If you’re anything like me, the chalice in which you enjoy your coffee is pretty important.
Even more so when you’re serving up a delicious ‘Flatty’ (in an Australian accent).
Flat whites feel like a fairly new coffee variation.
The flat white was born sometime in the 1980s in either Australia or New Zealand.
It has since made its way over to Europe about five or six years ago, and is a strong beverage with a velvety smoothness created by adding steamed milk and microfoam to a single or double shot of espresso.
When a flat white is perfectly made, the air bubbles should be barely visible.
A flat white is much smaller than a latte or cappuccino in volume, typically coming in 5 or 6 oz cups (around about 160 ml) than its milkier counterparts which average between 8-12 oz (about 240 ml), but typically has about the same amount of caffeine.
What is the best type of flat white coffee cup?
Whilst different baristas or home coffee brewers will have their own specific ratio of coffee to milk, but as a rule of thumb, flat whites tend to be smaller than a latte or cappuccino and have a higher amount of espresso.
They usually come in 150 ml coffee cups (roughly 6 oz cups) and because of the higher concentration of espresso will provide a much stronger coffee taste.
I’m Tom and I have been working in the coffee industry for over 10 years, starting my journey as a barista in Australia, working on coffee farms in South America and roasting coffee in The UK.
Today I review and write about speciality coffee. I am the founder of Batch Coffee Club, which showcases the very best coffee from around the world in our coffee beans subscription uk.
Japan-based brand Kinto find inspiration and ideas for their products from everyday life, drawing from personal experiences and joyful moments to create lifestyle products in many forms and materials.
The combination of a matte glaze with a rough clay textured base gives Ceramic lab products a look and feel that immediately stands out in any coffee shop or home, with the added benefit that these coffee mugs can be stacked when not in use.
Why not serve on top of the matching CLK teapot, which warms the cup, keeping tea hotter for longer?
The dutch based HKliving are responsible for creating some of the most amazing ceramic coffee cups on the market. The 70’s themed coffee mugs have a great feel to them, they are all finished by hand so each one is slightly different from the rest.
They make the perfect size coffee cup for a flat white or to accompany a coffee server if you own a drip coffee machine.
The handmade ceramic coffee cups come in a variety of styles and themes.
Making the best flat whites at home depends on two things – how good you can make your espresso and how good you can steam your milk.
Firstly, make an espresso. If you have an espresso machine, or a coffee machine which spits out great shots, you’re in luck.
If you don’t have a machine, fear not, you can make espresso the old-fashioned way with a “Moka” or espresso pot, which when placed on a stove heats water through espresso powder.
Most high street baristas opt for a double shot of espresso, but when you’re at home you have the beauty of deciding how strong you wish to make it.
Secondly, steam your milk. Ideally, with a coffee or espresso machine, you’ll have a little metal attachment and a metal frothing jug to do this.
You’ll want around 1-2 cm of foam on top.
Then when pouring the milk, do it from a height of around 4 cm above the cup.
As the cup’s volume increases, bring the jug as close to the surface and aim dead centre with your pour.
Once the jug is almost connecting to the coffee, increase the speed of the pour with an elevated tilt.
The milk should start folding in on itself as it bounces off the back of the cup, this should create a nice pattern on top.
Hold the jug so that the spout is about 4 cm above the jug.
How do you pour milk for Flat White?
As mentioned before, making a good home flat white is all about that steam.
With your milk jug half-filled, place the wand in the center of the liquid, about 0.5 cm beneath the surface.
Tilt the jug to the side and get that whirlpool effect going.
The milk should be steamed around 60-70 degrees celsius, thereby retaining the fats and keeping that rich, sweet flavour.
Too hot and this sweetness will literally evaporate and you won’t get the silky microfoam that separates a flat white from a Cafe con leche.
If you’re cool with dairy milk, full fat milk tends to work the best, but those who prefer alternative milks may do better with a barista version oat milk.
Blast the steam onto full power, lower the jug until you hear that snaky hiss.
As the milk level rises, bring the steam wand beneath the surface and stop excess foam building. Turn the steam off when the milk is hot to the touch.
Burst the bubbles with a tap on the surface, and swirl the milk until its glossy.
With the cup held at an angle, the milk jug can be used to pour a slow, thin stream of milk just above the coffee. You’re looking for an even colour as you combine the espresso and the milk.
With the cup 2/3 full, bring the tip of the jug close to the surface and quickly pour the milk into the centre of the liquid, so that the foam can sit on top and provide a big white blob.
Keep that blob flowing until the cup is almost full. If you want to make that blob show some love, with a nice big heart shape, bring your jug back to the earlier pouring position, pulled through the blob. This is latte art 101.
What are the best beans for Flat Whites?
Most coffee shops will use the same Robusta beans they use for espressos in their flat whites.
Beans that are medium dark should provide good results, but those that are too dark can end up tasting ashy. Robusta beans tends to be less sweet and have a lower acidity, but consequently they taste cruder. They have a higher caffeine content than Arabica beans but create more cream. This means that when steamed right, the milk should balance out the acidity.
As with all brews, it’s best to use freshly ground beans for the best brew and to store your beans in a vacuum sealed container to keep the flavours in.
Closing Thoughts
The flat white is an interesting alternative to a latte or cappuccino. Its emergence is oddly timed with the rise of addictive levels of caffeine in beverages, but that could just be a coincidence as more and more coffee shops, both independent and chain pop up.
As one barista and writer, Alex Bernson wrote –
“The first thing you need to know about the flat white is that it contains multitudes. Like much of post-industrial consumer culture, the flat white is a symbolic proxy through which we express our hopes, fears, and anxieties, and in its exchange, try to placate the ravenous calling for social distinction and connection. It gives people feelings. The flat white is the latest fancy coffee battleground through which our trans-national tastes in coffee, identity, and late capitalism are simultaneously represented, contested, and inverted.”
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