On coffee shop menus, cappuccino, latte, and Flat White are almost essential milk coffees. They may seem similar, but in fact they differ in historical origins, ingredient ratios, cup size, milk foam thickness, and flavor profile. In this article, Front Street Coffee will take you through the birth stories of these three drinks, and, combined with the recommendation of Front Street's classic espresso blend, compare their preparation standards and tasting experiences item by item, while also answering common questions such as the differences between iced drinks and traditional hot drinks, helping you understand more professionally and choose the cup that suits you.

Latte, cappuccino, and Flat White are almost regular guests in every coffee shop. Today, Front Street Coffee will help everyone clarify the differences between them.

Everyone has more or less encountered these three drinks, so here we will briefly talk about their origins. Modern latte and cappuccino both originated in Italy and are the most common and most favored types of milk coffee in the espresso system. Latte is a transliteration of the Italian word "latte," which originally means "milk"; latte coffee is the combination of milk and espresso.

Cappuccino comes from the transliteration of "Cappuccino," and "Capuchin" refers to the small white hood on the robe of Franciscan friars. Because the layer of white milk foam on the surface of the coffee resembles the friar's hat, this drink was named cappuccino.

For Flat White coffee, more people are familiar with its original name "Flat White." 馥芮白, 澳瑞白, 平白咖啡, and 小白咖啡 are all different translations of "Flat White." It originated in Oceania (whether specifically Australia or New Zealand is still debated today). To some extent, Flat White can be seen as the Australian version of a latte.

In order to help everyone learn to distinguish latte, cappuccino, and Flat White, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) plans to start from their respective birth stories, and then compare them in terms of ingredient composition, cup size, milk foam thickness, and flavor and mouthfeel.

Before formally distinguishing them, let's first talk about the beans used to make these three coffees. There are all kinds of products on the market, but if you want latte, Flat White, and cappuccino all to present a rich and full flavor, it is recommended to use Front Street classic espresso blend coffee. This recipe is composed of coffee beans from three origins: Brazil, Indonesia, and Vietnam. It uses a deep roast, which can maximize the coffee's mellow aroma and also makes it easy to extract rich, dense crema. Whether making an Americano diluted with water or a latte paired with milk, it is very suitable. Online, it can be purchased through the Front Street Taobao store or the Front Street Tmall flagship store.

How did early cappuccino come about?

In fact, the inventor of cappuccino cannot be verified, but looking through materials, one can find that the word "Cappuccino" comes from "Kapuziner," which in German means "monk" and also refers to an old-style coffee drink.

It is said that this beverage was born in a Vienna coffee house in the 18th century. At that time, coffee was drunk together with the grounds and water. To improve the taste, a Polish man named Kulczycki used a cloth bag to filter out the coffee grounds, then poured it into a glass, adding honey, spices, and cream. This not only made the coffee smoother but also gave it a unique reddish-brown color, similar in appearance to the color of the robes of the Order of Capuchin Friars Minor, so the Viennese called it "Kapuziner."

Later it spread to Italy. With advances in pressurized coffee machine technology, Italians began using espresso and whipping milk into dense foam to replace cream, then using a spoon to shape the surface foam into a pointed hat. Gradually, it acquired its own Italian name—Cappuccino. As for its "predecessor" Kapuziner, people are more accustomed to calling it Viennese Coffee.

Where did Flat White coffee originate?

Regarding the invention of Flat White, Australians and New Zealanders each have their own account, both insisting that this drink comes from their own country, and the recipes used by baristas in the two countries to make Flat White are also different. Although we cannot determine which country Flat White actually came from, what is certain is that this drink originated from people's pursuit of higher-quality coffee.

Before the 1970s, Australian coffee shops mainly used French presses, manual pour-over, and other methods to make black coffee. By the early 1970s, Italians brought espresso machines to Australia, setting off a new wave of coffee enthusiasm. Compared with traditional latte and cappuccino, Australians preferred milk drinks with thinner milk foam and a stronger coffee taste. As a result, milk coffee was continuously improved in Australia, New Zealand, and other places, with the milk foam becoming flatter and flatter, until only a thin layer remained, with the liquid surface completely level with the rim of the cup, hence the name Flat White. Flat means "level," while White refers to the white coffee with milk added.

Starting in the 1980s, Australians added Flat White to fixed menus, and it soon spread to coffee shops in Europe and the United States. Flat White became a popular product in China thanks to Starbucks introducing it in 2015 and naming it "馥芮白" as one of its featured drinks, which also meant that this milk coffee had entered the mainstream.

What are the differences in how these three coffees are made?

First, look at cup size. According to Front Street's serving standards, latte uses a 300ml wide-mouth ceramic cup, cappuccino uses a 180ml narrow-mouth ceramic cup, and Flat White uses a 210ml glass. Next, look at the composition. Latte is 2 shots of espresso (40g) plus 260ml steamed milk and milk foam; cappuccino is 1 shot of espresso (20g) plus 160ml steamed milk and milk foam; Flat White is 2 shots of espresso ristretto (30g) plus 180ml steamed milk and milk foam. Espresso ristretto here refers to the middle and front part of the espresso extraction, with a richer and more intense flavor.

Milk foam thickness has always been an important marker distinguishing these three coffees. Among them, cappuccino has the thickest milk foam (about 1-1.5cm), and its most obvious feature is being "11 points full," that is, the milk foam rises above the rim of the cup, forming a protruding hamburger-like shape; Flat White has the thinnest milk foam (about 0.3cm), and because the foam is thin, the liquid surface is basically level with the rim of the cup, so it is called "flat white coffee"; latte's milk foam thickness is between the two (0.5cm), and this thickness is very suitable for latte art. One of the reasons for choosing a wide-mouth cup is to better present latte art patterns.

In terms of taste and mouthfeel, latte has the most milk, so the milk flavor is more prominent; Flat White uses ristretto with less milk, so the coffee aroma is more obvious; cappuccino is in the middle. In terms of mouthfeel, cappuccino is the fullest, thanks to the fusion of fine, thick milk foam and coffee crema, making it especially smooth; next is Flat White, and finally latte.

Can these coffees all be made iced?

Usually when ordering a latte, we will tell the barista whether to make it iced or hot, but traditional cappuccino and Flat White are only served hot. This is mainly because when they were invented and became popular, baristas did not "incidentally invent" an iced version, and they were also served hot by default. In addition, baristas hope that with every sip, you can taste both the milk foam and the milk coffee below. Only when the milk foam is fine and relatively thin and the temperature is pleasant can it be finished quickly before the milk foam separates, so that every sip combines milk foam and rich coffee liquid. After adding ice cubes, the cooled milk coffee will be diluted and cannot achieve the above effect.

If you really want to pursue a richly flavored milk coffee with an icy feel, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) suggests trying Dirty coffee, which has become very popular in recent years. That is, pouring freshly extracted espresso on top of chilled fresh milk or purified milk, presenting a "dirty" visual effect, with a very unique alternating hot-and-cold mouthfeel.

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