Is Malaysian white coffee different from black coffee?

Malaysian white coffee is not white in the cup. The name refers to a lighter roast and a purer bean, often pan-roasted with palm oil or a little vegetable butter and sugar, while local black coffee is typically roasted with caramel. That difference in the roasting process shapes the flavor and the caffeine level.

White coffee is often described as gentler on the stomach and lower in caffeine, though the comparison depends on which black coffee is meant, since plain roasted beans are also sold as black coffee. The mellow coffee meaning here is a softer, less bitter cup. Flat White, or Aussie White, is a separate milk drink built on espresso.

What exactly is the difference between Malaysian white coffee and black coffee? Is white coffee really healthier and tastier? This article starts with the origins, roasting methods, and flavor characteristics of white coffee, sorts out how it differs from Malaysian black coffee, and extends to the Aussie White (Flat White) that is often called "white coffee" today. You will also see how Starbucks makes its Flat White, the differences between iced and hot versions, and the parameters and steps for making a Flat White at home using Front Street Classic Italian Blend coffee beans, as well as a comparison of the differences between a Flat White and a latte in milk foam thickness, cup size, and espresso base.

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While browsing materials, Front Street came across a claim: In the 19th century, a tin miner who emigrated from Hainan Island, China, to Malaysia created this coffee. He used a small amount of vegetable butter and sugar to pan-roast the coffee beans, and the roasted color came out lighter than with common methods, so it came to be called "white coffee."

However, the name white coffee is not because the coffee liquid appears white. The key lies in the fact that no additional ingredients are added during its roasting process, so "white" carries more of the meaning of "pure, unadulterated." Compared with "local Malaysian black coffee," white coffee beans are usually roasted with palm oil and have no added sugar or wheat. Therefore, white coffee tastes purer than black coffee, and on the health level it is also considered gentler on the stomach, less likely to cause internal heat, and lower in caffeine.

One claim is that black coffee is made by roasting coffee beans together with caramel; however, the black coffee commonly seen in Taiwan is often simply roasted pure coffee beans, with no added sugar or wheat. Whether the so-called comparison for being "gentler on the stomach, less likely to cause internal heat, and lower in caffeine" refers to Malaysian black coffee, and whether it is the same as the black coffee we drink every day, is actually unclear.

Another claim is that white coffee is made by roasting coffee beans directly at low temperature without caramel, and by extending the roasting time, it removes the scorched bitterness and acidity brought by ordinary high-temperature roasting while preserving the original coffee's natural flavor and rich aroma. Roasters usually pay attention to the roasting curve; changes in temperature and time during the process can all lead to differences in the roasting result. Too fast or too slow will both cause incomplete flavor development. The low-temperature, long-duration roasting used for white coffee may also grind away the coffee beans' own characteristics, leaving the flavor layers underdeveloped.

In the early days, coffee was roasted very dark, and the brewed result was strong and bitter, and because it was strong and bitter, people needed to add sugar to mask it, which naturally made it easier to burden the body. Theoretically, the darker the roast, the higher the degree of dehydration, and the lighter the coffee beans' weight; if calculated by weight, dark-roasted coffee beans would be greater in number than light-roasted ones, and relatively more caffeine would be consumed. Every bean has its own flavor. Today, as people pursue quality and refinement in coffee more and more, they have also begun to value the original taste of coffee itself, no longer seeking only strong and bitter, and roasting methods and preferences are already very different from the past.

As times change, coffee choices have become rich and diverse, and people also value fresh roasting and grinding and brewing on the spot. "White coffee" has also begun to refer to other varieties, such as the very popular Aussie White in recent years; because it corresponds to black coffee, it is sometimes also called "white coffee."

Front Street believes that the popularity of the Aussie White in China should be credited to Starbucks. According to Starbucks, the Flat White is an Australian creation—a coffee that originated in Australia in the 1980s and is loved by coffee consumers in Australia and other regions. Starbucks customers in Australia have been enjoying this beverage in stores since 2009, and since 2010 customers in the UK and US have also begun to enjoy it, until it entered the China region in 2012.

But people in New Zealand do not agree with this description of its origin. The New Zealand Herald called the Flat White "a quintessential New Zealand coffee." Although Sydney coffee shops may have first served this beverage in the 1980s, the Herald wrote that Wellington is where the Flat White reaches perfection.

Although it is impossible to determine exactly where the Flat White originated, one thing is certain: compared with a latte, a Flat White has a stronger coffee taste and thinner milk foam, so both its mouthfeel and flavor are more intense.

How Starbucks makes Flat White coffee

Starbucks makes its Flat White using 2/3/4 shots of ristretto espresso depending on cup size; the hot version adds steamed milk frothed to a 0.5 cm milk foam thickness, while the iced version first pours in ice cubes and milk and finally tops it with ristretto espresso.

Can Flat White be drunk iced?

But in fact, authentic Flat White coffee only has a hot version. Starbucks provides a cold version in order to meet all consumers' needs for customized coffee. Therefore, if you want to further experience the richness of the Flat White, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) recommends trying the hot version.

How to make Flat White coffee at home?

Making Flat White coffee requires using a more concentrated (ristretto) espresso. Making ristretto espresso requires using a pressurized espresso machine, and then using medium-dark roasted espresso beans. Here, the Flat White we made uses Front Street Classic Italian Blend coffee beans, a recipe composed of beans from three origins: Brazil, Indonesia, and Vietnam. It uses a dark roast, which can maximize the coffee's rich aroma and also allows everyone to easily extract abundant and dense crema, making it very suitable whether for making an Americano diluted with water or a latte paired with milk.

For the espresso portion of the Flat White, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses ristretto espresso, using 20 g of coffee grounds to extract 30 g of coffee liquid, with an extraction time of 23-28 seconds.

Then pour 150 ml of chilled fresh milk into a milk pitcher, and use the espresso machine's steam wand to aerate and heat the milk, creating a milk foam layer about 0.5 cm thick. Then simply combine the milk with the coffee.

What is the difference between a Flat white and a latte?

Also made up of only milk and espresso, a Flat white and a latte have clear differences in preparation and in the taste experienced when drinking. Caffe Latte means milk in Italian. A latte emphasizes achieving a balance between coffee and milk, so that you can taste both the flavor of the coffee and the sweet, mellow taste of the milk, with the two cooperating with each other and neither masking the other's flavor. A Flat white, on the other hand, uses added milk to highlight the flavor of the coffee; coffee is the protagonist, and milk is only an assistant. Therefore, in terms of taste, a Flat White has a fuller and richer coffee flavor.

Although the Flat white has its own characteristics, there is no fixed preparation ratio in the industry. Baristas at each coffee shop, based on their different understandings of it and combined with the espresso beans used in their own stores, present Flat whites that are all different.

New Zealand baristas serve a Flat white in a smaller coffee cup than a latte (about 150 ml) and uniformly use a double espresso as the base. In this way, as the amount of milk decreases, the proportion of coffee increases, and the coffee flavor naturally becomes richer. Therefore, the Flat white is also called a "small latte."

With baristas' continuously improving extraction techniques, in order to more perfectly express the aroma of the coffee beans in an Aussie White, Melbourne coffee shops will also replace the base with a double Ristretto, blending milk foam of a thickness comparable to a latte into a 150 ml cup. Ristretto refers to extracting less liquid weight from the same dose of coffee grounds; it can be said to be a缩小版 of espresso, more concentrated in the front and middle stages of extraction, and richer in mouthfeel, so it places higher demands on the quality of the coffee beans used.

However, in Australia, baristas believe it is enough to keep the milk foam thinner than a latte. When they serve an Aussie White, they use the same cup size as a latte, and more emphasis is placed on the difference in milk foam thickness. Compared with milk coffees such as lattes and cappuccinos, a Flat White has the thinnest milk foam, generally 0.3-0.5 cm.

The "Flat" in Flat white means flat; the milk foam must be thin enough to be level with the rim of the cup, and the foam layer must not bulge, so that every sip of the strong coffee liquid carries a dense layer of foam. Therefore, the Flat White is also called "Flat White." Latte coffee's milk foam mostly forms a dome of about 0.5-0.7 cm, while Aussie White coffee's milk foam can only be below 0.5 cm, otherwise it is difficult to achieve a "flat" liquid surface. Front Street hopes that the mouthfeel guests get from a Flat White is creamy and smooth without being too "watery," so it retains a 0.3 cm milk foam layer.

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