Why is Starbucks' Flat White translated as Fu Rui Bai? How to pronounce Fu Rui Bai and the origin of its name?

Starbucks' Flat White is an extremely popular coffee beverage. Many coffee enthusiasts are curious about the name "Flat White" - wondering where it comes from and how to pronounce it correctly. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will explain the origins of Starbucks' Flat White coffee.

The Origins of Flat White

Flat White is actually the Chinese translation name that Starbucks adopted when introducing Australia's native specialty coffee, Flat White. In 2015, Starbucks launched the Flat White in mainland China, and the reason behind this was the entry of Australian coffee chain giant Gloria Jean's Coffees into the Chinese market. Starbucks had entered the Australian market as early as 2000, but it couldn't compete against the local Australian brand Gloria Jean's Coffees, eventually officially withdrawing from the Australian market in 2014. Facing Gloria Jean's expansion into the Chinese market, Starbucks treated it as a serious threat and needed to expand its advantages before Gloria Jean's could establish a firm foothold.

Therefore, Starbucks took the lead in introducing Australia's specialty coffee beverage, Flat White, in 2015, and gave it an elegant name - 馥芮白 (Fu Rui Bai). The correct pronunciation of 馥芮白 is "Fu Rui Bai," where "馥芮" sounds very similar to "Flat," while "白" is a direct translation of "White." As a result, the Flat White became an instant hit in China. Subsequently, many other coffee brands also launched their own versions of Flat White, such as Costa's "醇艺白" (Chun Yi Bai), Luckin Coffee's "澳瑞白" (Ao Rui Bai), and various independent cafés' "澳白咖啡" (Ao Bai Coffee).

Differences Between Flat White and Latte

Following the Flat White's surge in popularity, many people found it difficult to distinguish the differences between Flat White and Latte. Both Latte and Flat White belong to the category of milk coffees, being coffee beverages made by combining espresso with milk. The most fundamental difference lies in their flavor and texture. Latte coffee emphasizes achieving a balance between coffee and milk, allowing you to taste both the coffee flavor and the sweet, mellow taste of milk, with both complementing each other without masking the other's flavor. In contrast, Flat White focuses on highlighting the coffee flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee will use simple phrases to help everyone understand: 1. Flat White is essentially the Australian version of Latte; 2. Latte is milk with coffee flavor, while Flat White is coffee with milk flavor.

Beyond the differences in taste, Flat White also has distinct differences from Latte in terms of preparation method and appearance.

Key Differences

1. Different cup sizes: Flat White cups are typically smaller than Latte cups. Taking FrontStreet Coffee's servings as an example, the standard Latte cup size is 350ml, while the standard Flat White cup size is 200ml.

2. Different espresso bases: Latte coffee uses the standard Espresso base common in Italian coffee, while Flat White coffee uses Ristretto, which is more concentrated than Espresso. Ristretto can be seen as extracting only the middle and early stages of Espresso, resulting in more concentrated coffee liquid. By extracting only the middle and early portions, it enhances the acidic flavors and roasted characteristics of the coffee while reducing the extraction of high-molecular-weight carbohydrates. Simply put, it improves the sensory flavor profile.

3. Different milk foam thickness: Flat White's milk foam is thinner than Latte's. Latte coffee's milk foam thickness is about 1cm, while Flat White's milk foam thickness is about 0.5cm.

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