The Differences Between Flat White and Macchiato: How to Order Starbucks Macchiato Coffee - Is It Sweet?

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Understanding Flat White: Luckin's Australian White vs. Starbucks' Flat White

When talking about Luckin's Australian White and Starbucks' Flat White, both actually refer to the same coffee beverage—Flat White. This is an Australian-invented coffee drink composed of espresso and milk, so most coffee shops call this coffee "Australian White."

Milk Coffee Varieties: What's the Difference?

Some might ask: Isn't this the same as latte and Dirty? Although they are all milk coffees with similar ingredients, their preparation processes differ, creating distinct characteristics!

Latte is composed of 1/3 espresso + 2/3 milk, with hot lattes featuring a 1cm thick layer of milk foam. The texture is smooth and creamy, making it an Italian milk coffee with prominent milk flavors.

Australian White coffee is composed of 2/3 espresso + 1/3 milk + 0.5cm milk foam (or 1/2 higher concentration ristretto espresso + 1/2 milk + 0.5cm milk foam). Australian White coffee is typically served hot with a smooth texture, making it an Italian milk coffee with prominent coffee flavors.

Dirty coffee is a product made by pouring 1/3 espresso directly over 2/3 cold milk, served only cold. The charm of Dirty lies in the layering formed between coffee and milk. When tasting, it should not be stirred—drink it all at once to experience the gradual transition from concentrated espresso to the sweet taste of cold milk lactose.

What Coffee Beans to Use for Making Italian Milk Coffee?

FrontStreet Coffee uses blended coffee beans for extracting espresso in daily Italian coffee products. The advantage of blended coffee beans is that roasters create comprehensive beans suitable for pressurized extraction by combining coffee beans from different origins in specific proportions based on their characteristics.

The goal is to use blending to reduce the exposure of individual (single-origin) coffee beans' undesirable flavors and instability when ground extremely fine and extracted under pressure. Blended coffee beans ensure more effective stability in flavor and quality for every shot of espresso.

Additionally, compared to using single-origin coffee beans directly, the cost is significantly lower, which has an important impact on coffee pricing. To allow different types of coffee shops to have different price and flavor requirements for Italian blend coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee has launched 4 medium-dark roast Italian blend coffee beans, all shipped within 5 days of roasting to ensure freshness.

FrontStreet Coffee's Italian Blend Collection

"Warm Sun Blend Coffee Beans" - suitable for home/office and specialty coffee shops. Ethiopian natural processed red cherry coffee beans (30%) + Honduras sherry barrel coffee beans (70%), featuring rich wine aroma, vanilla cream, berry sweet and sour, and roasted nut flavors.

"Specialty Blend Coffee Beans" - suitable for home/office and specialty coffee shops. Colombian washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian natural processed coffee beans (70%), featuring nut, dark chocolate, and caramel flavors.

"Commercial Blend Coffee Beans" - suitable for all types of coffee shops. Bosta washed coffee beans (10%) + Colombian washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian natural processed coffee (60%), featuring nut, cocoa, and caramel flavors.

"Basic Blend Coffee Beans" - suitable for all types of coffee shops, bakeries, and beverage shops. Yunnan washed small bean coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian natural processed coffee beans (70%), featuring gentle fruit acidity, caramel, and nut flavors.

How to Extract Espresso Suitable for Flat White?

Currently, there are two mainstream methods for making Flat White coffee: one using double espresso, and the other using double ristretto espresso. Both types of concentrated espresso are made by grinding coffee beans into extremely fine particles, tamping them into the portafilter of a pressurized coffee machine, then extracting under high pressure and speed in a sealed environment to produce highly concentrated coffee liquid.

The difference is that ristretto espresso is actually extracted with a smaller ratio. For general double espresso extraction, FrontStreet Coffee's stores use 20g of extremely finely ground coffee powder to extract 40g of coffee liquid at a 1:2 ratio, with extraction time of 25-30 seconds.

However, the powder-to-liquid ratio for ristretto espresso extraction is around 1:1.6. It's important to note! The concentration of ristretto espresso doesn't necessarily mean more intense coffee flavor, but rather the overall taste (sweet, sour, bitter) of the coffee liquid. When too concentrated, it can easily exhibit sharp acidity/bitter burnt flavors. Therefore, when making ristretto espresso, it's sometimes necessary to adjust the powder amount and extraction time.

For daily Flat White production, FrontStreet Coffee uses "Sunflower Warm Sun Coffee Blend" to make double ristretto espresso. We use a 200ml cup, add double ristretto espresso (35g), and pour hot milk with thin foam from the center without dispersing the espresso. This method creates a gradual flavor presentation. The first sip reveals the rich fermented wine aroma of espresso, the second sip shows the strawberry milkshake flavor created by the fusion of espresso and milk, and the third sip presents the roasted nut flavor from the combination of small amounts of coffee and milk.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange, more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473