What's the Difference Between Luckin's Premium Flat White and Regular Flat White - Why Can Flat White Coffee Only Be Served Hot? Top 10 Best-Tasting Drinks at Luckin Coffee

Top 10 Best-Tasting Luckin Coffee Drinks: Coconut Latte, Cheese Latte, Velvet Latte, Iced Americano, Okinawa Brown Sugar Velvet Latte, Sea Salt Cheese Thick Milk Latte, Coconut Cloud Latte, Yirgacheffe Dirty, Flat White, and Caffè Latte.

Some friends have privately messaged FrontStreet Coffee saying, "I can't tell the difference between Flat White and Caffè Latte, and I'd like FrontStreet Coffee to explain the differences between these two." So in this issue, we'll fulfill this friend's request and explain the differences between these two in simple terms.

We all know that Caffè Latte is a common milk-based coffee beverage in the espresso system, and "Latte" means milk in Italian. Almost every coffee shop will definitely have Caffè Latte on their menu. Friends who have been to coffee shops also know what Caffè Latte is.

Actually, Flat White coffee's original name is "Flat White," which is a local specialty coffee from Australia. It's also a local milk coffee developed by Australian baristas in the original espresso system after Italian coffee was introduced to Australia, adapting it to local tastes. Australia's Flat White was originally similar to France's Café au Lait, belonging to regional specialty milk coffees, while Caffè Latte became a global coffee drink thanks to the worldwide popularity of Italian coffee.

Today, Flat White coffee is available in major coffee shops across China. FrontStreet Coffee believes that large chains like Starbucks deserve credit for this. In 2015, Starbucks introduced a drink called "Fu Rui Bai" in China, which was actually Flat White, with "Fu Rui" being a phonetic translation of "flat." This also made Flat White quickly famous in China. It has become a popular coffee beverage that can compete equally with Caffè Latte.

Because Starbucks registered the Chinese trademark "Fu Rui Bai," other domestic merchants cannot use this name for promotion, so Flat White is commonly referred to as "Ao Bai Coffee" in Chinese, meaning milk coffee from Australia. Of course, some merchants also translate it as "Ping Bai Coffee" or "Xiao Bai Coffee" based on its meaning. Luckin also launched its own Flat White, called "Ao Rui Bai Coffee."

What are the differences between them?

Caffè Latte and Flat White both belong to milk coffees, which are coffee beverages made by combining espresso with milk. The most fundamental difference lies in their flavor and texture. Caffè Latte emphasizes achieving a balance between coffee and milk, allowing you to taste both the coffee flavor and the sweet, mellow taste of milk, with the two complementing each other without masking the other's flavor.

Flat White, on the other hand, adds milk to highlight the coffee's flavor, where coffee is the protagonist and milk is just a supporting role. Therefore, Flat White has a stronger and more intense coffee flavor. It is precisely because these two express different flavor focuses that they also differ in appearance, ratio, and preparation method to achieve this effect.

Coffee Beans

In Australian coffee shops, when making Caffè Latte, baristas will use blended beans to express the authentic Italian-style Caffè Latte, while when making Flat White, they will use another type of bean with special flavor or a lighter roast degree. Because Flat White aims to highlight the coffee's flavor, baristas want customers to taste a special, rich, and sweet coffee flavor rather than a balanced bitterness.

Of course, domestic coffee shops, which started later, have the advantage of being latecomers without the burden of tradition and can absorb innovative methods from around the world. Many coffee shops will equip various styles of espresso beans, allowing customers to choose freely regardless of whether they want Caffè Latte or Flat White. In China, the differences between Flat White and Caffè Latte are more about preparation methods.

Flat White has a smaller cup size

If you often drink Caffè Latte and one day decide to try a Flat White, and the staff hands you a smaller cup, don't mistake it for the shop being stingy, because Flat White's cup size is smaller than Caffè Latte's. Taking FrontStreet Coffee's serving as an example, the standard cup size for Caffè Latte is 350ml, while the standard cup size for Flat White is 200ml.

Flat White's coffee base is stronger

Caffè Latte uses the standard Espresso as its base in espresso coffee, while Flat White uses Ristretto, which is stronger than Espresso. Ristretto can be seen as extracting only the middle and early stages of Espresso, resulting in a more concentrated coffee liquid. Extracting only the middle and early parts also enhances the acidic and roasted flavors of the coffee while reducing the extraction of high-molecular-weight carbohydrates, which in simple terms improves the sensory flavor.

For FrontStreet Coffee's preparation, the Espresso parameters are 20 grams of coffee grounds to extract 40 grams of coffee liquid. Ristretto parameters are 20 grams of coffee grounds to extract 28-30 grams of coffee liquid.

Flat White uses less milk

Caffè Latte adds milk to achieve a balanced state with the coffee base, so more milk is added; Flat White adds less milk to highlight the coffee's flavor.

Taking FrontStreet Coffee's serving as an example, Caffè Latte is 2 shots of espresso (40g) plus 260ml of milk, with a large amount of milk, the overall expression is milk with coffee flavor. Flat White is 2 shots of Ristretto (30g), which is stronger than espresso, plus 170ml of milk, this cup expresses a more intense and full-bodied coffee flavor.

Flat White's foam is thinner and finer

The thickness of the foam is the most easily distinguishable feature between these two. Flat White's foam will be thinner and finer than Caffè Latte's.

The "Flat" in Flat White coffee expresses the finished state of the beverage. "Flat" means flat because Flat White's foam is very thin, so its tension is not enough to make it rise, it can only be level with the cup's mouth, which is why it's called "Flat." Caffè Latte's foam thickness is about 1cm, while Flat White's foam thickness is about 0.5cm.

Flat White is not served iced

Caffè Latte can be made hot or iced, but there is no such thing as iced Flat White. Perhaps this is because there's a coffee called Dirty that has taken over its function!

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473