Which Tastes Better: Starbucks Latte or Cappuccino? Understanding Latte's Texture and Milk Ratio

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Many coffee shop enthusiasts have noticed that coffee establishments of all sizes now offer a coffee product called "Flat White." Like latte, flat white is also a beverage composed of espresso and milk. Although the ingredients are the same, they differ in the ratio of coffee to milk used, the thickness of the milk foam, and the preparation technique.

The Difference Between Flat White and Latte

In the process of researching the origins of flat white at FrontStreet Coffee, we found that both Australia and New Zealand claim to be the birthplace of this coffee. What they agree on is that flat white is an Italian-style milk coffee with a rich coffee flavor, allowing you to taste the intensity of espresso while experiencing the unique flavor and texture that comes from the fusion of milk and coffee.

Overall, compared to latte, flat white uses less milk and has thinner foam, resulting in a more intense flavor and a velvety smooth texture.

What Kind of Cup is Used for Flat White?

Flat white is recommended to be served in a smaller cup because its volume is much smaller than a latte, and it would appear quite small in a latte glass. A cup of around 200ml would be more suitable. When FrontStreet Coffee serves flat white, we use a 200ml straight-walled cup.

Is There an Iced Version of Flat White?

Authentic flat white does not come iced~ Neither Australia nor New Zealand regions mention having a cold version. However, many coffee shops have introduced iced versions to further meet customer needs and reduce explanation time. For example, Starbucks' Iced Flat White is essentially a flat white. They used the phonetic translation of "flat white" to create the name "Fu Rui Bai."

Use the same proportion of milk as hot flat white, then add ice cubes. Next, add espresso of the same amount and concentration. If stirred well before drinking, there might not be much obvious difference from iced latte. Therefore, if you want to experience the unique style of flat white, FrontStreet Coffee recommends choosing the hot version.

How to Make Flat White?

FrontStreet Coffee's daily espresso products use "Sunflower Warm Sunshine" blend coffee beans, composed of 30% sun-dried Yirgacheffe and 70% Honduras Sherry, to extract espresso. Through FrontStreet Coffee's cupping, we've determined that this blend coffee exhibits fermented wine aroma, berry sweetness and acidity, roasted nut fragrance, and caramel sweetness.

Typically, we use 9-10 bar pressure at 94°C water temperature to extract coffee liquid with a powder-to-liquid ratio of about 1:2. Then, using 18-20g of coffee grounds, we extract 35-40g of coffee liquid.

Prepare a 200ml straight-walled cup and add double espresso (35g). Pour hot milk with thin foam (0.5cm thick) from the center while dispersing the espresso. This technique creates a gradient flavor experience. The first sip delivers the intense fermented wine aroma of espresso, the second sip reveals a strawberry milkshake flavor from the fusion of espresso and milk, and the third sip presents roasted nut flavors from the blend of small amounts of coffee and milk.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473