Flat White
The flat white came from Australia and New Zealand and works on the opposite principle to a cappuccino: twice the coffee, almost no foam. The milk is not whipped into a cap but saturated with tiny bubbles until the surface is flat and glossy — the texture baristas call microfoam.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 5 min
- Total
- 10 min
- Servings
- 2
- Level
- Medium
- Per serving
- 120 kcal
Ingredients
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What to use instead
For a plant-based flat white use barista oat milk: its microfoam is the most stable and its flavour does not bury the coffee the way coconut does.
Makes: 2 cups of 160 ml
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Pull a double shot
Fifty to sixty millilitres per cup from 18 g of coffee. The double is what makes a flat white a flat white: you should taste coffee, not milk.
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Step 2: Add air briefly
Keep the tip near the surface for only 2–3 seconds, then sink it and heat to 60–65 °C. That is about half the air a cappuccino needs.
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Step 3: Bring it to a shine
Swirl the jug until the milk is glossy and even, like wet paint. There should be no visible bubble on the surface at all.
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Step 4: Pour high, then low
Start pouring from 5–7 cm above the centre, and once the cup is half full drop the spout to the surface and move towards the rim. That is what brings the white pattern up.
Tips & variations
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Tip
The difference from a latte is not only volume: a flat white has 3–5 mm of foam, a latte a centimetre or more. That is why it drinks denser and more of the coffee shows.
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Tip
Use only as much milk as you need: extra milk in the jug always overheats, because the steam tip cannot reach the bottom. For two cups, exactly 240 ml.
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Swap
For a plant-based flat white use barista oat milk: its microfoam is the most stable and its flavour does not bury the coffee the way coconut does.
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Storage
It does not keep. Microfoam holds for about two minutes — longer than a cappuccino cap, but not much.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 2 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 120 kcal | 240 kcal |
| Protein | 6 g | 12 g |
| Fat | 6 g | 12 g |
| Carbohydrates | 10 g | 20 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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