When it comes to ordering coffee, the choice between a flat white, latte, and cappuccino can be a bit confusing. They all involve espresso and steamed milk, but the experience of drinking each is distinctly different. Let’s dive into the key differences between these popular coffee drinks, focusing on the cups they’re served in, the coffee-to-milk ratio, and most importantly, the milk texture.
First, let’s talk about the cups. The type and size of the cup can influence the final flavor profile of your coffee. Here’s a quick guide to the sizes used:
Flat White: Typically served in a 192 ml cup.
Latte: Usually comes in a 220 ml glass, offering a bit more milk compared to the other two.
Cappuccino: Served in a 190 ml cup.
While all three drinks contain the same amount of coffee—usually a single shot—the difference lies in the volume of milk added. Lattes, being served in a larger glass, tend to have a higher milk-to-coffee ratio, making the flavor more diluted compared to a flat white or cappuccino.
If you prefer a stronger coffee, you can always opt for a double shot, or even a double ristretto, which offers a more intense coffee flavor. Keep an eye out for my upcoming video on ristrettos if you’re interested in learning more about this concentrated form of espresso.
The Milk Texture
The biggest difference between a flat white, latte, and cappuccino is the milk texture, which is created by adding different amounts of air to the milk during the steaming process.
Flat White: The key characteristic of a flat white is its smooth, velvety milk with minimal froth—about 5 milliliters. To achieve this, you only introduce air to the milk for one to two seconds while steaming. This results in a creamy, slightly textured milk that blends well with the espresso without creating a thick foam layer.
Latte: Lattes have slightly more texture than flat whites, with around 10 milliliters of froth. To achieve this, you steam the milk a bit longer—around three to four seconds of air. The milk is still creamy but has a bit more body, making it perfect for pouring latte art and giving the drink a richer mouthfeel.
Cappuccino: Cappuccinos are known for their thick, foamy top layer, with about 15 milliliters of froth. To get this texture, you introduce air into the milk for about six seconds. The milk becomes light and airy, creating a distinct layer of froth that sits on top of the coffee, often dusted with a bit of chocolate powder.
Pouring and Serving
When it comes to pouring, the milk for each drink behaves differently due to its texture:
Flat White: The milk is smooth and light, allowing for a simple, clean pour. Specialty coffee drinkers often prefer flat whites with a slight layer of foam but without the thick froth of a cappuccino.
Latte: The milk has a bit more texture, making it ideal for creating latte art. As you pour, you’ll notice the milk is thicker, allowing for intricate designs and a slightly thicker froth on top.
Cappuccino: The milk is airy and foamy, creating a thick layer on top of the espresso. When pouring, you might even get a slight dome effect, where the foam rises above the rim of the cup, though not excessively as in traditional styles.
Conclusion: The Drinking Experience
The differences in milk texture translate to distinct drinking experiences:
Flat White: Offers a smooth, coffee-forward experience with a creamy mouthfeel.
Latte: Provides a balanced flavor with a creamy texture and just enough froth to create a pleasant coating in the mouth.
Cappuccino: Delivers a full, frothy mouthfeel with a light coffee flavor, ideal for those who enjoy a foamier texture.
These three drinks represent around 80% of the coffee volume served in many cafes, particularly here in Australia. Understanding the differences not only helps you make informed choices but also allows you to better appreciate the craft behind each cup.
Engage with Your Customers
If you’re a café owner or barista, understanding these differences is crucial when discussing options with your customers. Knowing what each drink offers will help you guide them to the perfect choice, ensuring they enjoy their coffee just the way they like it.
Video Transcript
0:00
what is the difference between a flat
0:02
white a latte and a cappuccino let's
0:04
make them and I'll talk you through it
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[Music]
0:11
for starters
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we want to make sure that we're making
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them in the right cup so I'm going to
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today make a flat white in a 192 mil cup
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like that I'm also going to do my
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cappuccino in a 190 mil
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cup I'm going to use a 220 ml glass for
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my latte and that is probably one point
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of difference for your latte is they
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tend to have a little bit more milk
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through them so they they can be a
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little bit uh more diluted in milk to
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Coffee ratio there's still the same
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amount of coffee because I'm putting a
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single shot in each of these
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now if you prefer a stronger coffee go
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for a double shot if you want to go for
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something a little bit more robust and
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you you would go for maybe a double of
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shadow
0:55
keep an eye out for a video that we're
0:58
producing soon helping you learn more
1:00
about ristrettos it might already be out
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so go have a look for that one
1:07
but the main thing
1:09
that we want to talk about today is
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really the difference between the milk
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texturing now
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the biggest difference is the amount of
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air that you're actually adding to that
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coffee
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so rather than not just the difference
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in cups and ratios the cups and ratios
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are a personal thing for us here I'm
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serving Champion beans and they we know
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they taste great with a single shot
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through 190 mL of in that size cup for
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our coffee and our ratio but if you're
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using a different size cup you might
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look at a different flavor profile and a
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different ratio of coffee to milk but
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for us single shot in that size is fine
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once we do get to eight ounces in a take
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in a takeaway cup we are doing a double
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Estrada flavor wise we want to punch
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through that extra bit of milk but then
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we're doing a double shot for our 12
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ounces in latte flat on a cappuccino so
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it's the same essentially the same
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coffee to milk ratio in that for all
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three of them so the biggest difference
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is that the milk section and the texture
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you're adding
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so let's say our flat white we're going
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to say flat white is about five mils of
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froth now the easiest way to determine
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whether you're going to get extra froth
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is by only putting the air into the milk
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for a small amount of time so come in
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close and have a listen to this so if I
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get this started no air yet
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but only add like one to two seconds of
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air and then I'll lift up
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and that'll be all the air I'm adding
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making sure I obviously don't over
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I hate that milk so that's my flat white
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now this time latte
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said again again we're going to go one
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two
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three four a little bit more air lift up
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no more air
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latte now this time my cappuccino
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let's just get that air in there as soon
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as possible three four five six that's
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six seconds of air now we've got
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plenty in there and you can see how much
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that milk has risen because of the extra
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air now
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I've definitely put plenty in there but
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you can see how there's actually a bit
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of a smaller level middle and the extra
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that I put in there for that cappuccino
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now this is the biggest point of
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difference so
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now we've got
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that'll be my cap single shot and this
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glass and this cup sorry
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there's my single single
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and now you can see
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let's get those
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bubbles out
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you can see this milk is just that bit
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thinner
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it'll still texture really nicely
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so when I go and pour it through my shot
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we're just going to do a nice simple
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pour you can see how much lighter and
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thinner this is
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yeah
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now a flat white Drinker does want a
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flat coffee in specialty coffee we can
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still steam our milk flat and give us
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enough texture to actually still pour
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latte out we don't really want to just a
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hot milk drink we want it to still look
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beautiful but your flat white drinkers
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they don't want the froth so they're
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looking for that experience
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cool so now we've got our latte milk
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you can see straight away we do have a
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bit of extra texture in there
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it's not a lot it's not I wouldn't say
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it's frothing
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but when we go to pour it
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can we go to pour out
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we can see straight away that we've got
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that bit of extra texture to work with
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and we can and we can pull now we'll be
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able to see that settle
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and how much extra froth there is there
5:01
now I definitely added plenty of air
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into this
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just for the example
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I really need to make sure I blend that
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in I'm even just going to
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just throw a little bit of that froth
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out
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there's plenty in there now we're here
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in Australia
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we put a bit of chocolate on out so I'll
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pretty it up I'm going to put that
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Chucky straight on there
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come back here to make sure that's
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really well textured so we don't want
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that to split we'll come back
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one two three there it is good amount of
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texture I can do what I want
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cool
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lovely now you can see that that's I've
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even made it dome over slightly we don't
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need it a big domes anymore we're kind
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of past that but I just wanted that
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example of really having good nice
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microphone milk that's textured and
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holding
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um and it will kind of Dome if you want
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it to Flat White's obviously we're not
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going to try that because it'll spill
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and that latte we've got a nice
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about 10 mils of frosting that latte so
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a simple rule that we kind of go off
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would be flat white throw flat so five
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mil for a flat white
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10 meals for a latte 15 mils for a
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cappuccino now we're not going to get
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the ruler out but you get the idea and
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that's the biggest difference between
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these strings the experience of drinking
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a full mouthful cappuccino versus you
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know a nice latte that coats your mouth
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and a flat white that's not quite as as
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intense in the mouth feel so that for us
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here in modern coffee today they're the
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three most popular coffees you'll pump
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them out through the bar we've got
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that's probably I reckon 80 of the
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volume in most of the cafes that we
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manage here in our our wholesale Campo
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Partners
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um we'll be pumping out large caps all
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day but um we definitely we love our
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black coffee but this is a huge part of
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the market and you want to make sure
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that you understand the differences so
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when people you can talk to your
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customers and know what experience
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they're getting so I hope this helps if
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you've got any questions put your
7:01
comments down below if you have any
7:04
feedback or you do it differently in
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your country in your Cafe what do you do
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what's you know what size cups do you
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use is there any other techniques
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um do I do it differently to you so
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we're always interested to hear what
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people say in their areas
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um let me know if you like the video hit
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the Bell icon because we're always
7:22
releasing new videos and you want to get
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notified and hit the like button and
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subscribe we love our community we love
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the what we're growing here at artistic
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so thank you for watching I hope this
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helps and we'll see you next time cheers
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