What is Flat White? What's the difference between Flat White, Latte, and Cappuccino?

When it comes to coffee, many people still think of milk coffee in their minds. People are accustomed to going to Starbucks or any coffee shop and immediately ordering: "I'd like a latte." In recent years, friends visiting FrontStreet Coffee's physical stores have also started asking: "I'd like a flat white." In fact, flat white is the English name for Australian white coffee.

The reason it's called Australian white coffee is because this coffee drink originated in the Australian region. However, the origin of Australian white coffee across the Oceanic continent is full of controversy. Australians claim that flat white was their invention, while their neighboring country New Zealand claims that flat white should have originated in New Zealand instead.

As early as the 1960s, the term "flat white" appeared in a British film called "Danger by My Side." However, the flat white in the movie was used to refer to coffee that was thin and watery.

It wasn't until the 1980s that written records of the modern beverage flat white appeared.

Australia

• In May 1983, a review about a delicate coffee shop mentioned "flat white";
• In April 1984, an article in a Sydney newspaper satirized the popular latte at the time, using "flat white" to describe it;
• In 1985, "flat white" appeared on the menu of a café called Moors Espresso in Sydney. The café owner stated that the "white coffee-flat" drink was something he brought from Queensland to Sydney;
• In 1985, the menu at the Parliament House restaurant in Canberra marked "flat white only"

New Zealand

• A café called DKD Café in Auckland, New Zealand invented flat white to replace latte;
• In 1989, a barista at Bar Bodega in Wellington used skim milk to froth milk for cappuccino. Due to the foam being too thin, it failed, but instead became a flat white.

Whether the origin of Flat White is Australia or New Zealand remains a highly controversial topic. Setting aside the origin, Australian white coffee has attracted the attention of many coffee enthusiasts with its rich coffee flavor and delicate texture, receiving praise from many milk coffee lovers.

What's more interesting is that although they're both called flat white coffee, the production standards in Australia and New Zealand are different. Australians prefer to use a single shot of espresso, while New Zealanders prefer to use a double shot of ristretto. At this point, some friends might ask FrontStreet Coffee: What is ristretto coffee?

Ristretto coffee has similarities to the espresso we often drink, but also differences. The similarity is that both are concentrated coffee liquids extracted using the same production principle. The difference is that ristretto coffee, as its name suggests, has a more concentrated and intense coffee flavor.

During the extraction process of espresso, the initially dripped coffee liquid is dark in color and thick in texture; as the coffee extraction time extends, the later coffee liquid becomes lighter in color and thinner in texture.

Ristretto extraction, on the other hand, takes the front and middle sections of espresso, so compared to espresso, ristretto has a more concentrated coffee flavor and a thicker texture.

Although FrontStreet Coffee's menu doesn't specifically list "Australian white coffee" as a coffee product, when friends request this product, FrontStreet Coffee's physical stores will still prepare it. When FrontStreet Coffee's baristas prepare Australian white coffee, they use a double shot of espresso as the base.

FrontStreet Coffee's Australian White Coffee Preparation Method

FrontStreet Coffee's standard for preparing espresso is 20 grams of coffee powder to extract 40 grams of espresso liquid, with an extraction time of 28 seconds.

When FrontStreet Coffee prepares Australian white coffee, they use a cup with a capacity of approximately 240 milliliters. Since the foam of Australian white coffee is very thin, when frothing the milk, FrontStreet Coffee suggests first letting the milk enter a rotating state, then adding a small amount of air, and finally entering the stage of whipping the foam to a fine consistency.

After fusion, since the foam is very thin, subsequent latte art is difficult to form. FrontStreet Coffee suggests using center-point injection to form a small dot, or pulling a heart shape.

FrontStreet Coffee's Australian white coffee has rich vanilla and cream flavors as well as obvious whiskey barrel aroma when tasted. If consumed during cold winter, it will feel warm because FrontStreet Coffee's physical stores use Sunflower Warm Sunshine Blend coffee beans to make espresso. This espresso blend uses 70% Honduras Sherry coffee beans and 30% Ethiopian Natural Red Cherry coffee beans.

The Sherry coffee beans undergo low-temperature fermentation in Sherry whiskey barrels for 30 to 40 days, allowing the Sherry whiskey flavor to penetrate the raw coffee beans. Sherry whiskey has rich vanilla and cream flavors with explosive sweetness, and these Sherry coffee beans also possess flavors similar to Sherry barrel whiskey.

This Honduras coffee bean variety includes Caturra, Catuai, and Pacas, with the addition of Bourbon genes, making the sweetness of Sherry coffee beans more obvious. At the same time, Sherry coffee beans have the characteristics of Honduras coffee beans—overall balance with acidity that isn't overly prominent.

What's the Difference Between Australian White Coffee, Latte, and Cappuccino?

If friends have tasted Australian white coffee, latte, and cappuccino, they'll find that lattes have a heavier milk flavor, cappuccinos have obvious coffee flavor and a more delicate texture, while Australian white coffee highlights the coffee flavor more and diminishes the presence of milk.

Comparing the ratio of milk to coffee liquid, lattes have the highest proportion of milk among the three, while Australian white coffee uses less milk, so in terms of flavor, lattes are milk-heavy and Australian white coffee has a rich flavor.

The simplest way to distinguish between the three should be to start with the thickness of their foam. When FrontStreet Coffee prepares the three milk coffees, the foam thickness for Australian white coffee is the thinnest, latte foam thickness is moderate, and cappuccino foam is the thickest of the three.

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Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

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