How does australian white coffee differ from a latte?

A flat white, the australian white coffee now used worldwide, differs from a latte mainly in milk ratio and foam texture. It uses less milk and a higher proportion of coffee, and its surface is covered with a thin layer of fine, dense microfoam rather than the dry, airy foam of a cappuccino.

The drink originated in Australia and later spread globally, but it remains uncommon on cafe menus in China, partly because its standards were never widely explained and partly because shops already offering latte and cappuccino find another milk coffee cumbersome. The name changes by chain, but the preparation stays largely the same.

The coffee term Flat White, which originated in Australia, is now a globally recognized professional term in the coffee world, but many baristas in China still can't clearly explain its true difference from a latte. Starbucks calls it 馥芮白, COSTA calls it 醇艺白, and Luckin calls it 澳瑞白—the names vary widely, but the methods are largely the same. This article starts with the characteristics, recipe, and origin controversy of the Flat White, clarifies its essential differences from latte and cappuccino in milk ratio and foam texture, and includes Front Street Coffee's classic espresso blend recipe and complete preparation parameters to help you make a cup of silky, rich Australian white coffee where the latte art remains even at the bottom of the cup.

The term flat white is actually not very well known in China. If you casually ask friends around you, many baristas probably can't explain the specific proportions and intricacies either. However, this milk coffee, which originated in Australia and later became popular worldwide, has long been recognized as an internationally used professional coffee term, just like those exotic Italian coffee names from Starbucks back in the day.

In most cafes, Flat white is not a common menu item. Occasionally, when you find a shop selling it, after drinking it you may feel it seems no different from a latte. So what exactly kind of drink is a Flat white?

Characteristics of Flat White

In short, compared with latte, Flat white is a type of drink that uses less milk and has a higher proportion of coffee. There are only a limited number of coffee shops in China that sell Flat white, roughly for two reasons: first, the concept, standards, and characteristics of Flat white itself have not been popularized well enough; second, for shops that already offer latte and cappuccino, adding another milk coffee option is slightly cumbersome in terms of operation.

Beyond the ratio, the milk foam is the key to distinguishing a Flat white. A cappuccino uses dry foam with more air mixed in, while the surface of a Flat white is covered with a thin layer of fine, dense microfoam.

Flat White Recipe

In some older tutorials, espresso recipe ratio charts label flat white as espresso plus milk, but this is actually a mistake. The person making the chart probably confused it with true "white" coffee—White coffee—which refers to black coffee with milk (or evaporated milk), the kind served in Western restaurants where the coffee and milk are brought separately.

In Australia, milk coffee is customarily served in wide-mouthed cups, so the foam thickness of a flat white is usually only about 5 mm. Because the foam integrates better with the coffee, an excellent Flat white should have a silky, rich mouthfeel. If cappuccino and latte pursue an airy "fluffiness," then Flat White emphasizes a silky "smoothness."

If you want to go one step further, being able to make this thin-foam Flat white such that "the latte art is still intact when you drink to the bottom of the cup" better showcases the barista's skill.

The standard way to make a Flat white is usually one shot of espresso (30ml of espresso) with milk foam, with the total cup capacity at about 150 ml to 180 ml.

However, methods inevitably vary or are adjusted from place to place. These three coffees—latte, cappuccino, and Flat white—differ only in the ratio of coffee to milk and the texture of the milk foam. Not to mention that customers find it hard to tell them apart; sometimes even baristas themselves may not accurately grasp the nuances.

Origin of Flat White

Regarding the origin of the Flat white, one account says it was born in Sydney in the 1980s, while another says it appeared in Melbourne in 1970. Living in major Australian cities such as Melbourne and Sydney is actually not easy, with high prices (housing prices are also persistently high), but drinking coffee is still a fairly common daily habit, and the price is usually not expensive. The overall standard of Australian coffee is quite high, with at least one quality cafe in almost every neighborhood, nourishing local residents' spirits and taste buds.

In fact, Australia itself is a place woven from immigrant cultures. Thanks to the influx of a large number of European immigrants, coffee culture gradually took root in Australia after World War II. Today, on the world coffee map, major cities such as Sydney and Melbourne have long planted their flag. Furthermore, coffee drinks like Flat White even counterattacked North America, forcing Starbucks to remove the cappuccino it had sold for more than thirty years from its menu and replace it with Flat white. Cafes in the UK, Germany, and elsewhere have also successively seen Australian-specific drink names such as Flat white, piccolo, and long black appear.

No matter how the other two major brands fancily name this coffee, Flat White is by many people default regarded as a modern drink originating from Australia. But according to information found by Front Street, New Zealanders also claim that Flat White was invented by them. This claim comes from Derek Townsend and Darrell Ahlers of DKD Cafe in Auckland, New Zealand, who said this coffee could replace the espresso latte.

There is another account claiming that the Australian white coffee Flat White originated in 1989 at Bar Bodega on Willis St in Wellington, New Zealand, when a failed cappuccino led to its creation. A barista named Fraser Mclnnes tried to make a cappuccino using low-fat milk that was difficult to froth. Because there was not enough foam, it could not be called a cappuccino (as is well known, among coffees such as cappuccino and latte, cappuccino has the thickest foam), so he named this cup of coffee Flat White.

The two countries not only disagree on the origin of the Australian white coffee, but also differ on how to make one. Australians are used to using a single espresso, while New Zealanders prefer a double ristretto.

Chinese Names for Flat White

The Chinese translations of Flat white include white coffee, fresh milk espresso, little white coffee, plain white coffee, and so on. Some high-end coffee chain brands also rename it themselves. For example, Starbucks calls it 馥芮白, COSTA calls it 醇艺白, and Luckin Coffee calls it 澳瑞白... In fact, they are all largely the same thing. Apart from Starbucks' clever use of Ristretto to make Flat White, the methods used by the other brands for Flat white are basically not much different from a latte.

Of course, if you insist there are differences, then there really are, since Flat white itself does not have any standard recipe. It can only be said that once a brand becomes big, it can call it whatever it likes.

How to Make Flat White

Having said all this, how does Front Street make a cup of Australian white coffee? Below, let Front Street share Front Street Coffee's Flat White recipe.

The coffee beans used by Front Street Coffee to make espresso are Front Street Classic Espresso Blend, composed of beans from three origins: Brazil, Indonesia, and Vietnam, and dark roasted. This maximizes the coffee's rich aroma and also makes it easy for everyone to extract abundant, dense crema. It is very suitable whether for an Americano diluted with water or a latte paired with milk.

Coffee beans: Front Street Classic Espresso Blend

Dose: 20g

Liquid yield: 40g

Dose-to-yield ratio: 1:2

Extraction time: 26–32 seconds

Grind size: based on time

The fresh milk is what Front Street Coffee uses to steam milk foam.

Milk steaming temperature: 50-60°C (if the temperature is too low, the lactose in the milk cannot be brought out; if the temperature is too high, it will destroy the protein in the milk and create a grainy mouthfeel)

Foam thickness: 5mm (1cm foam is used to make latte, and 1.5cm thick foam is used to make cappuccino)

Espresso amount: 40ml

Milk amount: 140ml

For more specialty coffee beans, follow: Front Street Coffee

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