Which is Bitter: Starbucks Flat White or Americano? The Difference Between Flat White and Cappuccino

Walk into any coffee shop and the menu will offer some very familiar names: Americano, Latte, Flat White. These drinks owe much of their popularity to Starbucks' promotion. Since Starbucks launched the Flat White, it quickly became a favorite among Starbucks fans worldwide. What magic makes people love Flat White so much? In this article, FrontStreet Coffee takes a closer look at this rising star.

What is Flat White?

The Flat White sits somewhere between a latte and a cappuccino. Built on espresso and milk, it has the double espresso shot of a cappuccino and the fine, gently glossy microfoam of a latte—only thinner, lightly blanketing the top of the drink. With the rich aroma of a cappuccino, milk foam lighter and denser than a latte's, and none of the Americano's bitterness, many milk-coffee lovers consider it the perfect ratio.

The Origin of Flat White Coffee

Without its cultural backstory, you might dismiss the Flat White as just another espresso-and-milk drink.

In fact, the Flat White comes from Australia and New Zealand, a region that embraced specialty coffee culture in the 1980s. After World War II, waves of European immigrants brought Italian espresso culture with them, and drawing on the third-wave revolution while remaining independent of it, the region developed its own signature espresso drinks—Flat White, ristretto, piccolo, and more.

Specialty coffee production regions and processing methods favor light roasts that preserve each origin's fruit aromas, and hand brewing places greater emphasis on the barista's craft and latte art skills. From roasting to brewing, the smallest differences create different flavors—even the same batch of beans can taste different depending on who brews it.

The latte emerged, perhaps, to soften espresso's bitterness with milk's natural sweetness and creaminess. The Flat White goes further: it uses milk to elevate the flavor and texture of the coffee itself.

FrontStreet Coffee believes the rise of the Flat White reflects both the steady improvement of coffee quality and the growing number of consumers who care about the coffee itself.

How to Make Flat White Coffee?

There are two ways to build a Flat White. The smaller version uses 20g of espresso mixed with 80ml of hot milk topped with thin foam (0.5cm), yielding a concentrated 100ml milk coffee.

The larger version uses 30g (a double shot) of ristretto mixed with 170ml of hot milk with the same thin foam, for a 200ml finished drink.

FrontStreet Coffee makes its Flat White much the way Starbucks does, with a double ristretto. The house espresso uses a "Sunflower Warm Sunshine" blend of 30% natural Yirgacheffe and 70% Honduras Sherry, which cupping shows to express fermented wine aromas, berry sweetness, roasted nut notes, and caramel.

To pull the ristretto, FrontStreet Coffee uses a 1:1.6 coffee-to-liquid ratio: 19-20g of coffee yielding 30-32g of espresso in about 27-32 seconds. (A regular espresso uses a 1:2 ratio—20g of coffee for 40g of liquid in 28-32 seconds.)

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you're practicing Flat Whites and latte art at home, FrontStreet Coffee's Classic Blend is an ideal base. Inspired by the old-school "Mamba" pairing of Mandheling and Brazil, this medium-dark blend includes a touch of Robusta for extra crema; expect butter, toasted toast, and caramel-cookie aromas with a solid, stable extraction.

For a nuttier, more aromatic cup, the FrontStreet Premium Blend—washed Colombian with pulped-natural Brazilian beans—brings nuts, dark chocolate, and caramel, and its dense golden crema makes milk drinks silky and easy to pour.