Do White Coffee and Black Coffee Have Very Different Tastes? What's the Difference Between Black Coffee and White Coffee?

Black coffee is black coffee, and white coffee is white coffee — they are two quite different things, made differently and experienced differently. So what actually separates them? Here is FrontStreet Coffee's guide.

Is Any Coffee That Wakes You Up a Good Coffee?

Not in the least. The two drinks differ from the very beginning of the process, so let us look at white coffee first.

White Coffee: Not Just Coffee with Milk

White coffee is not simply regular coffee with milk added. From bean selection to preparation, it differs substantially from black coffee.

Roasting Differences

In roasting, black coffee is taken darker than white coffee. Natural additions such as caramel and butter are incorporated during the roast, and the beans are taken close to carbonization. Black coffee beans therefore look black, and the deeper the roast, the more pronounced the charcoal-like flavors become.

The Essence of Black Coffee

Black coffee is unadorned coffee — the most direct expression of the bean. Brewed on a home machine it produces an even, yellowish-brown foam. With Arabica beans the foam is fine and deep brown with a slight reddish tint; with Robusta it is looser, dark brown with gray streaks. Beyond the mellow, full-bodied taste, what captivates most about a cup of aromatic black coffee is the enticing, mysterious fragrance released while it brews.

The Origins of White Coffee

White coffee is a Malaysian specialty with more than 100 years of history. The name does not refer to a white color; it describes a product made from Arabica and Robusta beans with non-dairy creamer added. After a light, low-temperature, long-duration roast, special processes remove the caffeine, which also removes the bitterness and acidity created by the roast, minimizing both the bitter-sour taste and the caffeine content. Most white coffee on the market today is instant coffee containing malted milk or non-dairy creamer.

In aroma, black coffee emphasizes the coffee's own fragrance. For an enthusiast, a coffee's aroma is its life essence, and any outside influence can alter that original aroma.

Bitterness Compared

White coffee was created for Asian drinkers unaccustomed to the bitterness of black coffee. Compared with other coffees it has minimal bitterness and almost no acidity, and because of the added creamer it feels relatively smooth on the palate.

With black coffee, the variety, origin, storage method and roasting technique all shape how bitter the cup turns out. That bitterness is characteristic of coffee itself, and the sweet aftertaste that follows it is the drink's signature.

Functional Benefits

The benefits of black coffee hardly need explaining, since study after study has confirmed the advantages of drinking it daily. What about white coffee?

Like black coffee, white coffee refreshes you. It lacks black coffee's bitterness, contains less caffeine, and is less likely to upset the stomach.

For a coffee lover, black coffee is clearly the better choice, because it offers a complete tasting experience of all the original flavors a coffee has to give.

For those who do not especially love coffee, white coffee can be a more agreeable option. Since most of it on the market is instant, though, it is best not to drink more than four cups a day.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If black coffee is your drink, the Arabica varieties in FrontStreet Coffee's lineup are where to start. FrontStreet Huakui is the natural-process representative from Ethiopia: an heirloom variety with an elegant floral lift and striking fruit, showing creamy strawberry, mango, jackfruit, citrus and blueberry with the ripe tropical character that earned it first place in that year's TOH green bean competition. Flavor this generous at an everyday price is rare.

FrontStreet Yirgacheffe Gudingding is the washed counterpart. From the Gudingding cooperative in Yirgacheffe, it is Ethiopia's highest G1 grade, washed, and shows elegant white floral, citrus, orange and green tea — clean, translucent and wonderfully easy to drink.

For balance above all, FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 is a Typica, the variety that also gave the world Hawaii Kona. Typica brews a remarkably even cup — mild, smooth and full of pure aroma without sharp acidity — which is why no other origin quite matches Blue Mountain's balance.

And for something extraordinary, FrontStreet Panama Red Label Geisha comes from Hacienda La Esmeralda in Boquete, Chiriqui Province, where volcanic soil, old forest, year-round mist and abundant rain create ideal growing conditions. Expect elegant jasmine, citrus and peach, a creamy texture and the sweet oolong-tea finish that makes Geisha taste less like coffee than like a fragrant fruit tea.