A flat white is a coffee drink consisting of espresso with microfoam. Today’s Goodle Doodle is dedicated to this specific “milky” coffee.
Let’s find out more about flat white!
- A flat white is a coffee drink consisting of espresso with microfoam (steamed milk with small, fine bubbles and a glossy or velvety consistency).
- It generally has a higher proportion of espresso to milk than a caffè latte, and a thinner layer of microfoam than a cappuccino.
- The origin of the flat white is unclear.
- Despite that many café owners in Australia and New Zealand claim its invention.
- Coffee historian Ian Bersten states that while the origin of the flat white is unclear, the drink probably originated in England in the 1950s.
- There are references to the beverage in Australia in the 1980s
- . A review of the Sydney café Miller’s Treat in May 1983 refers to their “flat white coffee” Another Sydney newspaper article in April 1984 satirised a vogue for caffè latte, stating that: “cafe latte translates as flat white.”
- At Moors Espresso Bar in Sydney, Alan Preston added the beverage to his permanent menu in 1985.
- Preston claimed he had imported the idea to Sydney from his native Queensland, where cafés in the 1960s and 1970s had frequently offered “White Coffee – flat”.
- Other documented references include the Parliament House cafeteria in Canberra putting up a sign in January 1985 saying “flat white only” during a seasonal problem with milk cows that prevented the milk froth from forming.
- However, the origins of the flat white are contentious, with New Zealand also claiming its invention.
- One New Zealand claim originates in Auckland, by Derek Townsend and Darrell Ahlers of Cafe DKD, as an alternative to the Italian latte.
- A second New Zealand claim originates from Wellington as a result of a “failed cappuccino” at Bar Bodega on Willis St in 1989.
- Craig Miller, author of Coffee Houses of Wellington 1939 to 1979, claims to have prepared a flat white in Auckland in the mid-1980s.
- On 11th of March 2024 Google celebrated the “flat-white” coffee with an animated doodle.
- The animated Doodle celebrated the flat white, because on this day in 2011, flat white was added to the Oxford English Dictionary.
- Anette Moldvaer states that a flat white consists of a double espresso (50 ml/1.5 fl oz) and about 130 ml (4 fl oz) of steamed milk with a 5 mm (0.25 inch) layer of microfoam.
- According to a survey of industry commentators, a flat white has a thin layer of microfoam (hence the ‘flat’ in flat white), as opposed to the significantly thicker layer of foam in a traditional cappuccino.
- The recipe for a flat white, however, varies between regions and cafés.
- In Australia a flat white is served in a ceramic mug, usually of the same volume (200 ml, 7.0 imp fl oz) as a latte glass.
- However, some Australian cafés will top a latte with extra froth, while others may pour a flat white slightly shorter.
- New Zealand flat whites are more commonly served in a tulip shaped cup (165 ml, 5.8 imp fl oz).
- In both Australia and New Zealand, there is a generally accepted difference between lattes and flat whites in the ratio of milk to coffee and the consistency of the milk due to the way the milk is heated.
- The coffee style was exported to the United Kingdom by 2005, and by 2010 was being sold in Starbucks franchises there.
- By 2013 the flat white was available in Australian cafés in New York City.
- Hugh Jackman co-owned one of them and endorsed the product.
- Starbucks debuted the flat white in American stores on 6 January 2015.
- The espresso counts for roughly 25% of the drink (1.5oz), so the coffee flavor is stronger than a normal American latte.
- In the UK, the phrase flat white economy has been used to describe London’s network of internet, media and creative businesses.
- The flat white is similar to an original Italian cappuccino, which is a single espresso with microfoam served in a 150–160 ml (5.3–5.6 imp fl oz) cup.The flat white, however, has a higher proportion of coffee and less foam.
