What's the Difference Between Latte and Flat White? What's the Coffee-to-Milk Ratio in Latte? What are the Characteristics of Flat White?

Latte vs. Flat White: Understanding the Key Differences

"Latte" is the most popular Italian milk coffee, while "Flat White" is the rising star among milk coffees. Although both are milk coffees, their different preparation methods result in significantly different tastes and textures. However, for beginners, this might seem like asking about the difference between Ultraman Tiga and Ultraman Taro. So today, FrontStreet Coffee will share the differences between these two beloved coffee drinks.

Just kidding! Today, FrontStreet Coffee will share the real differences between Latte and Flat White in terms of preparation and flavor.

What is Latte & Flat White?

Latte is the transliteration of "Latte," referring to a milk coffee product made with a large amount of milk and espresso. It's widely popular due to its distinctive latte art patterns and taste that appeals to all ages.

Flat White, on the other hand, is the direct translation of "Flat White," a specialty milk coffee that evolved in Australia. Because its flavor and texture differ from traditional Italian milk coffees, it achieved widespread coverage after being introduced by major coffee chains. Most specialty coffee shops now offer Flat White, making it truly worthy of the title "rising star."

When it comes to their differences, FrontStreet Coffee believes they mainly fall into three aspects: espresso base, cup size, and milk foam thickness. So first, let's start with the espresso base they use. "For those interested in the history of these two milk coffees, you can check out these two articles: 'Latte Portal' and 'Flat White Portal.' FrontStreet Coffee won't elaborate further here."

1. Espresso Base

As we all know, compared to regular Italian milk coffees, the espresso base used in Flat White has certain differences. For example, the espresso base used in our Latte is a fully extracted espresso with a balanced blend of sweet, sour, and bitter flavors, without emphasizing any particular taste.

Meanwhile, the espresso base used in Flat White has its own name: Ristretto. Ristretto is an espresso that extracts only the front and middle portions of the coffee grounds, reducing the introduction of bitter compounds to allow the coffee to have a sweeter expression. Therefore, although Flat White generally has a stronger coffee flavor than Latte, it's not very bitter - and that's the reason why.

However, we should know that the extraction method of Ristretto is similar to making iced pour-over coffee - using less liquid to extract more compounds. To achieve this, we need to adjust the grind size or coffee amount. But for businesses, this undoubtedly adds a very cumbersome operation. Therefore, basically, most businesses use regular espresso to make Flat White.

2. Cup Size

The second difference between Latte and Flat White is the amount of milk they use! Because Latte uses a lot of milk in its preparation, Italians directly named it "caffè latte." Generally, Latte uses five times the amount of milk as espresso, a 1:5 ratio, though this needs to be adjusted according to the coffee beans used. With this amount of milk, Latte becomes more approachable due to the presence of lactose, making it enjoyable even for those who can't handle bitterness, which is why it's praised as a milk coffee suitable for all ages.

Flat White, on the other hand, uses relatively less milk because it aims to highlight the sweetness of the coffee, so it needs to reduce the milk amount accordingly to prevent the milk flavor from balancing with the coffee. Generally, Flat White uses 3.5 to 4 times the amount of milk as espresso. With this milk ratio, not only is the coffee's own flavor not significantly neutralized, but it also allows the overall drink to have a richer, fuller texture.

3. Milk Foam Thickness

Their final difference is the thickness of the milk foam! The presence of milk foam not only provides a creamy texture to the coffee but can also be used for creating latte art. Therefore, for many milk coffees, a fine and delicate milk foam is essential.

However, when Flat White was first created, baristas didn't want too much milk foam bringing a thick texture. Therefore, Flat White's milk foam is very thin, less than 0.5mm. Although this means it loses the creamy texture that comes with "thick" milk foam, people can therefore more directly experience the milk coffee. One sip, and you're directly tasting milk coffee!

To sum up, I believe everyone now understands the differences between these two drinks. If you want to drink a coffee with a creamy texture and higher sweetness, you can choose Latte with more milk and slightly thicker foam; while if you want to more directly experience the coffee flavor, choosing Flat White with its light, thin foam and less bitterness is definitely the right choice~

A Small Additional Difference

It's worth mentioning there's another small difference - the options available for each. Latte can be made both hot and cold, but Flat White can't! Although Flat White, like Latte, was hot from its inception, even now, it only has a hot preparation method. After all, since the iced preparation doesn't exist, "Iced Flat White" remains a term that makes baristas break into a sweat when they hear it~ The reason? Those who know, know~

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Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473