Flat White vs Americano Latte: Differences in Brewing Methods, Ratios, Flavor, and Texture

Flat White, directly translated as "flat white coffee," is also known by various names such as Australian White, Australian White, and Fu Rui White. It has become one of the most popular beverages in coffee shops in recent years. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will explore this trendy drink, Flat White.

How Flat White Evolved

Regarding the origin of Australian White, both Australians and New Zealanders claim it originated from their respective countries. Although we cannot definitively determine where Flat White was born, one thing is certain: the birth of Flat White stemmed from consumers' higher pursuit of coffee quality.

From the instant coffee era to the Italian espresso era, consumers were searching for coffee drinks different from cappuccino. At that time, cappuccinos had at least three centimeters of "hamburger-style" milk foam on top, so people hoped to make the foam flatter, which led to the creation of balanced latte coffee. When the milk foam on milk coffee became flatter until it became a thin layer completely level with the cup rim, today's Flat White was born.

From initial obscurity to Australians putting Flat White on permanent café menus in the 1980s, it quickly became a standard beverage in cafés in places like the United States. Flat White became a popular hot product domestically after Starbucks introduced it in 2015 and named it "Fu Rui White" as one of their signature drinks, which meant this milk coffee had become mainstream.

Different Presentations of Flat White

Each coffee shop presents Australian White coffee differently because different countries (and different baristas) have different understandings of Australian White. Let's first return to its original intention: baristas wanted everyone drinking Australian White to experience the perfect combination of milk foam and the milk coffee underneath with every sip. Only when the milk foam is extremely dense, thin, and at a suitable temperature can one simultaneously taste both the foam and rich coffee liquid with every sip, and finish it quickly before the foam layers separate. This also establishes the basic characteristics of Australian White: dense thin foam, moderate temperature, coffee flavor that cannot be masked, and consistently maintained texture.

New Zealand baristas serve Australian White in smaller coffee cups than lattes (about 150ml) and uniformly use double espresso as the base. This way, the milk quantity decreases while the coffee proportion increases, making the coffee flavor naturally more intense.

As baristas' extraction techniques continue to advance, to better express the aroma of coffee beans in Australian White, Melbourne coffee shops also replace the base with double Ristretto, incorporating milk foam of similar thickness to lattes in 150ml cups. Ristretto refers to extracting less liquid weight with the same amount of coffee grounds - essentially a condensed version of espresso, focusing more on the early and middle stages of extraction, with a richer taste, thus requiring higher quality coffee beans.

However, in Australia, baristas believe it's sufficient to maintain thinner foam than lattes. When they prepare Australian White, they use the same cup capacity as lattes, emphasizing more the difference in foam thickness.

The thickness of the foam is one of our main reference factors for distinguishing Australian White from other milk coffees. Thin foam is designed to better taste the coffee liquid, emphasizing the smooth and silky "velvet" texture. Some baristas hope that the Australian White they serve won't be affected by the taste of fats, and may even filter out the foam layer, keeping only the coffee liquid. Therefore, how thin the foam layer should be frothed had no fixed numerical indicators in the early days.

As this drink became increasingly popular, to distinguish it from regular hot lattes and cappuccinos, the thin foam thickness of Australian White was defined as approximately 0.3cm to 0.5cm. The thinner the foam, the easier it is for milk liquid to sink during integration, and without enough foam to support the liquid surface, white foam will "scatter randomly," making latte art more difficult. This is why some baristas choose not to create latte art. However, for highly skilled baristas, it's a different matter - as long as they can handle it, they can present exquisite patterns even with very thin foam.

Therefore, each coffee shop presents a unique Australian White style based on their preferences and skills, combined with the characteristics of their chosen coffee beans and their understanding of Australian White. FrontStreet Coffee uses Warm Sun Blend espresso beans, which have a relatively smooth taste. To present the rich aroma of coffee, we use double Ristretto as the base and serve it in 200ml cups.

FrontStreet Coffee's Coffee Bean Recommendations for Flat White

FrontStreet Coffee has noticed that many friends who love milk coffee want to replicate delicious Flat White coffee at home. The flavor of Flat White mainly depends on the espresso beans we use. Therefore, to make a delicious Flat White, we need Espresso with rich aroma.

FrontStreet Coffee's store products use our house-roasted "Sunflower Warm Sun Espresso Blend," which combines sun-dried Yirgacheffe with Honduras sherry barrel coffee beans. The extracted Espresso presents whiskey aroma, vanilla chocolate, tropical fruits, with rich layered aromas and full-bodied texture. When poured into water at a 1:4.5 ratio, it becomes a refreshing and pleasant Americano with fermented aromas plus berry sweet and sour notes. When mixed with milk, it can be made into sweet and fragrant milk coffee. FrontStreet Coffee's Flat White made with Warm Sun presents the taste of whiskey chocolate hot milk and is loved by many customers.

In addition to the smooth-style Warm Sun Blend, FrontStreet Coffee's espresso bean menu also offers three highly cost-effective blend coffee beans with rich texture and intense aroma, equally suitable for making Australian White coffee. FrontStreet Coffee's blend products, after multiple comparisons and experiments, cover excellent flavors from different coffee regions and also contribute to extraction stability.

1. Classic Rich Type - FrontStreet Coffee Commercial Blend Beans

Robusta washed coffee beans (10%) + Colombia washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazil natural process coffee (60%)

The espresso has rich golden crema and nutty aroma. When mixed with milk in Flat White, it tastes with burnt coffee bitterness, but more accompanied by creamy full-bodied texture, and after swallowing, the bitterness dissipates, leaving a fragrant aftertaste.

2. Slightly Acidic Rich Type - FrontStreet Coffee Basic Blend Beans

Yunnan washed small bean coffee (30%) + Brazil natural process coffee beans (70%)

Yunnan small bean coffee with soft acidity pairs with Brazil Cerrado coffee's rich aroma. The espresso has caramel, nut, and soft plum acidity tastes.

3. Balanced Rich Type - FrontStreet Coffee Specialty Blend Beans

Colombia washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazil natural process coffee beans (70%)

Adding Colombia coffee to the classic Brazilian coffee nut notes, the espresso presents dark chocolate flavor, caramel sweetness, and full-bodied roasted aroma.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style).

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473