Flat White Coffee. What is it, recipe, composition, proportions, differences from cappuccino, latte
Coffee in a classic form is an invigorating drink made from fried and ground coffee beans. To soften the taste in the recipe, you can include milk. At the same time, depending on the proportions of finished coffee, milk and milk foam, 3 main types of drinks are distinguished: Latte, Kapuchino and Flat White.
Flat White was first cooked in Australia in 1984. The coffee recipe invented the barista from New Zealand Derek Townsend. The drink is prepared by the addition of milk in coffee (heated with steam) and with a small milk foam on the surface (no more than 5 mm). It was a small layer of milk foam that gave the name to the Flate White (flat white). Flat White Coffee due to thin foam is ideal for coffee art. Creation on the surface of a drink of a variety of patterns.
Prevalence
Flat White was very quickly adopted by coffee machines of Australia and New Zealand. After he joked the European continent, having conquered the UK. Now the drink can be found all over the world as an alternative to Latte and Kapuchino.

Each drink is famous for its special taste.
How to make a Flat White at home with a French Press / Cafetiere
Cappuccino
It feels the espresso well, it is not interrupted by the dairy component. Kapuchino is averaged between Mokko and Flat White. Traditionally cappuccino is served in a high glass. Drink volume-150-180 ml.
Contains one portion of espresso. A drink with two portions is used in large cups. Kapuchino covers the incorrect and persistent foam 1 cm thick.
Latte
Of the three drinks, it is Latte that has the largest amount of milk. It absorbs a bright coffee taste. Served in a cup, or glass 250-300 ml. Contains one portion of espresso. Latte foam is thinner than cappuccino. 0.5 cm.

Flat White
The drink is most felt by espresso, since two portions are contained. The volume turns out that the cappuccino has 150-180 ml.
Less milk in other drinks, foam thinner. 0.25 cm.
The main differences
The main difference between these coffee drinks is the amount of milk and the thickness of the foam. The balance between coffee and milk remains in the cappuccino. Latt feels a bright taste of milk, coffee is suppressed. Flat White has a strong coffee taste softened by milk.
Recipe for making coffee Flat White at home
To prepare such coffee at home, it is not necessary to have a coffee machine. Even with the help of improvised devices, the taste will turn out to be rich and attractive. To do this, you need the following components:
- Coffee prepared in the proportion of two tablespoons of soluble powder for 60 milliliters of water;
- Milk with a percentage of fat content. 3.2 (120 ml.);
- Sugar at will.

The preparation begins with the fact that the welded coffee must be filtered and poured into a cup (200 ml). If necessary, add sugar and stir thoroughly. Milk is heated to 60 ° C, but do not allow to boil. The degree of whipping depends on the fat content of the product, so it is better to choose the recommended in the recipe. Beat milk with a mixer or whisk to small foam. It takes about three to four minutes. Do not allow the formation of large bubbles. Further, the mixture is poured into the coffee drink and is supplied without stirring.
Composition Flat White
The taste characteristics of coffee directly depend on the quality of the grains used. Several types of arabica are ideal. This is what will provide the drink softness and saturation. It is better if the mixture contains grains with an average degree of frying, as well as small grinding. Experienced barists are often experimenting: some enlarge milk, and someone adds a larger amount of espresso. But traditionally it is prepared with a ratio of 120 ml of milk, previously foamed, with double espresso.
Preparation instructions
The recipe is simple, but requires the selection of high.Quality ingredients and observing proportions. Firstly, the milk foam should be dense with small bubbles. Elasticity is combined with smooth surface. Such quality can be obtained if beat at 60 ° C, and in no case boil. This is important, since neglect of this rule will lead to a loss of taste and aroma.
The quality of the resulting drink indicates the professionalism of a specialist, so the preparation requires experience and skills of whipping and mixing. Preparation in the coffee shop is different in that a coffee machine is used to cook double espresso. The process of whipping the milk is performed by carrier. Subsequently, a flat and velvet foam is obtained. It is impossible to boil coffee and the formation of slides of foam when serving. In conclusion, milk foam is added to the coffee drink, up to 1 centimeter high. Sometimes Flat White is decorated with a pattern.
Recipe for cooking flate White without a coffee machine (and coffee makers)
At home, you can use a Turk or a drop coffee maker to make a drink.
- Cook approximately 70 ml of strong coffee.
- Strain the resulting drink in a preheated mug.
- Kapuchuchener or (in its absence) with a mixer/blender, beat heated milk until a dense finely porous foam is formed. Try to prevent the formation of large bubbles.
- Gently pour the finished mass into the mug.
- If you need to sweeten the drink, fill the sugar until milk foam is added.
Coffee recipe Flate White
In cafes and restaurants, the barista additionally decorate the finished drink with drawings (see. Art Latte).
All Espresso Drinks Explained: Cappuccino vs Latte vs Flat White and more!
Signs of improper cooking
Clearly compliance with the recipe and technology for making Flat White coffee guarantees to get the right drink. If the barista neglects some recommendations, incorrectly prepared coffee can be served to the table. You can recognize it by several signs:
- The finished product is characterized by a bitter taste. Such a flavor appears in cases where coffee grains are overgone;
- The drink is too hot. The maximum permissible temperature should not exceed 70 degrees;
- Coffee turned out to be weak, its taste is too milk. This feature appears in case of violation of the proportions of the ingredients;
- The foam consists of large bubbles, its shape is convex, and the structure is heterogeneous.
Flat White prepared by all rules should not differ any of the listed characteristics.
Flat White VS Latte vs Kapuchino
Flat White, Latte and Kapuchino, all of them are based on milk and double espresso. The difference is in the rules for the preparation and presentation of drinks. Only the size of the espresso can differ from traditions, this can depend on the country or region, on preferences in the cafe (or personally barista) in relation to the degree of frying or expresses of espresso. The espresso recipe changes depending on the composition of the water in the room or the specific equipment used.
Let’s start by studying the composition of Latte, one of the most common drinks that are served in coffee shops, cafes, restaurants. Latte as a whole milk is both to taste and in the ratio of coffee to milk. Differences in size. A common thing, but in specialized coffee houses we most often see a range of 300-400 milliliters as a “ordinary” size. Please note that the style and type of coffee used is often a determining factor when choosing the total volume of the proposed drinks. Typically, the proportions of traditional latte are 1: 4: 1 (1 part of the espresso for 4 parts of milk per 1 part foam). The size of the drink and the depth of the foam can vary, again, depending on the specific style and preferences of the barista, but usually the size of the foam in the cup is 0.5–1 cm. The depth of foam and the size of the espresso usually do not change depending on the size of the drink.
Moving on to the cappuccino, we see a significant difference in the composition. Again, recipes differ depending on the factors described above, but traditional cappuccino has a very thick foam (to the depth of a cup of 1 cm). Total size. This is a key difference observed in the cappuccino, but now it is also customary to reduce the density of the foam. This is done so that the barista is poured latte art. Sometimes cappuccino is offered with chocolate or cinnamon as additional powder to satisfy a wider circle of preferences.

The standard size of cappuccino, as a rule, is smaller than latte, but more than Flat White, usually 250-350 milliliters, although this is inevitably oscillating the figure, given the differences mentioned earlier, as for all coffee drinks. A traditional ratio of espresso, milk and foam for a drink is 1: 3: 2. In many modern coffee houses, in cappuccino, milk foam occupies a slightly smaller part of this indicator.
A little about the history of the appearance
Derek Townsend invented a way to make coffee, in which the foam is present in less than in the cappuccino or latte, and does not muffle the taste of coffee. It only softens espresso. Strong, fragrant and invigorating due to a double dose of caffeine.
But why coffee Flat White is called that? The name translated from English, as “flat white”, is due to the type of foam. Smooth, with microscopic bubbles, which is leveled and visually resembles glossy.
In Europe, the drink became known after 2005., When two New Zealanders. To. Mcclir and J. Gurncy. The first Flat White coffee shop was opened in London. Almost immediately, the institution began to sell 700 cups per day. Soon coffee was included in the coffee shop menu Starbucks. Today it is one of the popular drinks based on coffee and milk, which is included in the three leaders along with Kapuchino and Latte.
Cost, calorie content and fortress of the drink
What will delight many lovers of coffee following the figure is Flat White Calorie. It is quite low, even if you use fat milk. So:
The fortress of the drink is quite high, because it contains an espresso dopio. It will be 80 milligrams per portion.
- In both capitals
- In other regions. From 120 to 220.
- When preparing at home to yourself.
Saturated Dopio with thick milk foam. The dream of coffee machines who want to soften the taste of espresso a little or make cappuccino stronger. Flat White is the best way to wake yourself in the morning and add performance at lunchtime. Prepare it yourself or order it in a coffee shop, and it will become your favorite among the whole variety of coffee cocktails.