What Exactly is a Flat White?

Chocolate powder on your cappuccino or not? Inverted Aeropress or regular? Washed coffee or anaerobic? While there are many raging debates going on in the coffee industry, there’s none quite so contentious as the Flat White. What exactly is it? Where did it come from? And why did it take the world by storm in the last 10 years!?

Well, it seems like the origins are as contentious as the drink itself! Although our Kiwi friends will argue that the “modern” version of the Flat White was refined in Wellington, the origin of this mysterious drink appears to have originated in Sydney - Australia in the 1980s at Moors Espresso Bar.

To put the origin of this drink into context, in the 1980’s cappuccino foam was often very bubbly and cappuccinos were served with an almost soft-serve-like peak in the cup. Latte’s were often served in bigger glasses and didn’t carry quite the same punch as the cappuccino. So customers who didn’t want to fight through all the foam on a cappuccino, but didn’t want the milkiness of a latte would order a “white coffee - flat,” hence the term “Flat White.”

The name also fits right into the Australian lexicon. In Australia it’s common to call an espresso a “short black,” add some water and an americano becomes a “long black.” So a flat white coffee, well there we have a simple “flat white.”

Great - now we’ve established the origins, so what exactly is a Flat White? Nowadays the drink has many different variations. Depending on where you order your drink you could get a double shot espresso in a smaller cup filled with milk, to a large latte-style cup with a single shot. The one thing that does seem to be consistent wherever you order is the lack of foam.

How to Make a Flat White

Personally, I like to think back to the origins of the drink and build a flat white around the cappuccino. Here is my recommendation for making a flat white for those of you who want to have a taste at home:

• Use the same “base” as you would for a cappuccino - generally a smaller cup (around 180ml-220ml) and a single espresso

• Foam the milk but add much less micro-foam than you would for a cappuccino. There should be a maximum of 5mm foam on top of the flat white once the milk has separated

• Pour away!

The result is a balance between the punchiness of the cappuccino and the milkiness of a latte. If you find that the lack of foam drowns out the espresso and makes it too milky, try using a double-ristretto (espresso with 1:1 ratio) instead. The result should be silky and delicious!

Now you’re the coolest kid in the coffee shop with your coffee knowledge, it’s time to make your friends bask in awe at the newest coffee drink on the block, straight out of the Melbourne coffee scene - the magic 😉

-P.T.

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