Is Australian white coffee the same as a flat white?

Australian white coffee and the Starbucks item often called flat white refer to the same espresso drink, with names and preparation varying by region. It is a milk coffee with a more prominent coffee flavor, less milk and thinner foam than a latte. The drink originated in Australia, though some trace its birthplace to New Zealand.

Espresso base differs by school: New Zealand baristas prefer a double ristretto while Australian baristas lean toward a single espresso. In Australia it is usually served hot only, since ice dilutes the concentration and the flavor expression is lost, making an iced version essentially a latte. The latte vs flat white australia comparison comes down to cup size, ratio and foam thickness.

In the large family of espresso drinks, latte, mocha, and cappuccino are already well known, while Flat White and the Starbucks menu item "馥芮白" often leave people confused. In fact, 馥芮白 and Australian white coffee refer to the same drink; only the name and preparation vary by region. Starting from Front Street Coffee's production standards, this article sorts out the controversy over the origin of Flat White, the choice of espresso base, milk steaming temperature and foam thickness, and compares it with latte in terms of cup size, ratio, and flavor, helping coffee lovers make a qualified Flat White at home.

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Friends familiar with espresso know clearly that this category of drinks has quite a rich range of branches. Taking Front Street Coffee's stores as an example, the menu includes latte, mocha, and cappuccino, as well as hidden items like Flat White and dirty coffee. Their underlying logic is all espresso plus milk, and the differences are mainly reflected in the mixing ratio of each component. Everyone is relatively familiar with latte and mocha, so what exactly is Flat White? Is it the same thing as 馥芮白? Literally, is it Australian white coffee? Below, Front Street Coffee will explain them one by one.

What is Flat White ?

The 馥芮白 and Australian white coffee mentioned above are actually different names for Flat White, pointing to the same espresso drink.

Flat white is a coffee drink that originated in Australia, so it is also called Australian white coffee, though some people believe its true birthplace is New Zealand. Besides the dispute over its origin, the preparation methods of Flat White also have different schools. Overall, it is a milk coffee with a more prominent coffee flavor, less milk, and thinner milk foam. Regarding the espresso base, New Zealand baristas prefer to use a double ristretto, while Australian baristas are more accustomed to using a single espresso.

In addition, according to Front Street Coffee's understanding, in Australia locally, Flat White is usually made only as a hot drink. Once ice cubes are added, the concentration of the whole cup will be diluted, losing the flavor expression it should have, so in a sense, iced Flat White is equivalent to latte.

So how is Flat White made?

Because different coffee shops use different models of espresso machines, the extraction parameters also need to be adjusted accordingly. Below, Front Street Coffee takes its own store's serving standards as an example to introduce how to make Flat White.

The specific preparation process is as follows:

Front Street Coffee uses a commercial coffee machine when extracting espresso, with the following parameters:

Pressure: 9 bar Temperature: 90.5~96°C Time: 20~30 sec Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:1.7~1:2 Dose: 12g (single espresso) 20g (double espresso) Extracted espresso yield: 20ml (single) 40ml (double)

Recommended milk-to-coffee ratio for Flat White

Milk: whole fresh milk (Front Street uses Vitasoy fresh milk) Milk steaming temperature: 50-60°C (if the temperature is too low, the lactose in the milk cannot be fully activated; if too high, the proteins will be damaged, bringing a grainy texture) Milk foam thickness: 5mm (1cm foam is used to make latte, 1.5cm thick foam is used to make cappuccino) Espresso amount: 40ml Milk amount: 140ml

The above is the relevant process for making Flat White compiled by Front Street Coffee. However, according to Front Street Coffee's observation, many enthusiasts, with just a little carelessness in actual operation, will make Flat White into latte. So how should Flat White and latte be distinguished?

The key to distinguishing Flat White from latte lies in the ratio of espresso in the two. Because each shop's Flat White and latte recipes differ somewhat, here we take the latte produced by Front Street Coffee as an example:

Front Street Coffee's standard for latte: Use a 300ml ceramic coffee cup, with a 40g espresso base and 260ml milk plus milk foam. The milk foam thickness is about 1cm (milk steaming degree: steam milk from 5 parts full to 7 parts full foam).

Front Street Coffee's standard for Flat White: Use a 220ml glass cup, use 30g espresso, and 190ml milk plus milk foam. The milk foam thickness is about 0.5cm. (Milk steaming degree: steam milk from 5 parts full to 5.5-6 parts full foam).

Differences: In terms of cup size, latte is larger than Flat White. In appearance, latte's milk foam is slightly thicker, with a slight bulge on the surface, while Flat White's milk foam is thinner and overall flat. In flavor, latte has a stronger milk taste, while Flat White's coffee taste is more prominent. So Australians jokingly say that latte is coffee-flavored milk (essentially milk), while Flat White is milk-flavored coffee (essentially coffee).

From this it can be seen that Flat White and latte can be distinguished by milk foam thickness. When making latte and Flat White at home, the key points to pay attention to are the milk foam thickness and the ratio of espresso to milk.

The above is the knowledge about Flat White compiled by Front Street Coffee. We hope it can help coffee lovers who want to understand Flat White, so that in the future they can also make a cup of Flat White at home that satisfies them.

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