Sometimes, only coffee and milk can be played with in so many ways that they leave outsiders utterly confused about the differences. Take latte and Flat White, for example—both are made by mixing espresso with milk, yet they offer two completely different experiences.

If we need a very simple way to distinguish between the two, Front Street Coffee would describe it like this: "Flat White is the Australian version of latte" and "Latte is a cup of coffee-flavored milk, while Flat White is a cup of milk-flavored coffee."

How should we understand these two statements?

We all know that the name "Latte" in latte coffee actually means "milk" in Italian, so essentially, the drink now known around the world as Coffee Latte is basically a product of milk mixed with coffee (and at that time, there was no milk foam).

The emergence of Flat White was precisely a local milk coffee that evolved in isolation on the continent. Among the first white immigrants to Australia, most were of British and Irish descent, and in their understanding, there were only black coffee and white coffee—black coffee being pure filtered coffee, and white coffee being coffee with milk.

Later, during waves of immigration, Italian immigrants opened cafes here, and the clash of languages and dietary habits forced Italian-style cafes to adapt. Over time, this led to the creation of the milk coffee known as Flat White. Subsequently, as Australian coffee culture was exported to other regions, the confusion arose because even New Zealanders and Australians couldn't agree on what Flat White originally was, and once it spread, it became even more chaotic, resulting in various versions all claiming to be the authentic Flat White.

So, it's enough to focus on how Flat White differs from the latte we drink now.

11. Different cup sizes

A standard latte is about 300ml, while a Flat White is smaller, around 200ml. So, if you order a Flat White and see that the cup is smaller than a latte, don't think it's a mistake—it's just that small.

22. Different flavor and mouthfeel

As Front Street Coffee mentioned earlier, "Latte is a cup of coffee-flavored milk, while Flat White is a cup of milk-flavored coffee." Taking Front Street Coffee's offerings as an example, a latte is made with 2 shots of espresso (40g) plus 260ml of milk, with a larger amount of milk, resulting in an overall coffee-flavored milk. A Flat White, on the other hand, uses 2 shots of Ristretto (30g), which is more concentrated than espresso, plus 170ml of milk, presenting a richer and fuller coffee flavor.

33. The issue of milk foam and latte art

Milk foam is basically the easiest characteristic for everyone to distinguish between the two, as Flat White has thinner milk foam than latte. From the perspective of latte art, creating art in a latte is already a basic skill, but everyone should be clear that latte art appeared later than latte itself, so latte art is not a criterion for evaluating a cup of latte. The same principle applies to Flat White—some coffee shops add latte art to their Flat White, while others don't, and it still doesn't affect it being a Flat White.

44. Latte can be iced,Flat Whitebut there is no iced version

Typically, when we drink latte, we can choose to have it iced or hot, whereas Flat White is only served hot. This is because baristas want everyone to enjoy each sip of the Flat White with the perfect combination of milk foam and the milk coffee beneath. Only when the milk foam is very smooth, thin, and at a suitable temperature for drinking can you simultaneously taste the milk foam and the rich coffee liquid in every sip, and quickly finish it before the foam separates. Adding ice cubes dilutes the cooled milk coffee to some extent, failing to achieve the above effect.

If you're after a rich, iced milk coffee, Front Street Coffee suggests trying the "Dirty," which has been quite popular in the past two years. It's made by dripping freshly extracted espresso over chilled fresh milk, giving it a "dirty" appearance, and the alternating hot and cold mouthfeel is very unique.

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