Whether we go to Luckin Coffee or Starbucks, or an independent café, we always see coffee with the word "white" on the espresso menu. Everyone calls this coffee differently—Luckin calls it Aurui White, Starbucks calls itFu Rui White, and independent cafés call it Australian White Coffee. These are actually all the same Italian milk coffee—Flat white. So what is the difference between thisAustralian White Coffeeand latte? In this article, Front Street Coffee will explain what Australian White Coffee is and why it is calledAustralian White Coffee.
The Origin of the Name Australian White Coffee
Flat white is a coffee beverage that originated in Australia, so naturally people are used to calling this coffeeAustralian White Coffee. The components of a Flat White are actually the same as most milk coffees, consisting of milk, milk foam, and coffee. It is made by incorporating fine, tiny milk foam into a single espresso or double ristretto. The original meaning of "Flat" is smooth, which shows that this coffee brings a smooth mouthfeel to people's palate.
Australian White Coffeeand the Difference from Latte
The original meaning of Coffee Latte in Italian is coffee milk, so this cup of coffee is made by adding a small amount of espresso to milk. While drinking milk, it carries the richness of coffee, so the main tone of this Italian milk coffee should be mostly the taste of milk, with the coffee flavor secondary. Australian White Coffee is the opposite of latte:Australian White Coffeeis made by adding a small amount of milk to double espresso/ristretto, thereby highlighting the flavor of the espresso. In terms of mouthfeel, the 1cm thickness of latte's milk foam gives people a smooth and delicate mouthfeel; one sip down, the sweetness of the milk dances with the richness of the coffee in the mouth. While the 0.5cm thickness of Australian White Coffee's milk foam gives people a smooth, light, and delicate mouthfeel; one sip down, the rich coffee runs with the sweet milk in the mouth.
Do the fineness and thickness of milk foam affect the taste of coffee?
Taking the common Australian White Coffee, latte, and cappuccino as examples: Australian White Coffee's milk foam is relatively thin, about 0.5cm thick, with a bright and glossy surface, extremely strong fluidity, and a smooth, silky, light mouthfeel; latte's milk foam is moderately thick (about 1cm thick), with a glossy surface, strong fluidity but not too scattered, and a smooth, delicate, full mouthfeel; cappuccino's milk foam is relatively thick (about 1.5cm thick), with a duller surface gloss, poorer fluidity, and a dense, solid, full mouthfeel.
Why is milk heated and frothed when making milk coffee?
When making milk coffee, Front Street Coffee uses the steam wand of the espresso machine to heat and aerate the milk. By utilizing the surface tension of milk proteins, many tiny bubbles are formed, and the fineness of these tiny bubbles will affect the mouthfeel of the entire cup of milk coffee. During the foaming process, lactose dissolves into the milk as the temperature rises, and the foaming action seals the lactose within the milk, while the function of milk fat is to let these tiny bubbles form a stable state, so that when these milk bubbles are consumed, the tiny bubbles burst in the mouth, allowing the flavor and aromatic substances to be better released and amplified, giving the milk a sweet, rich taste and mouthfeel.
Generally, the steam wand can be positioned with the pitcher spout as the 12 o'clock direction as a fulcrum, and the steam wand toward the 2-3 o'clock or 9-10 o'clock direction of the milk pitcher. This placement allows the milk to rotate as quickly as possible during steaming and form a small vortex, which can roll coarser milk foam into the milk, making the milk dense after steaming. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) recommends inserting the steam tip about 0.5-1cm as a baseline. If the coffee machine's steam is too strong and the vortex formed is too large or turbulent, then the steam wand can be placed slightly deeper; if the coffee machine's steam is not strong enough, then the steam wand can be placed at a shallower position so that the milk can form a small vortex as quickly as possible without rotating too violently or forming turbulence.
How to Make Australian White Coffee?
Theoretically, Australian White Coffee is only served hot, but with market demand, many merchants offer iced Australian White Coffee. In fact, iced Australian White Coffee is really the same as iced latte, because there is no mouthfeel experience.
Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) chooses double ristretto as the base for making Australian White Coffee. A 20g dose of coffee powder extracts 35g of coffee liquid, with an extraction time of 26 seconds. However, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) needs to remind that each coffee bean's extraction plan will have slight differences. This extraction plan is the extraction parameter adjusted by the barista before business every day, based on the Warm Sun blend used in the store.
For the milk steaming part, only aerate for one second (one chirp) or do not aerate at all, then heat the milk to 55°C. Finally, pour the steamed milk into the coffee. The ratio of coffee to milk will be lower compared to latte, with the aim of creating a rich coffee flavor. Therefore, in terms of cup capacity, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) chooses a 200ml cup for serving Australian White Coffee.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
