How to Pronounce Starbucks Flat White and Does It Contain Sugar? Is Flat White Australian White Coffee Delicious?

Is Starbucks' Flat White Coffee Worth Trying?

Every customer who has visited Starbucks has likely been curious about this coffee. Unlike Americano, latte, and cappuccino—these renowned Italian coffees—the Flat White gained popularity during the third wave of coffee culture, when people began pursuing coffee flavors and overall layered complexity.

What Makes Flat White Different?

Compared to latte and cappuccino, Flat White coffee emphasizes the ability to taste espresso flavor even in milk coffee. Therefore, it uses a more concentrated espresso, also known as Ristretto, and incorporates a smaller proportion of milk.

Origin and Translation

Besides "Fu Rui Bai," Flat White has other Chinese translations such as Australian White Coffee, Little White Coffee, Mellow Art White Coffee, and Australian Rui White Coffee. Regarding the "birthplace" of Flat White, some believe it originated in Australia, while others think it came from New Zealand. Both regions have different preparation methods, but what they share is the goal of presenting a hot milk coffee with rich coffee flavor where espresso notes can be tasted.

Australian vs. New Zealand Style

As for the exact origin, it remains uncertain—ultimately, it depends on whether the drinker prefers the Australian or New Zealand method. The Australian approach uses a smaller glass, combining a single espresso with a small amount of frothed hot milk. The foam thickness is about half that of a latte. The New Zealand method uses a regular-sized glass and incorporates double Ristretto with frothed hot milk, also featuring thinner foam.

The Meaning of "Flat"

From both preparation methods, we can see that regardless of the region, the milk foam used is thinner than latte foam. This is because "Flat" in Flat White literally means flat. Unlike cappuccino foam that rises above the cup's rim and latte foam that aligns with the cup's edge, Flat White foam typically sits below the coffee cup's rim.

FrontStreet Coffee has also created two different Flat White coffees based on these two approaches. This time, they used "Sunflower Warm Sunshine" blend coffee beans, composed of 30% sun-dried Yirgacheffe and 70% Honduras Sherry, to extract espresso. Through FrontStreet Coffee's cupping evaluation, this blend coffee exhibits fermented wine aroma, berry sweetness and acidity, roasted nut fragrance, and caramel sweetness.

Espresso vs. Ristretto

Both concentrations of coffee beans are ground into extremely fine particles, placed in the portafilter of a pressurized espresso machine through tamping, and then extracted under high pressure and speed in a sealed environment to produce highly concentrated coffee liquid. Before preparation, let's understand the difference between espresso and Ristretto.

FrontStreet Coffee typically uses regular espresso in daily service. They usually employ 9-10 bar pressure to extract coffee liquid with a ground-to-liquid ratio of about 1:2. Generally, a single espresso uses 9-11g of coffee grounds to extract 15-25g of coffee liquid, while a double espresso uses 18-20g of coffee grounds to extract 35-45g of coffee liquid. The less coffee liquid extracted, the higher the coffee concentration.

Ristretto is essentially espresso with a smaller extraction ratio. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee uses the same grind size and amount of grounds as espresso to extract less coffee liquid, with a longer extraction time. The typical ground-to-liquid ratio is about 1:1.6. It's important to note! The concentration of Ristretto doesn't mean more intense coffee flavor, but rather the overall taste (sweetness, acidity, bitterness) of the coffee liquid. When too concentrated, it can easily exhibit sharp acidity or burnt bitterness. Therefore, during Ristretto preparation, it's sometimes necessary to adjust the amount of grounds used and the extraction time.

FrontStreet Coffee's Two Flat White Styles

For the Australian style, FrontStreet Coffee uses a 100ml cup, adding a single espresso (18g), and blends frothed hot milk with thin foam with the coffee. The flavor profile shows rich fermented wine aroma, where the berry acidity produces noticeable sweetness after adding hot milk, with a caramel-chocolate sweet aftertaste.

For the New Zealand style, FrontStreet Coffee uses a 200ml cup, adding double Ristretto (35g), and pours frothed hot milk with thin foam from the center while dispersing the espresso. This approach creates a gradient flavor experience. The first sip delivers the rich fermented wine aroma of espresso, the second sip reveals strawberry milkshake flavor from the fusion of espresso and milk, and the third sip presents roasted nut flavors from the blend of small amounts of coffee and milk.

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Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

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