I have measured out my life in coffeespoons

[venta]

Oh dear, I think I just misinformed an Australian couple in a café :(

They wanted "flat whites". In England (particularly in branches of Pieminister, which do marvellous pies, but really only serve coffee as a sideline) we do not understand this term.

There was some confusion. Having (I thought) had the term explained to me by quantumboo last year, I suggested they wanted filter-coffee-with-milk. Sadly, I fear Quantumboo may have told me what a flat black was, and I extrapolated.

A flat white was, said the Australian lady, like a cappucino without the froth. Aha, said the English-not-first-language serving-person, a latte. No, said the Australian lady, nothing like a latte.

I think they got filter coffees in the end. But now Wikipedia suggests I'm wrong, and they're going to have got something not nearly milky enough. Wikipedia is also rather vague about the difference between a flat white and a latte.

Does anyone understand this posh foreign coffee stuff ? What would you understand by the term flat white ?

Comments

[pm215]

Workhouse Coffee (on the Oxford Road in Reading and my local coffee shop until I move this evening) includes a flat white in its menu (but then they have a number of obscure things). I'm pretty sure it matches what Wikipedia suggests. I don't think you're going to get that in a random coffee place unless you can describe how to make it (and the person behind the counter is willing to play along...)

[mr_magicfingers]

When you're next in London, my favourite coffee shop is Flat White on Berwick Street. http://www.flat-white.co.uk/ Used to be my regular caffeine fix when I worked round the corner. Bunch of Kiwi's doing great coffee.

[redcountess]

For this Australian a flat white is indeed filter coffee with milk.

[blackmetalbaz.livejournal.com]

As someone who spent several years working in a "posh cafe", I'm a little confused myself. Wikipedia, the font of all knowledge, turns out to be useless... what they are describing sounds like a latte. It's suggested that a flat white might be closer to a cafe au lait, which to be brutally honest is effectively the same thing. Despite this, it claims that in the States a latte and a cafe au lait are sold as distinct beverages but fails to explain in what sense they differ. Further information would be handy, as I can see myself back in the waitering trade anytime soon :-P

[kissifa.livejournal.com]

According to my trip to Auckland, and a cool video on Youtube to back up my theory, a flat white involves heating but not frothing one's milk, and using a spoon or knife to hold back the foam and add the milk from the bottom of the steamer jug to the espresso, allowing a little foamier milk to enter at the last, which also allows for the contentious addition of so-called Latte art. The flat whites my parents oredered often came with latte art in the form of New Zealand fern symbols, which were very pretty. :)

[mrph.livejournal.com]

Odd timing. I had my first ever Flat White on Saturday, then you post this... :)

I'm still not entirely sure what they are, either. But they're very drinkable.

[hjalfi.livejournal.com]

I once spent some time in an American diner trying, with much failure to understand and general amusement on both sides, to figure out exactly what fried-egg terminology we both used.

We eventually came to the conclusion that my preferred fried egg style (solid white, thick but liquid yolk) simply cannot be found in America. I think I eventually had them over easy.

[leathellin.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid all I can really do is confuse things further by adding the Spanish terminology. Solo, cafe con leche, corto, cortado etc. And i'm still not at all sure if there is actually any difference between corto and cortado.

I don't drink most of the coffee variants anyway because they've got warmed up cow juice in.

[(Anonymous)]

Another nation divided from us by our common language? Re US eggs - try asking for "sunny side up"?

[(Anonymous)]

I drink black coffee, to me flat white is a paint undercoat.

[thefon.livejournal.com]

Am I the only aussie reading your blog? :)

To me, a "flat white" is the default, coffee with some milk.
You can get this in UK by asking for an "americano with cold milk".

So ideally made with espresso machine rather than filter, but both are OK.
No frothy milk. Served in a normal cup or mug (so _not_ an espresso size cup, or tall/long cup).

When I was growing up (in Australia), before the age of multiple choices, we just called it "a cup of coffee".