What Is White Coffee and How Does It Differ From Black Coffee?

White coffee has two meanings. In Australian cafes it describes any coffee with milk, most commonly the Flat White, while the term long black refers to espresso diluted with water. The second meaning is Malaysian white coffee, a specialty product made from a blend of three bean types, dark roasted, then combined with sugar and creamer into an instant mix.

Black coffee, by contrast, contains only water and coffee, covering pour-over, cold brew and Americano. Malaysian white coffee and Australian-style white coffee are therefore not the same drink, and the difference lies in the bean blend, roast level and added ingredients. Brewing a Flat White at home depends mainly on the espresso base and the milk texture rather than on the name alone.

We are all familiar with black coffee, which refers to pure coffee with no added ingredients that affect the taste. But since there is black, is there also white? White coffee does indeed exist, it's just that the concept is not as widespread as black coffee. Currently, there are two main interpretations of white coffee: one is the general term for coffee with milk in Australian cafés, with the Flat White being the most well-known; the other is the specialty white coffee invented by Malaysian Chinese, made from a blend of three types of beans, dark roasted, and combined with sugar and creamer to produce an instant product. This article will help you clarify the origins and differences of these two types of white coffee, and understand how Front Street Coffee's classic Italian blend performs when making a Flat White.

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Black coffee is a term we are all too familiar with—a professional way of referring to pure coffee that contains nothing but water and nothing else that affects the taste. Pour-over, cold brew, Americano, and the like all belong to the black coffee camp. But since black is mentioned, it naturally makes one think of white—black and white have always gone hand in hand. So does white coffee exist in the world of coffee?

The answer is yes. It's just that the concept of white coffee is far less deeply rooted in people's minds than black coffee, and its scope is broader, so it is rarely used in daily life.

What exactly does white coffee refer to?

There are currently two main interpretations of white coffee. Front Street will first discuss the one that is relatively more familiar and most popular online: the division between black coffee and white coffee originated in Australia. In most Australian cafés, coffee is basically categorized into these two types.

Take black coffee as an example—locals in Australia call espresso "Short Black," meaning a small cup of black coffee; when Short Black is diluted with a certain amount of water, what is called Americano elsewhere is called "Long Black" in Australia, which can be understood as a large cup of black coffee. It's clear that Australians have a very direct approach: keep it simple whenever possible.

The same logic applies to white coffee, except the naming isn't as extreme. In Australia, white coffee simply refers to coffee with milk added—lattes, cappuccinos, and other milk coffees all count as White Coffee.

Among the many white coffees, one product stood out for being different from traditional Italian milk coffees. With the push from a well-known chain, it spread rapidly and soon appeared on the menus of specialty coffee shops everywhere. It was the first time the general public became aware of the existence of white coffee, so in many people's minds, white coffee refers to this one. Front Street asks: has everyone guessed which one it is?

That's right—it's the Flat White.

Flat White is translated from the term "Flat white." Names like Pingbai, Xiaobai, Furuibai, Chunyibai, and Aoruibai all derive from this word. No matter which translation is used, none can escape the word "white," which has left many people with a deep impression of white coffee.

Front Street often shares Flat White preparation methods; interested friends can look through previous articles. Here we'll only give a brief introduction: Flat White is a localized Australian Italian milk coffee. Australians prefer a stronger coffee flavor but don't want to taste excessive bitterness, so they created a highly concentrated, low-extraction version of espresso—Ristretto.

Because Ristretto does not extract the later-stage compounds, the entire cup is full of sweetness, rich but not bitter. Paired with a small amount of milk with silky microfoam, it highlights the coffee's flavor while enhancing the overall body. Aromatic, highly sweet, full-bodied, and silky—these are the characteristics of a Flat White, and what distinguishes it from traditional Italian coffee, making it a favorite of many.

To make Ristretto, Front Street's classic Italian blend coffee is used. This recipe is a combination of beans from three origins—Brazil, Indonesia, and Vietnam—and uses a dark roast, which maximizes the coffee's rich aroma and makes it easy to extract abundant, dense crema. It is suitable for both Americano diluted with water and latte paired with milk. It can be purchased at Front Street's Taobao store or Front Street's Tmall flagship store.

The above is the more traditional interpretation of white coffee. Next, Front Street will share another type of white coffee—the white coffee that is a century-old local specialty of Malaysia.

Malaysian White Coffee

In Malaysia, white coffee is a highly representative symbol of food culture. It also refers to coffee with milk added, but more often it refers to a specific local coffee product. This product is said to have been invented by Chinese immigrants to Malaysia, and its ingredients are very particular. What's so particular about it?

It uses a blend of three types of beans, but these three beans are not coffee beans from different regions—they are three different coffee species: Liberica, Arabica, and Robusta.

After blending, they are roasted until the beans are shiny and oily, then removed from the roaster. After cooling, the soluble coffee substances are extracted, and then sugar, creamer, and other ingredients are added. Finally, it is made into powder for convenient brewing at any time. By this point, I believe everyone has realized the true identity of this white coffee—yes, it's instant coffee. In Malaysia, this instant product called white coffee is a local specialty.

Almost every small shop stocks this white coffee, because locals have long regarded coffee as a daily necessity. For this reason, when traveling to Malaysia, there's no need to seek out a particular café—this specialty is everywhere, and you can taste its unique deliciousness at any time.

In summary, the "white" in white coffee mainly refers to dairy products, and white coffee essentially refers to coffee with dairy products added.

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