Flat white coffee. What is it, recipe, composition, difference from cappuccino, latte, how to prepare, proportions

Flat white - what is it?

At first glance, flat white is another recipe for coffee with milk. Why did the drink win the sympathy of the whole world over the course of several years?

Flat white was invented in the 90s in New Zealand. Its author is roaster and barista Derek Townsend. Coffee was first served in Auckland, in one of the establishments of the DKD chain, of which Derek was a co-owner.
In terms of its composition, volume, strength and taste, the flat white is located between strong espresso and delicate cappuccino, in which milk and foam set the tone, but the coffee itself is weakly felt.
The flat white recipe is based on a double shot of espresso. This achieves an expressive and bright taste. Flat white is much stronger than cappuccino.
Flat whites are prepared in a 1:2 ratio of coffee and frothed milk.

We can say that the recipe occupied an empty niche in the menu, winning the sympathy of coffee lovers who wanted to soften the taste of espresso or enliven the bouquet of cappuccino.

The fashion for flat whites exploded instantly in New Zealand, then in Australia. The recipe is extremely popular in the USA and Great Britain. There are no coffee shops left in England that don’t have a flat white on their menu.

Translated from English, the name of coffee means “flat white.” The name of the recipe reflects how it is served. The milk is foamed to an even, smooth structure so that the surface of the drink is glossy and uniform, unlike cappuccino, in which the foam forms a small cone. It is also important to distinguish between flat white and cappuccino by appearance because both drinks have the same volume and are served in similar cups.

Origin of flat white

The drink gets its name from the homogeneous froth of frothed milk that covers the entire coffee and is flat. In addition, Australian men considered coffee with milk a drink for the weaker half and were embarrassed to order it in coffee shops. Therefore, a unique name was invented that they could not be ashamed of.

A flat white consists of double espresso and milk heated with steam and whipped into foam. The milky taste is not as noticeable as in a cappuccino or latte; the emphasis is on the coffee. Milk softens the bitterness, but leaves a rich taste.

Flat white coffee recipe

How to prepare a flat white?
Let us immediately note that the recipe was invented for an espresso coffee maker. What do you need?

Double shot of espresso – 60-80 ml.
Whipped milk – 120-150 ml.
Sugar to taste.

How to cook?

Brew a double shot of espresso.
Froth the milk using a cappuccino maker. The foam should be smooth and finely porous. This structure is also called velvet. It is important not to overheat the milk and not beat it to peaks, otherwise the foam will rise in a heap in the cup.
Pour milk into coffee. The height of the ideal foam for this recipe is 0.5 -1 cm.

At this point, the drink is considered ready to be served, although some decorate the surface with latte art.

Subtleties of the flat white recipe

It’s not so easy to prepare a flat white at home like in a coffee shop. Minor little things can ruin the look and taste of the drink. The drink has several subtleties that directly affect the result.

It is not recommended to use Robusta beans. Then the coffee will be bitter. An Arabica blend, on the other hand, will create a mild flavor. In addition, Robusta contains more caffeine and would not be suitable for a flat white.

To get a bright aroma, you need to use finely ground beans and grind them literally before preparing the drink.

Flat coffee will taste bitter if not freshly roasted beans are used. The ideal option is medium-roasted beans.

Milk with 2.5-3.5% fat content is suitable. It does not need to be brought to a boil. Otherwise, the foam will not turn out homogeneous and tender.

Typically, flat whites are drunk from medium-sized cups. It is with this drink that you can easily learn to draw. Anyone can master latte art on foam.

True connoisseurs advise waiting a little after preparation until the drink cools down. Then the flavor bouquet of coffee will be fully revealed and the aftertaste will remain for a long time.

How to serve Flat White?

Coffee is served in a cup with a volume of 220-250 ml. The drink should be flush with the edges of the cup, the foam forms a smooth white plateau.

Drink a flat white without stirring, passing the strong, hot drink through the foam. If you want to add sugar, it is better to do this before the milk is poured into the coffee.

Any sweet flavor is suitable as a dessert - panna cotta, tiramisu, muffins or macaroons.

Flat white is a recipe for the first half of the day, or at least for an afternoon snack. You should not order it after meals, as milk slows down digestion.

How to cook a flat white

To prepare flat white coffee correctly, you will definitely need a carob coffee maker or a coffee machine with the function of frothing milk foam, grain or ground coffee and milk.

Recipe

Prepare a double shot of espresso in your coffee maker or espresso machine.
Using a cappuccino maker, whisk the milk until smooth and velvety foam.
Pour the milk foam into the coffee to the edges of the cup in an even layer.

Important preparation nuances

To prepare the drink, you need espresso - it is prepared under a pressure of 9–18 bar in a coffee machine.
For a standard drink, 60 ml of espresso and 110–120 ml of milk are usually used. It's simple - the proportion is 1 to 2.
In our experience, UHT milk with a fat content of 2.5–3.5 percent froths best.
When preparing, pour milk into coffee. Then the milk foam will mix with the coffee foam of the cream and the drink will have a brownish-white head, ideal for drawing beautiful patterns.
As a rule, flat white is served in a thick-walled ceramic cup with a volume of 180-220 ml.

Cooking at home

For proper preparation, you will definitely need a coffee machine and a cappuccino maker. If you don’t have them, you can use a Turk, a French press or a drip coffee maker, but the taste, however, will not be the same.

Before whipping, the milk must be heated to 60–70 degrees, not higher, so that it does not boil and a film forms on top. You can use an electric mixer for whipping. Try to keep the foam as dense and uniform as possible. Otherwise, the recipe does not differ from the standard one. We wish you success!

Flat white: cooking at home without a coffee machine

What to do if you still have a coffee machine, but want to try the recipe? Homemade flat white can also taste very good.

What will you need?

Strong coffee, prepared at the rate of 2 heaped teaspoons per 100 ml of water - 60 ml.
Milk with a fat content of at least 3.2% - 120 ml.
Sugar - optional.

How to cook?

Brew coffee, strain, pour into a heated cup with a volume of approximately 200 ml.
If you like sweet coffee, now is the time to add sugar and stir until the grains dissolve.
Heat the milk of the required volume to approximately 60 degrees. It should be noticeably warm, even hot. Do not bring to a boil under any circumstances. The fat content of milk is important for frothing. In a cappuccino maker you can even get foam from skim milk. At home, it is easier to froth milk with a fat content of 3%.
Beat the milk using an immersion blender or mixer. A stable, finely porous foam should form. Approximate whipping time is 3-4 minutes. Periodically stop the process and check the foam - there should be no large bubbles in it
Pour the frothed milk into the coffee.
Serve without stirring.

How to make a drink at home?

Now we will tell you how to prepare a flat white for those who do not have their own coffee machine. To do this, use a Turkish or French press. To froth the milk, you can use a mixer, blender, or even a French press plunger.

To prepare the drink you will need:

Ground coffee beans - 20 grams.
Milk with a fat content above 3% - 120 milliliters.
Purified water - 60 milliliters.
Sugar - to taste.

The preparation steps are as follows:

Brew a double shot of espresso using any convenient method.
Be sure to strain coffee brewed in a Turk.
Heat the milk to a temperature of 60-70 degrees, this can be done either on the stove or in the microwave.
Whip the milk until it forms a homogeneous foam, making sure there are no large bubbles.
Heat a cup and pour coffee into it.
Add and stir sugar.
Pour milk foam into coffee.
Decorate and serve.

Flat white: calorie content, strength and other features

Like any coffee drink, flat white has its own set of unique characteristics.

The calorie content of a serving is low, about 72 kcal, if milk with a fat content of 3.2% was used. If you took skim milk, the calorie content will be about 35 kcal.
Strength – from 80 mg per serving, since a double portion of espresso is used for preparation.
Taste . The predominant taste is coffee rather than milky, as in cappuccino. Experts advise choosing medium-roasted beans to prepare the drink to avoid excessive bitterness.
Action . Flat white invigorates well due to its high caffeine content. Its action is not sharp, like espresso, but smooth, softened by the presence of milk.

When compared with other drinks, a flat white differs from espresso by the presence of milk, from a latte and cappuccino by a higher coffee content, and from a macchiato by an increased dose of milk.

Flat white calories

Coffee has a number of specific characteristics that distinguish it from other coffee drinks. Many people are concerned about such a property as calorie content. In this coffee it is of little importance and reaches only 72 calories. This figure is indicated taking into account the use of milk with a fat content percentage of 3.2. If you use a low-fat product for cooking, the calorie content will be 35 calories.

Flat white gives energy due to the presence of caffeine. It works smoothly due to the addition of milk, unlike espresso.

Flat White at home without a cappuccino maker

This recipe is designed for those who do not have an automatic coffee machine at home or in the office. Creating a fragrant Flat White is quite simple if you repeat all the preparation steps exactly.

In the late 90s, “Flat White” conquered Britain, and after it the rest of the countries.

Required utensils:

Turk;
coffee cup and saucer;
tea spoon;
thermal mug or metal bowl;
small saucepan for milk;
hand blender or mixer.

Ingredients:

100 ml water;
2 tsp. with a heap of strong ground Arabica coffee;
125 ml fat milk of at least 3.2%;
granulated sugar to taste.

Step-by-step cooking method:

Brew strong coffee in a Turk. Strain the liquid from the coffee beans through a sieve. The output is approximately 60 ml of strong espresso.
Pour the coffee into a pre-heated cup, but it is best to pour it into a thermal cup to keep it hot. Add sugar as desired and stir.
Heat the milk over low heat. It is advisable to maintain an accurate temperature and use a kitchen thermometer. The milk must be heated to 60 °C.
The finished milk can be whipped using a hand blender. A mixer will also work. In extreme cases, you can use a whisk, but it will be more difficult for them to bring the foam to the desired state.
In order to get a finely porous thick white foam, you need to whip the milk for at least 4 minutes. Periodically you need to stop the whipping process to see what condition the foam is in - it should not be too fluffy or with large bubbles.
Pour espresso into a 220-250 ml coffee cup.
Pour the frothed milk evenly into the espresso.
Serve the Flat White without stirring it first.

Making a flat white without a carob coffee maker

To prepare coffee according to this recipe we need the following:

strong black coffee - 60 ml;
milk with a fat content of 3.2% - 120 ml;
granulated sugar - to taste.

Preparation

Brew strong coffee at the rate of 2 teaspoons of ground beans per 100 ml of water. Coffee is brewed in the usual way for you (in a Turkish coffee maker, geyser or drip coffee maker).
If necessary, strain the coffee from the grounds and pour into a heated 200 ml cup. Add sugar to taste.
Heat the milk to about 60 degrees and beat with a mixer or blender. In the absence of a cappuccino maker, the milk must have sufficient fat content, otherwise it will be difficult to obtain the desired structure with a blender or mixer.
The approximate whipping time is 3-5 minutes, during which it is necessary to control the process by interrupting the whipping and checking the milk being processed. Whipping ends when the product acquires an airy, uniform structure without large bubbles.
Pour the frothed milk into the coffee and serve without stirring.

Be sure to try making the drink using the above recipes if you like coffee with milk. Flat white has a well-balanced taste, probably being the golden mean among all coffee with milk recipes.

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Difference from other coffee drinks

Since only espresso and frothed milk are used for preparation, a reasonable question arises - how does this recipe differ from other popular coffee and milkshakes.

Difference from latte and latte macchiato

It is often believed that a flat white differs from a latte only in volume, but this is not true. The latte contains virtually no whipped foam. It uses a large amount of heated milk and single espresso. Latte macchiato consists of three layers: milk foam, coffee and milk. First, milk foam is prepared; it must not be completely whipped so that the milk remains. The espresso is then carefully added to create a beautiful, layered cocktail. Both of these drinks are usually served in transparent glasses.

Difference from cappuccino

Flat whites are usually served in a ceramic cup with thick walls, usually the same as cappuccino. However, the fundamental difference will be in the strength of the drinks. “Flat White” will have a much more intense taste due to the double and sometimes even triple espresso in the composition. Both drinks are ideal for drawing coffee patterns on milk froth.

Difference from macchiato

To make a macchiato, use one shot of espresso and a little steamed milk. It is usually served in a cup with a volume of 60-80 ml.

Differences between cappuccino, latte, flat white

Despite the commonality of preparation, these drinks differ in proportions, method of preparation, and most importantly, taste sensations. Let's take a closer look at each option and consider how cappuccino, latte and flat white differ from each other, how much this affects the taste and what is better to order in a coffee shop.

Cappuccino

Of this trinity, perhaps, cappuccino is the most famous drink everywhere. The main feature of cappuccino is maintaining an ideal balance between the proportions of coffee and milk. The notes of basic espresso are well felt in it; milk does not cover the coffee taste, but adds its own unique characteristics. It is recommended to start your first acquaintance with milk coffee with cappuccino.

For a standard portion of cappuccino, take a cup with a volume of 150-180 ml and a regular portion of espresso. There is also a “large” or “double” option, which has a volume of 280 ml and is prepared on the basis of a double shot of espresso.

At the very beginning of its existence, the proportions of components in cappuccino were equal: a third of espresso, a third of milk, a third of foam. But at the moment, baristas around the world prefer to deviate from the standard and prepare a drink with more milk and less foam. Such proportions allow you to achieve a more pleasant texture; for this, the thickness of the foam should be no more than 1 cm.

Latte

Latte is the largest coffee-based drink and contains the largest amount of milk. It can be safely recommended to those people who do not really like a pronounced coffee taste, but love creamy shades. To serve latte, a container with a volume almost twice as large as for cappuccino is used - from 250 to 300 ml. But there is only one shot of espresso. Thus, milk takes up a significant proportion of the volume in the cup. But it is worth noting that the height of foam in a latte is even less than in a cappuccino - approximately 0.5 cm.

Flat white

The opposite of a latte is a flat white. Of all the milk-coffee drinks, this type has the richest coffee taste. The fact is that when preparing a flat white, a standard volume of containers is used, as for cappuccino (150-180 ml), but a double portion of espresso is taken. And the remaining volume of the dishes is filled with milk and a thin (no more than 1/4 cm) layer of milk foam. So a flat white is for those who prefer coffee with milk, but most of all value the taste of coffee itself.

What to choose?

To summarize briefly, the following points can be highlighted:

Cappuccino is the optimal balance of coffee and milk. Recommended for those who are just beginning their acquaintance with the rich world of coffee or are in search of the perfect coffee with milk.
Latte - a large volume of milk, bright creamy notes in the taste, the coffee tastes weaker. Optimal for those who do not really like the pronounced taste of grains, preferring the milky taste.
Flat white is a bright taste of coffee beans, slightly shaded with milk. Suitable for those who love the immediate richness and flavor notes of coffee beans, but cannot drink pure coffee without adding milk.

As for choice, as in any other case, this issue is decided individually. Of course, the best option would be to taste all types of drinks. This way you can highlight the advantages of each drink and choose the perfect one for yourself. Only one thing remains unchanged: the quality of the coffee beans. Choose the best, taste, look for your ideal drink.

Ingredients for flat white

Milk in the drink does not mask the taste of the coffee base, but emphasizes its advantages. Therefore, it is recommended to use mixtures of different Arabica varieties to prepare flat whites, without adding Robusta. Indian and Kenyan Arabica beans with a chocolate flavor are especially good.

Light or medium (up to Vienna) roasted coffee is preferable: the taste of dark roasted beans does not combine well with milk. Grind – fine espresso or medium.

Water for brewing should be soft, with a mineralization from 75 to 250 mg/l, and non-chlorinated.

It is best to add whole milk to coffee with a fat content of 2.5 to 3.2%.