Cappuccino Latte Difference Milk Foam Espresso vs a Flat White

A flat white is a milk coffee with a stronger coffee flavor, less milk, and a thinner layer of milk foam than a latte or cappuccino. Among common milk drinks, foam thickness runs thinnest for the flat white, middle for the latte, and thickest for the cappuccino, while flavor intensity follows the reverse order.

Origin is contested, and the drink sits deep in New Zealand coffee culture and Australian cafe menus. New Zealand baristas often build it on a double ristretto, Australian ones on a single espresso. The same drink also appears under different brand names, which is why its identity can seem confusing.

Flat White, this milk coffee, is called 馥芮白 at Starbucks, 醇艺白 at COSTA, and 澳瑞白 at Luckin. With such a variety of names, what exactly is it? This article, from the perspective of Front Street Coffee, sorts out the controversy over the origin of Flat White, its differences from latte and cappuccino in terms of milk foam thickness and flavor intensity, and shares in detail Front Street's extraction parameters, milk steaming techniques, and presentation details for making this coffee. If you want to know why an Aussie white tastes more coffee-forward with thinner milk foam, and how a standard Flat White should be presented, this content will give you a complete answer.

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This coffee, Flat White, is named 馥芮白 under Starbucks, called 醇艺白 at COSTA, and Luckin calls it 澳瑞白. Why has the same beverage spawned so many names? What exactly is the essence of Flat White? Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will take everyone to find out today.

Where does Flat White originate?

Flat White is a beverage with an extremely high order rate in New Zealand and Australian cafés. However, regarding its place of origin, both countries insist that this is their own unique coffee culture. Not only are the claims about its origin disputed, but there are also differences in how Aussie white coffee is made. Overall, Aussie white is a milk coffee with a more prominent coffee flavor, less milk, and a thinner layer of milk foam.

In the choice of espresso base, New Zealand baristas prefer to use a double ristretto to make Aussie white, while their Australian counterparts tend to use a single espresso. The rich espresso blends with silky milk, entering the mouth pure and full-bodied with a long finish, thus capturing the hearts of a large number of enthusiasts.

What is the difference between Flat White and other milk coffees?

The recognizability of Flat White Aussie white mainly comes from its strong coffee taste and relatively thin milk foam. If several common milk coffees are compared side by side, in terms of milk foam thickness, Aussie white is the thinnest, latte is in the middle, and cappuccino is the thickest. In terms of flavor intensity, Aussie white is the strongest, cappuccino is next, and latte has the most dominant milk flavor.

Therefore, in terms of perception, Aussie white is more like a cup of coffee with a milky taste, latte is more like milk with a coffee taste, and cappuccino is a cup of coffee covered with dense milk foam.

How Front Street makes Flat White

Flat White is quite particular about the choice of coffee beans. Australian cafés often use single-origin beans to extract espresso in order to highlight a distinct coffee flavor. Front Street uses sunflower warm sun coffee beans blended from Sherry coffee beans and Yirgacheffe Red Cherry Plan, presenting a rich sherry aroma and vanilla chocolate notes.

In the coffee base step, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses a double ristretto, extracting 30 grams of coffee liquid from 20 grams of coffee grounds, with the extraction time controlled at 22 to 24 seconds. However, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) also reminds that extraction plans for different coffee beans will have slight differences. This set of parameters is adjusted by baristas every day before opening based on the warm sun blend used in the store.

The cup size used for Flat White is smaller than a latte cup. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses a 200 ml glass.

The milk is steamed relatively thin. Milk at about five-tenths full is steamed to six-tenths full, with excellent fluidity, suitable for making latte art patterns. Compared with other milk coffees, Aussie white has the thinnest milk foam, even close to none; latte has a moderate milk foam thickness, about 1 cm; cappuccino has the thickest and densest milk foam.

Finally, pour the steamed milk into the coffee. The ratio of coffee to milk is lower than that of a latte, with the aim of creating a strong coffee flavor. Pour until it is level with the rim of the cup. Unlike latte and cappuccino, its surface looks relatively flat, which is also why Flat White is called flat white coffee. Through the glass, you can observe the approximately 0.5 cm thick milk foam of Flat White.

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