Flat White Coffee Flavor Profile Introduction: Making Methods and Extraction Techniques

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In recent years, with Starbucks' promotion of flat white, many friends who originally drank lattes and cappuccinos have started drinking flat white instead. Some customers who visit FrontStreet Coffee initially ask for "Fu Rui Bai" (Starbucks' Chinese name for flat white), then ask for "Ao Rui Bai" (another Chinese variation), then "Ao Bai Coffee" (yet another variation), and finally directly ask for flat white. Do you know why this same coffee has so many different names?

This coffee, originally named Flat White, was introduced from Australia. In 2000, Starbucks entered the Australian coffee market but was defeated by the local Australian brand Gloria Jean's Coffee, eventually withdrawing from the Australian market in 2008. In 2014, when Gloria Jean's Coffee entered the Chinese market, Starbucks needed to make their Flat White popular before Gloria Jean's could succeed with it.

Thus, Starbucks launched "Fu Rui Bai" (their Chinese branding for flat white) in 2015 and promoted it vigorously.

Origin History

According to research conducted by FrontStreet Coffee, the earliest use of "flat white" to describe coffee can be traced back to a 1962 British film called "Danger by My Side." In this movie, "flat white" was used to describe poor-quality coffee, completely different from our current understanding of flat white.

Currently, two countries claim to be the origin of flat white: Australia and New Zealand.

Australia

The earliest written records about flat white can be traced back to the mid-1980s.

In May 1983, Miller's Treat cafe mentioned their "flat white coffee" on the menu in a magazine called Sydney cafe.

In April 1984, an article in a Sydney local newspaper satirized the popularity of latte, writing: "Caffè latte translates to flat white."

In 1985, Alan Preston from Moors Espresso Bar in Sydney added this drink to their permanent menu, claiming he brought the idea from his hometown Queensland, where cafes in the 1960s and 1970s often served "White Coffee & flat".

In January 1985, the cafeteria at Canberra Parliament House posted a sign reading "flat white only" due to seasonal issues that prevented milk foam from forming properly.

New Zealand

The claim that Flat White originated in New Zealand comes from Derek Townsend and Darrell Ahlers from DKD cafe in Auckland, who stated this coffee was created as an alternative to Italian latte. Others claim that Australian Flat White originated in 1989 from a failed cappuccino at Bodega bar on Willis Street in Wellington, New Zealand. At that time, a barista named Fraser Mclnnes attempted to make a cappuccino using low-fat milk that was difficult to foam. Due to insufficient foam to be called a cappuccino, he named this coffee "Flat White."

How to Make Flat White?

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned earlier, the origin of Australian Flat White is controversial, and the preparation methods differ between the two disputed origin countries.

Australians tend to use a single shot of espresso for flat white, while New Zealanders use a double shot of ristretto.

FrontStreet Coffee's Method for Making Flat White

FrontStreet Coffee uses the Sunflower Warm Sunshine Blend for espresso. This blend consists of 70% Honduras Sherry and 30% Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry. The 70% Honduras Sherry provides sherry whiskey notes and vanilla cream flavors, while the 30% Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry brings high sweetness and berry acidity to the coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's espresso extraction parameters are as follows:

Pressure: 9bar

Temperature: 90.5~96°C

Time: 20~30 sec

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:1.7~1:2

Dose: 12g (single shot espresso) 20g (double shot espresso)

Extraction yield: 20ml (single shot) 40ml (double shot)

FrontStreet Coffee chooses Kowloon Dairy full-fat fresh milk, steaming the milk to a temperature between 50-60°C (low temperature cannot activate the lactose in milk; high temperature destroys the milk proteins, creating a gritty texture). The foam thickness is 5mm.

What is Ristretto?

Ristretto originally comes from Italian, meaning "restricted" or "narrow," literally meaning restricted flow rate. This means ristretto flows slower than regular espresso.

Espresso is made by forcing high-pressure, extremely hot water through finely ground dry coffee beans, with an extraction time of 25 to 30 seconds, producing a high-intensity, rich coffee beverage.

The preparation methods for espresso and ristretto are nearly identical. They use the same dose, water temperature, and pressure, but differ in extraction volume and time.

FrontStreet Coffee's espresso extraction parameters: 20g coffee grounds, extracting 35g coffee liquid in 27 seconds.

FrontStreet Coffee's ristretto extraction parameters: 20g coffee grounds, extracting 27g coffee liquid in 20 seconds.

Through FrontStreet Coffee's multiple experiments, regardless of extraction method, the first substances extracted from coffee are light molecular weight acidic compounds, followed by sweetness, and finally heavier molecular weight bitter compounds. Therefore, compared to espresso, ristretto has more pronounced acidity and sweetness with lighter bitterness.

FrontStreet Coffee's ristretto extraction features dominant notes of wine aroma and berry flavor, with caramel-like sweetness, high acidity, clean mouthfeel, and clear sweet and sour flavors. The espresso can extract heavier molecular weight flavors, overall presenting whiskey aroma, vanilla cream, as well as nutty and caramel aftertaste, with full body and richer, mellower flavor.

What are the Differences Between Flat White, Latte, and Cappuccino?

FrontStreet Coffee understands that when searching online for the differences between these three, many discussions focus only on the thickness of their foam. However, this is not entirely accurate. While foam thickness affects the mouthfeel to some extent, it doesn't determine the coffee's flavor. The key factor that determines the different flavors among these three is the coffee-to-milk ratio.

In fact, the differences can be categorized by coffee intensity: flat white > cappuccino > latte; and by foam thickness: cappuccino > latte > flat white. Flat White requires removing the loose surface foam from milk, keeping only the finer microfoam in the middle.

Flat White is called "Fu Rui Bai" at Starbucks, "Chun Yi Bai" at COSTA, and "Ao Rui Bai" at Luckin Coffee. Names may change, but the essence remains Flat White. For friends who want to taste coffee flavor but find it too intense, FrontStreet Coffee recommends trying Flat White.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473