Flat white
A double espresso shot with a small, even layer of finely-textured microfoam steamed milk, resulting in a stronger coffee-to-milk ratio than a latte.
- Coffee dose
- 18g
- Yield
- 160ml
- Milk
- 120ml
- Intensity
- strong
- Preparation time
- 3 min
- Skill level
- advanced
Caffeine estimate
Approximately 120-160mg (double shot).
Well established
Brewing method
Made using Espresso machine.
Taste, variation and common mistakes
Stronger and less diluted than a latte for a similar cup size, with finely-textured, glossy microfoam rather than a distinct foam cap — the coffee-to-milk ratio is what separates it from a latte, not the presence or absence of foam.
Common mistakes
- Treating it as identical to a latte and using the same milk volume — a flat white is defined by a smaller, stronger ratio.
- Under-texturing the milk so it separates into liquid milk and foam rather than staying integrated as microfoam.
- Confusing it with a cappuccino — a flat white has no thick foam cap, just a thin, glossy layer.
Originates from Australian and New Zealand café culture. Exact ratios still vary by café, and some serve it in a smaller cup than others while keeping the same basic proportions.
Steps
- Pull a double espresso shot into a small cup.
- Steam milk to a smooth, thin microfoam.
- Pour milk over the espresso, keeping the foam layer thin and even.
Equipment
Related drinks
- milk based version of Espresso
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Build this drink
Tools for working out the quantities this drink needs.
How to make it well
Step-by-step techniques this drink depends on, each with what to change when it does not work.
- Steaming milkProduce hot milk with a fine, integrated foam that pours as one liquid rather than as foam sitting on milk.
- Making microfoamReduce the air in steamed milk to bubbles too small to see, so the foam and the liquid behave as one substance.
- Judging milk temperatureStop steaming at a temperature that keeps the milk sweet and the texture fine, without needing to read a thermometer mid-drink.
- Steaming plant milkTexture a plant milk without splitting it, and know when the carton rather than the technique is the problem.
- Pouring latte artPlace textured milk on the surface of an espresso in a controlled pattern, by managing height, flow and cup angle.
- Preheating a brewerStop cold equipment taking heat out of the brew before it has finished extracting.
Milk that suits it
How each behaves when steamed — foaming, stability and splitting risk. No health comparisons.