Is Starbucks' Flat White any good? I believe every one of you who has been to Starbucks has been curious about this coffee. Unlike Americano, Latte, and Cappuccino, these famous Italian-style coffees, the Flat White rose to popularity during the third wave of coffee, when people began to pursue coffee flavor & overall layering.

Compared to Latte and Cappuccino, Flat White places more emphasis on being able to taste espresso flavor even in milk coffee, so it uses a more concentrated espresso, also known as Ristretto, and the proportion of milk added is also lower.

Besides 馥芮白, Flat WhiteAobai coffee,Xiaobai coffee, Chunyi White coffee, Aorui White coffee, and so on are all its Chinese translated names. As for the "place of origin" of the Flat White, some believe it is Australia, while others believe it is New Zealand, because the two places have different ways of making the Flat White, but what they share is that both make this coffee to present a cup of hot milk coffee with a rich coffee taste and espresso flavor.

As for where exactly the place of origin is, it is currently impossible to verify, so it only depends on whether the drinker prefers the Australian method or the New Zealand method~ The Australian method uses a smaller glass, uses a single shot of espresso mixed with a small amount of steamed hot milk, and the thickness of the milk foam is half thinner than that of a Latte. The New Zealand method uses a regular-sized glass, then uses a double shot of Ristretto mixed with steamed hot milk, and the thickness of the milk foam is also relatively thin.

From the two methods, we can see that no matter which region it is, the milk foam used is thinner than Latte foam. The reason is that "Flat" in Flat White means flat. Compared to Cappuccino, whose milk foam rises above the rim of the cup, and Latte, whose milk foam is level with the rim of the cup,Flat Whiteusually sits below the rim of the coffee cup.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) has also made two different Flat Whites based on the two schools' methods~ This time, it used a sunflower warm sun blend coffee bean consisting of 30%sun-dried Yirgacheffeand 70%Honduras Sherryto extract espresso. Through Front Street cupping, it was determined that this blended coffee bean expresses fermented wine aroma, the sweet-tartness of berries, the aroma of roasted nuts, and the sweet fragrance of caramel.

The two concentrations of espresso beans are ground into very fine particles, then placed into the portafilter basket of a pressurized espresso machine by tamping, and then extracted under high pressure and quickly in a sealed state, resulting in a highly concentrated coffee liquid. Before making it, let us first understand the difference between espresso and Ristretto.

In its daily production, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses regular espresso. It usually uses 9-10 bar of pressure to extract coffee liquid at a coffee-to-liquid ratio of about 1:2. Generally, a single shot of espresso uses 9-11g of coffee grounds and extracts about 15-25g of coffee liquid, while a double shot of espresso uses 18-20g of coffee grounds and extracts 35-45g of coffee liquid. The less coffee liquid extracted, the higher the coffee concentration.

Ristretto is actually an espresso with a smaller extraction ratio. Therefore, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses the same grind size and dose as espresso, extracts less coffee liquid, and the extraction time is also longer. Generally, the extracted coffee-to-liquid ratio is about 1:1.6. Note! The concentration of Ristretto does not mean the coffee flavor is richer, but rather the overall taste of the coffee liquid (sourness, sweetness, bitterness). If it is too concentrated, it easily shows sharp acidity/bitter burnt flavors. Therefore, in the process of making Ristretto, it is still necessary when needed to adjust the dose used and the extraction time.

For the Australian method, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) used a 100ml cup, added a single shot of espresso (18g), and combined steamed hot milk with thin milk foam with the coffee. Its flavor expression is a rich fermented wine aroma, and the acidity of the berries produces an obvious sweetness after the hot milk is added, with a finish of caramel chocolate sweetness.

For the New Zealand method, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) used a 200ml cup, added a double shot of Ristretto (35g), and poured steamed hot milk with thin milk foam from the center while dispersing the espresso. This method produces a layered flavor expression. The first sip is the rich fermented wine aroma of espresso, the second sip is the strawberry milkshake flavor produced after the espresso and milk combine, and the third sip is the roasted nut flavor produced after a small amount of coffee and milk combine.

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