When was Costa Coffee founded, and how does its flat white differ?

Flat white is espresso with finely textured milk, giving a stronger coffee presence and a thinner foam layer than a latte. Starbucks calls its version Fu Rui Bai, Costa calls it Chun Yi Bai, and Luckin names it Ao Rui Bai. The drink is generally traced to Australia in the 1980s, and some sources argue New Zealand is its birthplace.

Starbucks began promoting flat white in China from 2015, and chain brands followed with their own versions. The style grew out of the cappuccino family, and before the 1970s Australian cafes mostly used French presses and manual drip. Costa's interpretation keeps the same espresso base but differs in milk texture and cup size.

Flat White, a coffee beverage, has rapidly gained popularity worldwide in recent years. Starbucks calls it "Fu Rui Bai," COSTA calls it "Chun Yi Bai," and Luckin names it "Ao Rui Bai." Also made from espresso and milk, what exactly is the difference between it and a latte? Why is the coffee flavor stronger and the milk foam thinner? This article, from the perspective of Front Street, traces the origin and evolution of Flat White, compares the different interpretations of this beverage by brands like Starbucks, COSTA, and Luckin, and provides a detailed analysis of its production process and taste characteristics, offering a comprehensive understanding of this coffee's past and present.

When first seeing the three characters "馥芮白," many people might instinctively equate it with white coffee, or think it refers to a drink with more milk than coffee and a lighter color. Starbucks' Chinese name for Flat White is "馥芮白," pronounced fù ruì bái. In terms of flavor, 馥芮白 is somewhat similar to a latte, but the coffee presence is noticeably stronger than the milk, making it overall more robust than a latte, with a slight bitterness and a sweet aftertaste that lingers in the mouth after swallowing. Front Street has always appreciated this specialty coffee.

In recent years, both in the international market and domestic consumption, various coffees named with "something white" have gradually gained popularity. Tracing its roots, it is actually a variant of cappuccino—flat white, a latte-type beverage originating in Australia and made with fine milk foam, which emerged as early as the 1980s.

For most customers, the term "馥芮白" became widely familiar likely due to Starbucks' aggressive promotion of the product starting in 2015. Soon after, major chain brands followed suit, adding flat white to their menus and giving it different Chinese names: Starbucks calls it 馥芮白, Costa calls it 醇艺白, and the rising star Luckin Coffee calls it 澳瑞白. So, although they are all flat whites, what are the differences in the offerings from these brands?

The flat white is widely recognized as originating in Australia, though some insist that New Zealand is its birthplace. After reviewing numerous sources, Front Street found that before the 1970s, Australian cafes primarily used French presses and manual drip methods to make black coffee. In the early 1970s, a large influx of European immigrants arrived in Australia, and Italians settled in Melbourne with espresso machines for their livelihood, thus opening a new chapter in coffee culture. At that time, the main products offered in cafes were Long Black, Latte, and Cappuccino, corresponding to today's menu as Americano, Latte, and Cappuccino.

Compared to traditional lattes, locals in Australia prefer milk beverages with thinner milk foam and more pronounced coffee flavor, so this small cup of coffee with light foam and abundant coffee aroma gradually took shape. In the 1980s, Flat White was officially added to fixed menus by Australians and then spread to cafes in Europe and America. For a long time, Flat White was considered a relatively niche choice, until 2015 when Starbucks included it in its product line and promoted it globally under the name "馥芮白," transforming Flat White into one of the most sought-after beverages in the mainstream coffee market.

Although Flat White and latte both use only milk and espresso as ingredients, there are significant differences in their preparation methods and taste experiences. Caffe Latte means milk in Italian, and it pursues a balance between coffee and milk—allowing you to taste the coffee's aroma and feel the milk's smooth sweetness, with each complementing the other without overpowering. Flat White is different; its purpose of adding milk is to enhance the coffee's flavor, with coffee as the protagonist and milk as a supporting role. As a result, 馥芮白 tastes more full-bodied in coffee flavor and is overall richer.

When New Zealand baristas make Flat White, they use a smaller cup than for a latte (about 150ml) and always use a double shot of espresso as the base. With less milk, the proportion of coffee naturally increases, making the flavor more intense. Melbourne baristas go further, replacing the base with a double Ristretto and incorporating milk foam of similar thickness to a latte in a 150ml cup. Ristretto refers to extracting less liquid volume from the same amount of coffee grounds, which can be understood as a smaller version of espresso, with extraction concentrated in the front and middle stages, resulting in a more intense taste, thus placing higher demands on coffee bean quality.

However, in Australia, baristas do it differently. They believe that as long as the milk foam is thinner than in a latte, it's fine. When making a flat white, they use a cup of the same capacity as for a latte, with the key being the control of foam thickness. Compared to lattes, cappuccinos, and other milk coffees, Flat White has the thinnest milk foam, typically only 0.3–0.5 cm, and the foam must be so thin that it is level with the cup rim, not protruding above it, so that with each sip, the rich coffee liquid carries the dense foam into the mouth.

Front Street has always believed that the fundamental driving force behind the creation of Flat White is the continuous pursuit of flavor and mouthfeel in specialty coffee beans. Therefore, each coffee shop makes a uniquely styled Flat White based on the coffee beans they use and their own understanding. For example, Front Street uses its own roasted "Sunflower Sunshine Blend" espresso blend.

After extracting the espresso, pour it into a pre-prepared cup, then measure 150ml of milk into a milk pitcher and steam it. When steaming the milk, use less air intake than for a latte, aiming for a thinner and finer foam layer, with the ideal temperature controlled at 55–60°C for a more comfortable taste. Finally, pour the steamed milk into the coffee; latte art is optional. Since the thin foam does not raise the liquid above the cup rim, the finished product looks flat, hence another name for it is flat white coffee.

The Flat White produced by Front Street has flavors of chocolate milk and whiskey-filled chocolate, with a smooth and rich mouthfeel and a long, lingering finish.

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