Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 06:49, 13 July 2013

A flat white is a coffee beverage developed in Australia and New Zealand in the 1980s. It is prepared by pouring microfoam (steamed milk from the bottom of a pitcher) over a single or double shot of ristretto espresso. It is similar to the latte and the café au lait although smaller in volume, having a higher proportion of coffee to milk, and more velvety in consistency.

Description

The beverage is typically served in a small 150–160 millilitre ceramic cup. Microfoam is used, and loosely frothed milk from the top of the steaming vessel is typically discarded or held back in the vessel while the creamy milk from the bottom of the vessel is folded into the coffee, resulting in a smooth and velvety texture. A flat white almost always incorporates latte art, at least if prepared by a properly trained barista.

According to purists, a flat white has several defining characteristics:

1. a very thin layer of velvety micro-foam (hence the "flat" in flat white), as opposed to the high amount of foam in a cappucino
2. medium size (typically the same cup size of a cappuccino, i.e. about 150-180ml or 5–6 oz)
3. free poured milk so that the foam is folded through the whole drink and there is no discernable layer separation between liquid coffee and foam
4. not served in a glass, as the larger (and therefore weaker) cafe latte typically is

Making a good flat white is difficult, because a properly skilled barista is needed to prepare the espresso base correctly, to steam the milk such that micro-foam is created and to properly fold the milk in with the espresso, thereby creating the thin velvety layer of foam with latte art.

Outside of Australia and New Zealand, if a cafe offers a flat white this is often a sign that this cafe considers itself part of the Third Wave Coffee movement. However, with the flat white becoming increasingly well known to people, especially in cities with a thriving coffee scene (e.g. London, Berlin, San Francisco), many cafes who are not part of the specialty coffee movement and do not put great emphasis on correct preparation of coffee (as is typically the case with Third Wave Coffee cafes) are catching on to the trend and are also offering flat whites. In the UK, even coffee shop chains such as Starbucks, Costa Coffee and Pret a Manger have added flat whites to their menus.

Flat whites are typically prepared using espresso beans with a relatively light roast rather than more traditional dark Italian roasts. This fact, together with proper extraction by a skilled barista and the fact that double shots are typically used, creates the characteristically rich and intense, though not bitter, aroma of a flat white. This is another reason why flat whites are predominantly found in third wave cafes, since they typically use only lightly roasted beans anyway.

History

Australian food historian, Michael Symons, claims that the name "flat white", meaning an espresso with milk, originated in Sydney, Australia, in the mid-1980s, in contrast to the terms "short black" and "long black". The style was developed and standardised in Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand, in the late 1980s. The style was exported to the United Kingdom by expatriates from both New Zealand and Australia in 2005 and by 2010 was being sold in Starbucks franchises in the United Kingdom.

With the post-World War II influx of Italian immigrants to Australia and the introduction of espresso coffee machines in the 1950s, a flat white was requested in Italian cafés where the cappuccino was generally more prepared and served. The milk poured was as much for tea as for coffee. The style developed and standardized in the late 1980s is an appropriation of that common term of request and a fine sophistication of development within present coffee culture.

Similar beverages

A cappuccino is similar, but in some countries has a head of dry foam rather than microfoam. A flat white is similar to an original Italian cappuccino, which is a single espresso with microfoam served in a 150–160 ml cup.

The Spanish cafe con leche is similar to a flat white but uses scalded milk. In a flat white, the milk is steamed without frothing to 60–70 °C (typically 150–170 °F). Steaming the milk to a lower temperature retains the fats and proteins in the milk which retain a sweet flavour, lost when milk is steamed to scalding temperatures. A Cafe con Leche also lacks the head of microfoam.

The latte is occasionally argued to be similar: "The only difference between the two drinks is the vessel in which they're presented. A flat white is served in a ceramic cup, usually of the same volume (200 millilitres) as a latte glass. However, some cafes will top a latte with extra froth, while others may pour a flat white slightly shorter." In New Zealand, at least, there is a generally accepted difference between lattes and flat whites in the ratio of milk to coffee and in the consistency of the milk. According to a New Zealand government website:

{{quote|A true flat white ought to have the same quantity of extracted coffee as any other beverage on the coffee menu (generally 30ml) but because it is served in a smaller vessel (175ml) it has stronger flavour than say a latte which is normally served in a 225ml vessel and is subsequently milkier. The consistency of the milk is another point of difference between a flat white and a latte – a latte has a creamy, velvety layer of milk on the surface which can vary in depth depending on where you buy your coffee. A flat white has a thinner band of the textured milk, ideally with a shinier surface.|}}

See also

• Caffè
• Long black

References

1. Symons, Michael (2007). One continuous picnic: a gastronomic history of Australia. Melbourne University Publishing. p. 366.
2. Symons, Michael. "Spilling the beans". Fairfax. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
3. Thomson, Peter. "What is a flat white". Coffee Hunter. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
4. Dixon, Greg (22 July 2008). "The birth of the cool". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
5. "What is a flat white? – Coffee Hunter". Retrieved 10 February 2013.
6. Symons, Michael. "Spilling the beans". Fairfax. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
7. Wallop, Harry (5 December 2009). "Starbucks to sell 'flat white' for those who are fed up with milky coffee". The Telegraph. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
8. "L'Espresso Italiano e il Cappuccino Italiano Certificati" (PDF). Istituto Nazionale Espresso Italiano. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
9. "Milk Frothing Guide – Hello Milk!". CoffeeGeek.com. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
10. Carmody, Kathleen (20 April 2004). "Coffee culture". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
11. "New Zealand's dedicated coffee culture". Tourism New Zealand. Retrieved 29 January 2013.

• Use dmy dates from July 2013
• Coffee beverages
• New Zealand beverages
• Australian beverages
• Australian inventions