavors caused by poor bean quality, so coffee beans not only have more options in roast level, but extraction methods also offer more diverse ways to play.

We no longer need to reduce bitter substances by limiting extraction, because coffee is no longer as intensely bitter as it once was. Therefore, nowadays the vast majority of coffee shops adopt the same approach as the New Zealand Flat White, using a normally extracted double espresso paired with a small amount of milk for a simple preparation.

Of course, this is also a major advantage of Flat White coffee. It does not have a fixed pairing formula like other milk coffees. Precisely because there is no fixed standard, you never know what kind of Flat White a coffee shop will serve, making it full of mystery. With a coffee like this, how could people not love it?

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