What is the big difference between flat coffee and a latte ?
- Thread starter paryan
- Start date
- Feb 28, 2008
- 5,227
- 17
If you do a "Google" search for flat white coffee, you will find a lot of information about it.
Here is a little bit of what I found:
Flat White
A flat white is similar to a latte and is mostly served in Australia and New Zealand. The drink is prepared, like a latte, with espresso and milk. The main difference between a latte and a flat white is the ratio of milk and espresso.
The flat white has less milk than a latte and usually a bit less foam on top. Unlike many people think, the flat white does have foam on top. Foaming milk whilst steaming gives the milk a creamier flavor so it’s recommended to always foam the milk, even when it’s just a little bit.
Be prepared to be served a latte without foam when ordering a flat white in most places.
According to some people a flat white should be made with milk just off boiling. However, be aware that the taste of milk changes above certain temperatures and therefore the recommended temperature is around 60 to 70 degrees Celsius.
Here is a little bit of what I found:
Flat White
A flat white is similar to a latte and is mostly served in Australia and New Zealand. The drink is prepared, like a latte, with espresso and milk. The main difference between a latte and a flat white is the ratio of milk and espresso.
The flat white has less milk than a latte and usually a bit less foam on top. Unlike many people think, the flat white does have foam on top. Foaming milk whilst steaming gives the milk a creamier flavor so it’s recommended to always foam the milk, even when it’s just a little bit.
Be prepared to be served a latte without foam when ordering a flat white in most places.
According to some people a flat white should be made with milk just off boiling. However, be aware that the taste of milk changes above certain temperatures and therefore the recommended temperature is around 60 to 70 degrees Celsius.
Interesting. I had never heard of flat white coffee. I tend to drink caffe au lait, which is pretty much a latte but with regular coffee instead of espresso. I agree that you need to be careful with the temperature of the milk. I have read that the natural sweetness from the milk comes out if heated to no higher than 140 to 150 degress F. I'll heat the milk on a stove using a thermometer until it hits about 140 and then I froth it using a manual frother. Works great. If you swirl the milk and "pound" the frothing pitcher to get the bubbles out, you can get it to a nice silky smooth consistency with a nice sheen. The only issue is I haven't been able to achieve the consistency necessary to be able to do "latte art" with it. But that's ok. I don't need my coffee to look all pretty. It just needs to taste good. And now I know what flat white coffee is. I'll have to order one if I ever happen to be in a place that knows how to serve it.
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