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Speaking of Luckin's Aussie White and Starbucks'Flat White, these two coffees actually both refer to the same coffee — Flat White. This is a coffee drink invented in Australia, made from espresso and milk, so most coffee shops call this coffee "Aussie White".

Some people might say: isn't this the same as a latte or a Dirty? Although they're all milk coffees, they only share the same ingredients — the production process is actually different, so there are distinctions!

A latte is made up of 1/3 espresso + 2/3 milk, and a hot latte also has a 1cm-thick layer of milk foam. It has a smooth, silky mouthfeel and is an Italian-style milk coffee with a pronounced milk flavor.

Flat White coffeeis made up of 2/3 espresso + 1/3 milk + 0.5cm milk foam (or 1/2 higher-concentration ristretto + 1/2 milk + 0.5cm milk foam). Flat White is usually served hot, with a smooth mouthfeel, and is an Italian-style milk coffee with a pronounced coffee flavor.

A Dirty coffee is a product where 2/3 iced milk directly catches 1/3 espresso, and it's only served cold. The charm of a Dirty lies in the layering formed by the coffee and milk. When tasting, you don't stir it and drink it in one gulp, experiencing the gradual transition from espresso to the lactose sweetness of the iced milk.

What coffee beans are used to make Italian-style milk coffee?

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses blended coffee beans to extract espresso for its daily Italian-style coffee products. The advantage of blended coffee beans is that the roaster will blend different proportions of beans from different origins based on their characteristics to create a comprehensive blend suitable for pressurized extraction.

The goal is to reduce the exposure of the shortcomings and instability of single-origin (single-origin) coffee beans under extra-fine grinding and pressurized extraction through blending. Blended coffee beans more effectively ensure the consistent flavor and quality of every cup of espresso.

At the same time, compared to directly using single-origin coffee beans, the cost is considerably lower, which has a very important impact on coffee pricing. In order to meet the different price and flavor requirements of different types of coffee shops for Italian-style blended coffee beans, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) has launched 4 medium-dark roasted Italian-style blended coffee beans, all shipped within 5 days after roasting to ensure the freshness of the coffee beans.

"Warm Sun Blend Coffee Beans", suitable for home/office and specialty coffee shops. Ethiopian Natural Red Cherry coffee beans (30%) + Honduran Sherry Barrel coffee beans (70%), with rich wine aroma, vanilla cream, berry sweetness and acidity, and roasted nut flavors.

"Front Street Specialty Blend Coffee Beans", suitable for home/office and specialty coffee shops. Colombian Washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian Semi-Washed coffee beans (70%), with nut, dark chocolate, and caramel flavors.

"Front Street Commercial Blend Coffee Beans", suitable for all types of coffee shops. Robusta Washed coffee beans (10%) + Colombian Washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian Semi-Washed coffee (60%), with nut, cocoa, and caramel flavors.

"Front Street Dark Cocoa Blend Coffee Beans", suitable for all types of coffee shops, bakeries, and beverage shops. Yunnan Washed Arabica coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian Semi-Washed coffee beans (70%), with soft fruit acidity, caramel, and nut flavors.

How to extract espresso suitable forFlat White coffee?

Currently, the mainstreamFlat White methodscome in two types: one uses a double espresso, and the other uses a double ristretto. Both concentrations of espresso are made by grinding coffee beans into extra-fine particles, tamping them into the portafilter basket of a pressurized espresso machine, and then extracting under high pressure and quickly in a sealed environment to produce a highly concentrated coffee liquid.

But the difference is that a ristretto is simply an espresso extracted at a smaller ratio. For a general double espresso extraction, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) stores use 20g of extra-finely ground coffee to extract 40g of coffee liquid at a 1:2 ratio, with an extraction time of 25-30 seconds.

For ristretto extraction, the coffee-to-liquid ratio is about 1:1.6. Note this! The strength of a ristretto doesn't mean the coffee flavor is more intense, but rather the overall taste of the coffee liquid (sourness, sweetness, bitterness). If it's too strong, it easily shows sharp acidity or burnt bitterness. Therefore, when making a ristretto, it's still necessary to adjust the amount of coffee powder used and the extraction time when needed.

For its daily Flat White production, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses the "Sunflower Warm Sun Coffee Blend Beans" to make a double ristretto. It uses a 200ml cup, adds a double ristretto (35g), and pours steamed hot milk with thin milk foam from the center while dispersing the espresso, which produces a gradual flavor progression. The first sip is the rich fermented wine aroma of the espresso, the second sip is the strawberry milkshake flavor produced by the combination of espresso and milk, and the third sip is the roasted nut flavor produced by a small amount of coffee combined with milk.

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