Flat White vs Latte: What Is a Flat White? Explained

A flat white is an espresso-based drink made with a double shot of espresso and 4 to 5 oz of steamed milk, topped with a thin, velvety microfoam that gets poured or spooned into the coffee rather than left sitting on top as a separate cap. The total drink comes out to 5 to 6 oz, served in a small ceramic cup.

A flat white originated in Australia and New Zealand in the 1980s, where baristas were looking for a way to serve espresso with milk that stayed smooth and didn't foam up the way a cappuccino does. Some cafes build a flat white on a double ristretto instead of a standard double shot, which pulls a shorter, more concentrated extraction and makes the drink taste even bolder.

The defining feature of a flat white is its microfoam: milk steamed just enough to get glossy and velvety, with almost no visible bubbles, then poured so it blends into the espresso rather than floating as a distinct foam layer. That's what separates a flat white from both a latte and a cappuccino, and it's also why the drink looks almost flat on top, which is where the name comes from.

A flat white differs from a latte in three ways: milk volume, foam texture, and overall size. A flat white is 5 to 6 oz with 4 to 5 oz of steamed milk, while a latte is 10 to 16 oz with 8 to 14 oz of milk poured over the same double shot of espresso.

A flat white's microfoam blends directly into the coffee, so the drink looks almost uniform in color from top to bottom. A latte carries a thicker, distinct foam layer, about 1 cm deep, that sits on top and gives baristas a canvas for latte art. That foam layer is also why a latte looks lighter in color right at the surface.

A flat white tastes stronger and more coffee-forward because the same espresso shot gets diluted with far less milk. A latte tastes milkier and milder because it spreads that same shot across two to three times as much liquid. Order a flat white if you want the espresso to lead; order a latte if you want a bigger, gentler cup.

A flat white and a cappuccino are close in size, both landing around 5 to 6 oz, but they differ in foam. A flat white uses thin microfoam that gets blended through the milk, while a cappuccino is built on equal thirds: about 1/3 espresso, 1/3 steamed milk, and 1/3 thick, airy foam spooned on top.

A flat white tastes stronger and smoother than a cappuccino because its milk is fully steamed rather than aerated into a dry, spoonable foam. A cappuccino tastes lighter and foamier, and its thick foam cap is what holds cocoa powder or cinnamon dusting, something a flat white's thin microfoam can't really support.

The difference comes down entirely to steaming time. A barista stretches the milk longer for a cappuccino to pull in more air and build that dry foam cap. For a flat white, the milk gets steamed only briefly, keeping it silky and dense so it pours as liquid microfoam instead of a separate foam layer.

A cortado is smaller and stronger than a flat white. A cortado uses a 1:1 ratio of espresso to steamed milk in a roughly 4 oz glass, while a flat white uses a 1:2 to 1:3 ratio in a 5 to 6 oz cup. Both drinks use thin microfoam, but the cortado's smaller size and higher espresso ratio make it taste more concentrated.

A macchiato is the strongest and smallest of the group: just a shot of espresso with a small dollop of foam on top and almost no steamed milk. Line all four drinks up by how much milk each one holds and the order runs macchiato, cortado, flat white, then latte, from least milk to most.

Where a flat white and a cortado differ most in practice is the drinking experience. A cortado is sipped in a few mouthfuls because of its size, while a flat white's extra milk volume makes it more of a sit-down drink you can enjoy over several minutes without it going cold too fast.

A flat white and a latte have the same caffeine when they use the same number of shots. A single shot of espresso has around 63 mg of caffeine, and a double shot has roughly 125 mg. A flat white only tastes stronger because that same caffeine and coffee flavor gets concentrated into less milk.

Calories tell a different story. With whole milk, a flat white runs roughly 120 to 150 calories, while a standard latte runs roughly 150 to 200 calories, because a latte simply contains more milk. The gap grows wider at larger sizes, since a 16 oz latte holds close to three times the milk of a 5 to 6 oz flat white.

What do you call a flat white in America? It wasn't a common US menu item until the 2010s, when chains like Starbucks started listing it by name. Before that, the closest American equivalent was a small latte or a cortado, since neither term existed widely on US menus. Today most specialty shops and major chains list "flat white" directly, so ordering one by name works almost everywhere now.

Making a flat white at home starts with pulling a double shot of espresso, roughly 2 oz, straight into the cup you plan to serve it in. Steam 4 to 5 oz of cold whole milk to a thin, glossy microfoam, keeping the steam wand tip just below the surface so the milk stays dense and silky instead of foaming up.

Pour the milk in slowly and steadily so the microfoam stays under about 0.5 cm on top, thinner than what you'd leave for a latte. The goal is a drink that looks nearly flat across the surface, with the espresso and milk blended rather than layered.

The Breville Bambino Plus handles a flat white well because its automatic milk texturing dials in a consistent microfoam without needing you to babysit the steam wand, and the Specialty Coffee Association's milk-texturing research backs up why a shorter steam time produces this kind of thin, glossy foam instead of a thicker cap. The Breville Barista Express adds a built-in grinder if you also want to dial in fresh beans, and it's covered alongside the Bambino Plus in our Bambino Plus vs Barista Express comparison.