Flat White

A flat white is a small, strong milk coffee: an espresso base, usually a double ristretto, topped with steamed milk and only a thin layer of silky microfoam, so the top stays “flat”. It sits between a cortado and a latte: more milk than the first, much less than the second. Its real home, says Tasting Table, is Australia and New Zealand, and the two countries still argue about who invented it. Here’s how to make one, and what the evidence says.

The short version

• A double ristretto, usually, with about twice as much milk as coffee.
• A thin layer of microfoam, about 6 mm, not a thick cap.
• A small cup, 6–8 oz (about 180–240 ml).
• Stronger than a latte, smoother than a cappuccino.
• Claimed by both Australia (Sydney menu, 1985) and New Zealand (Wellington, 1989).

What’s in a flat white?

Tasting Table gives the usual build:

Part	Typical flat white
Coffee	A double ristretto, more concentrated than standard espresso
Ratio	1 part espresso to 2 parts milk
Foam	About ¼ inch (6 mm) of microfoam, less bubbly than a latte’s or cappuccino’s
Cup	6 or 8 oz (about 180–240 ml)

The point, Australian Geographic explains, is the balance: the flat white blends the espresso’s crema with a thin layer of microfoam, so without the thicker foam of a latte or cappuccino, or chocolate on top, it delivers a stronger coffee flavour with a unified, creamy texture. Alan Preston says a properly made flat white should leave “tide marks” on the side of the cup, showing the level going down with each sip.

How do you make a flat white at home?

With an espresso machine and a steam wand. Tasting Table’s method:

1. Pull a double ristretto into a small cup. See our espresso guide for the shot.
2. Steam the milk with the wand just below the surface, at a slight angle, so the milk swirls. Stop when it’s warm, silky and has a slight shine.
3. Pour gently into the coffee, and finish with a thin, flat layer of foam.

Tasting Table adds that a Nespresso milk frother will do, and that you can make it iced, too.

Who invented the flat white?

Nobody has settled it. Australian Geographic and Tasting Table set out the claims:

Claim	The story	The evidence
Alan Preston, Sydney, 1985	Preston put “flat white” on the menu of Moors Espresso Bar in Sydney’s Chinatown. He says he brought the drink from Far North Queensland, where Italian-run cafés in sugar towns offered a “flat” alongside the cappuccino and the Vienna	Photographs of the menu; Australian Geographic calls it the most solid evidence
Fraser McInnes, Wellington, 1989	A cappuccino made with low-fat milk wouldn’t froth, came out flat, and he called it a flat white	His own account, reported by Tasting Table and Eyes on New Zealand
New Zealand cafés, early to mid 1980s	Wellington and other New Zealand cafés were already serving a smoother, less frothy milk coffee	Recollection, reported by Eyes on New Zealand and Tasting Table

Preston has said he may not have been the first to use the name, Tasting Table notes, but he had it on his menus from 1985; Australian Geographic adds that he went on to open five more cafés serving it. McInnes later ran Wellington’s Bar Bodega, which AudioCulture says began as a café, La Bodega, before the bar opened in 1991. Eyes on New Zealand concludes that there is no single agreed origin story, and that both countries shaped the drink.

Flat white variations

Australian Geographic describes two regional relatives:

• Long mac topped up (Perth): a milk-to-coffee ratio of 1:4 in a 180 ml serving; Australian Geographic likens it to a double-shot flat white in a smaller cup.
• Magic (Melbourne): a double ristretto with textured milk in a 148 ml (5 oz) cup, an even stronger flat white.

Flat white vs other milk coffees

• Cappuccino: a single espresso under a thick cap of foam.
• Caffè latte: bigger and milder, with more milk.
• Cortado: equal parts espresso and milk, with almost no foam.
• Long black: one of the “black” options on those Queensland café menus.

Explore every drink in the milk coffees chapter.