Perfect Piccolo Latte & Flat White: Mastering Milk Foam Temperature and Thickness

Introduction

In the world of coffee beverages, espresso is the "ultimate versatile ingredient"! When it comes to pairing with milk, different ratios of milk to coffee and varying thickness of milk foam can create different names for milk coffees, such as latte, cappuccino, dirty coffee, flat white, piccolo latte, and more. Among these, piccolo latte and flat white have become must-try items on many people's "checklist." Both are rich, hot milk coffees, but what's the difference between them?

What is Flat White?

Flat White is a milk coffee that originated in Australia (though some claim it originated in New Zealand). In China, Flat White has various names, such as the familiar "Fu Rui Bai" (a translation of "Flat White"), as well as "Xiao Bai Coffee," "Ao Rui Bai," and "Ao Rui Bai." The main characteristics of Flat White come from its rich coffee flavor and relatively thin milk foam layer.

What is Piccolo Latte?

The original name of piccolo latte is "piccolo latte." In Italian, "piccolo" means small, and "latte" means milk. In English, "piccolo" means flute, and "latte" refers to milk coffee latte. So the original meaning of piccolo latte can be understood as a small latte. How small? Traditional piccolo coffee is made with 15-20 milliliters of espresso added to steamed milk. Nowadays, people generally prefer to pour the coffee into a 100-milliliter specialty cup for drinking.

How to Make Flat White?

For the base of Flat White, FrontStreet Coffee uses Sunflower Warm Sunshine blend beans to extract a double shot of concentrated coffee liquid. The extraction parameters are 20g of coffee grounds to extract 35g of coffee liquid, with an extraction time of 26 seconds. (FrontStreet Coffee would like to remind you that the extraction parameters for each coffee bean will vary slightly, so the final extraction plan needs to be adjusted according to the actual situation)

Milk Frothing Part

For Flat White, the milk foam thickness is about 1cm. Besides richness, the soul of Flat White lies in the silky texture of the milk foam in the mouth. Milk should be frothed to a temperature between 55°C-65°C. Too high a temperature will not only destroy the nutritional value of milk but also create a grainy texture.

FrontStreet Coffee makes Flat White with a milk-to-coffee ratio of 1:5, so we choose a 200ml cup as the serving container. Finally, evenly mix the frothed milk with the extracted espresso liquid.

How to Make Piccolo Latte?

According to tradition, piccolo latte coffee is 3-4 ounces in volume. In 2015, World Coffee Championship winner Sasa made piccolo coffee using a 3-ounce cup, with a milk-to-coffee ratio of 1:2 for blending, topped with a light layer of milk foam. The proper ratio of coffee to milk allows the coffee flavor to stand out without being too strong.

The base for making piccolo latte also uses Sunflower Warm Sunshine blend beans to extract a single shot of espresso. FrontStreet Coffee's extraction parameters are 12g of coffee grounds to extract 30g of coffee liquid, with an extraction time of 23 seconds. (This also needs to be adjusted according to the actual situation)

Milk Frothing Part

FrontStreet Coffee uses a 350ml milk pitcher, pouring in 100ml of milk (too little milk is difficult to froth) for frothing. Piccolo latte has thinner milk foam than Flat White, about 0.5cm thick, and the milk frothing temperature is also between 55°C-65°C.

FrontStreet Coffee uses a 100ml cup to make piccolo latte this time. After frothing the milk, first inject 60ml to fully blend with the coffee liquid, then top with a light layer of milk foam, or inject milk to blend and then create latte art.

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Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473