What is Flat White Coffee? Differences Between Australian Latte and Cappuccino - Milk Ratio and Taste Characteristics

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What is Flat White Coffee?

When it comes to espresso-based coffee, everyone immediately thinks of latte, cappuccino, and mocha, but very few people mention Flat White. So what kind of espresso-based coffee is this? In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will share some knowledge about Flat White coffee.

Flat White is a coffee beverage that originated in Australia, thus also known as Australian White coffee, though some argue that Australian White coffee actually originated in New Zealand. Beyond the debate over its origins, the preparation method for Australian White coffee varies. Australian White coffee is a milk coffee beverage with a stronger coffee flavor, less milk, and thinner foam. For the espresso base, New Zealanders prefer to use Double Ristretto to make Australian White coffee, while Australian baristas prefer to use Single Espresso.

According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, in Australia, people only make Australian White coffee hot, because once ice is added, it becomes a soulless Australian White coffee, as the ice dilutes the overall concentration. Therefore, it can be understood that iced Australian White coffee is essentially a latte.

How to Distinguish Between Australian White Coffee and Latte?

So how do you distinguish between Australian White coffee and latte coffee? This depends on their espresso ratios, because in fact, every coffee shop's ratios for Australian White coffee and latte coffee will differ. Taking FrontStreet Coffee's offerings as an example:

FrontStreet Coffee's latte coffee standard: Uses a 300ml ceramic coffee cup, with 40g espresso base and 260ml milk plus foam. The foam thickness is about 1cm (foam texture: 5 parts full milk steamed to 7 parts full foam).

FrontStreet Coffee's Australian White coffee standard: Uses a 220ml glass cup, with 30g espresso ristretto and 190ml milk plus foam. The foam thickness is about 0.5cm (foam texture: 5 parts full milk steamed to 5.5-6 parts full foam).

Differences: From the cup size perspective, latte coffee is larger than Australian White coffee. In terms of appearance, latte coffee has slightly thicker foam with a slight bulge, while Australian White coffee has thinner foam in a flat shape. In terms of flavor, latte coffee has a richer milk taste, while Australian White coffee has a more prominent coffee flavor. Therefore, Australians jokingly say that latte is coffee-flavored milk (essentially milk), while Australian White is milk-flavored coffee (essentially coffee).

How to Make Australian White Coffee?

So how exactly do you make Australian White coffee? How do you make latte coffee? What coffee beans are suitable for making espresso? Next, FrontStreet Coffee will answer these questions one by one.

FrontStreet Coffee uses the Faema E98 espresso machine with the following extraction parameters:

Pressure: 9 bar
Temperature: 94°C
Time: 20~30 sec
Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:1.7~1:2
Dose: 12g (single shot espresso) 20g (double shot espresso)
Espresso yield: 20ml (single) 40ml (double)

Australian White Coffee Milk and Coffee Ratio Recommendations

Milk: Whole fresh milk (Frontsteet uses Kowloon Dairy fresh milk)
Milk frothing temperature: 50-60°C (too low temperature cannot activate the lactose in milk, too high temperature will destroy the proteins in milk, resulting in a grainy texture)
Foam thickness: 5mm (1cm foam is for making latte coffee, 1.5cm thick foam is for making cappuccino coffee)
Espresso content: 40ml
Milk content: 140ml

While the latte coffee preparation ratio is as follows:

Frontsteet uses the Faema E98 espresso machine.

Pressure: 9 bar
Temperature: 94°C
Time: 20~30 sec
Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:1.7~1:2
Dose: 12g (single shot espresso) 20g (double shot espresso)
Espresso yield: 20ml (single) 40ml (double)

Frontsteet uses double shot espresso for making latte coffee, with coffee beans showing the following flavor characteristics after extraction: noticeable fruit acidity, with faint berry aroma lingering, rich wine and chocolate flavors, and comfortable aftertaste.

Milk: Whole fresh milk (Frontsteet uses Kowloon Dairy fresh milk)
Milk frothing temperature: 50-60°C (too low temperature cannot activate the lactose in milk, too high temperature will destroy the proteins in milk, resulting in a grainy texture)
Foam thickness: 1cm (thinner than 1cm foam is for making Australian White coffee, thicker than 1cm foam is for making cappuccino coffee)

The above are the parameters FrontStreet Coffee uses when making Flat White coffee and latte coffee. Additionally, FrontStreet Coffee understands that each coffee shop uses different espresso blend flavors and different espresso machine models, so the milk-to-coffee ratios, bean selection, and extraction parameters for latte coffee will vary slightly from shop to shop.

Generally speaking, latte coffee is a coffee beverage made by adding a large amount of milk to espresso. Different coffee beans will produce different latte flavors, different milk will also create different latte flavors, and even different coffee-to-milk ratios can present unique flavors.

What Coffee Beans are Used for Espresso?

FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above that espresso-based coffee is made with espresso plus milk, so to determine what flavor the espresso-based coffee leans toward, we need to know what coffee beans it uses. So what coffee beans should be used to make espresso?

Generally speaking, coffee beans for making espresso must be suitable for espresso machines, so very lightly roasted coffee is not suitable for making latte coffee. The darker the roast of coffee beans, the stronger the coffee flavor of the latte (caramel, bitterness). The lighter the coffee beans, the more prominent the milk flavor will be in the latte. Therefore, the roast level should be chosen moderately to allow coffee and milk to better complement each other.

Because espresso machines have a distinct characteristic of amplifying the original flavors of coffee beans, and lightly roasted coffee beans themselves have more prominent acidity, if extracted with an espresso machine, the acidity becomes even more obvious. Therefore, beans roasted too lightly are not suitable for making espresso-based coffee, as flavors are difficult to release during extraction, and they tend to splatter, leading to under-extraction.

For example, FrontStreet Coffee currently uses their own Sunflower Warm Sun series blend in-store, which is Frontsteet's most proud coffee blend creation. It's made from Honduras Shirley coffee and Yirgacheffe natural red cherry coffee, and when incorporated into milk, it highlights rich chocolate, caramel, and slightly intoxicating flavors.

Next, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce the characteristics of this coffee bean!

FrontStreet Coffee Sunflower Warm Sun Blend

Flavor: Noticeable fruit acidity, faint berry aroma, wine fragrance, rich chocolate flavor, obvious aftertaste.
Formula: Honduras Shirley : Yirgacheffe Red Cherry = 7:3

This blend uses Yirgacheffe natural red cherry and Honduras Shirley. Frontsteet's design concept for this blend is that it can be used for both espresso and pour-over. When used to make espresso, it emits obvious fermented wine aroma, and upon tasting, citrus and berry acidity immediately emerge, with whiskey fragrance and dark chocolate aftertaste.

Additionally, FrontStreet Coffee has also developed three other espresso blend beans for enthusiasts to choose from. Each blend coffee bean has its own characteristics; you just need to choose according to your preferred flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee Premium Blend

Flavor: Gentle slight acidity, light sweetness, nutty aftertaste, overall not too stimulating, balanced, medium crema.
Formula: Colombia : Brazil = 3:7

This blend uses Brazil and Colombia. Tasting it reveals faint roasted grass fragrance, clear aroma with slight bitterness, smooth and sweet aftertaste that is refreshing. This is because coffee beans from Colombia's Huilan region have pleasant acidity, mellow aroma, moderate acidity, rich sweetness that is intriguing, while coffee beans from Brazil's Cerrado region have comfortable bittersweet taste and extremely smooth entry. The combination is simply wonderful.

FrontStreet Coffee Commercial Blend

Flavor: Caramel sweetness, nutty and cocoa flavors, dark chocolate, balanced sweet and sour, slightly bitter, persistent aftertaste.
Formula: Colombia : Brazil : Robusta = 3:6:1

This blend uses Brazil, Colombia coffee beans, and 10% Robusta coffee beans. Classic in taste, Frontsteet thinks this blend has rich crema and texture with caramel sweetness, also featuring nutty and cocoa flavors, dark chocolate, balanced sweet and sour, slightly bitter, with persistent aftertaste. This commercial blend, like FrontStreet Coffee's Premium Blend, uses Colombia and Brazil coffee beans, but the addition of Robusta provides rich crema, making the coffee texture more mellow.

FrontStreet Coffee Basic Blend

Flavor: Gentle fruit acidity, caramel sweetness, nutty and dark chocolate flavors, smooth and viscous, but flavor is relatively light.
Formula: Yunnan : Brazil = 3:7

This blend uses Brazil and Yunnan. Frontsteet thinks it tastes with gentle fruit acidity and caramel sweetness, plus nutty and dark chocolate flavors, smooth and viscous, but the flavor is relatively light. This is because Yunnan's natural conditions are very similar to Colombia's - high altitude, large day-night temperature difference, mellow flavor type, moderate acidity, rich and mellow taste, uniform particles, high oil content, with fruit aroma, and its quality and texture are similar to Colombian coffee. However, the flavor is slightly lighter than Colombia's, while Brazil's Cerrado region coffee beans have comfortable bittersweet taste and extremely smooth entry. Therefore, the combination of these two coffee beans also has good flavor, and this basic blend coffee bean offers excellent value, suitable for espresso beginners and small coffee shops.

The above is what FrontStreet Coffee has compiled about Australian White coffee, hoping to help coffee enthusiasts who want to understand related knowledge, so they can choose espresso blend coffee beans suitable for their taste in the future.

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Important Notice :

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Tel:020 38364473