How to make the 3 most popular milk coffees

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.

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The Cups and Coffee-to-Milk Ratio

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

what is the difference between a flat

white a latte and a cappuccino let's

make them and I'll talk you through it

[Music]

for starters

we want to make sure that we're making

them in the right cup so I'm going to

today make a flat white in a 192 mil cup

like that I'm also going to do my

cappuccino in a 190 mil

cup I'm going to use a 220 ml glass for

my latte and that is probably one point

of difference for your latte is they

tend to have a little bit more milk

through them so they they can be a

little bit uh more diluted in milk to

Coffee ratio there's still the same

amount of coffee because I'm putting a

single shot in each of these

now if you prefer a stronger coffee go

for a double shot if you want to go for

something a little bit more robust and

you you would go for maybe a double of

shadow

keep an eye out for a video that we're

producing soon helping you learn more

about ristrettos it might already be out

so go have a look for that one

but the main thing

that we want to talk about today is

really the difference between the milk

texturing now

the biggest difference is the amount of

air that you're actually adding to that

coffee

so rather than not just the difference

in cups and ratios the cups and ratios

are a personal thing for us here I'm

serving Champion beans and they we know

they taste great with a single shot

through 190 mL of in that size cup for

our coffee and our ratio but if you're

using a different size cup you might

look at a different flavor profile and a

different ratio of coffee to milk but

for us single shot in that size is fine

once we do get to eight ounces in a take

in a takeaway cup we are doing a double

Estrada flavor wise we want to punch

through that extra bit of milk but then

we're doing a double shot for our 12

ounces in latte flat on a cappuccino so

it's the same essentially the same

coffee to milk ratio in that for all

three of them so the biggest difference

is that the milk section and the texture

you're adding

so let's say our flat white we're going

to say flat white is about five mils of

froth now the easiest way to determine

whether you're going to get extra froth

is by only putting the air into the milk

for a small amount of time so come in

close and have a listen to this so if I

get this started no air yet

but only add like one to two seconds of

air and then I'll lift up

and that'll be all the air I'm adding

making sure I obviously don't over

I hate that milk so that's my flat white

now this time latte

said again again we're going to go one

two

three four a little bit more air lift up

no more air

latte now this time my cappuccino

let's just get that air in there as soon

as possible three four five six that's

six seconds of air now we've got

plenty in there and you can see how much

that milk has risen because of the extra

air now

I've definitely put plenty in there but

you can see how there's actually a bit

of a smaller level middle and the extra

that I put in there for that cappuccino

now this is the biggest point of

difference so

now we've got

that'll be my cap single shot and this

glass and this cup sorry

there's my single single

and now you can see

let's get those

bubbles out

you can see this milk is just that bit

thinner

it'll still texture really nicely

so when I go and pour it through my shot

we're just going to do a nice simple

pour you can see how much lighter and

thinner this is

yeah

now a flat white Drinker does want a

flat coffee in specialty coffee we can

still steam our milk flat and give us

enough texture to actually still pour

latte out we don't really want to just a

hot milk drink we want it to still look

beautiful but your flat white drinkers

they don't want the froth so they're

looking for that experience

cool so now we've got our latte milk

you can see straight away we do have a

bit of extra texture in there

it's not a lot it's not I wouldn't say

it's frothing

but when we go to pour it

can we go to pour out

we can see straight away that we've got

that bit of extra texture to work with

and we can and we can pull now we'll be

able to see that settle

and how much extra froth there is there

now I definitely added plenty of air

into this

just for the example

I really need to make sure I blend that

in I'm even just going to

just throw a little bit of that froth

out

there's plenty in there now we're here

in Australia

we put a bit of chocolate on out so I'll

pretty it up I'm going to put that

Chucky straight on there

come back here to make sure that's

really well textured so we don't want

that to split we'll come back

one two three there it is good amount of

texture I can do what I want

cool

lovely now you can see that that's I've

even made it dome over slightly we don't

need it a big domes anymore we're kind

of past that but I just wanted that

example of really having good nice

microphone milk that's textured and

holding

um and it will kind of Dome if you want

it to Flat White's obviously we're not

going to try that because it'll spill

and that latte we've got a nice

about 10 mils of frosting that latte so

a simple rule that we kind of go off

would be flat white throw flat so five

mil for a flat white

10 meals for a latte 15 mils for a

cappuccino now we're not going to get

the ruler out but you get the idea and

that's the biggest difference between

these strings the experience of drinking

a full mouthful cappuccino versus you

know a nice latte that coats your mouth

and a flat white that's not quite as as

intense in the mouth feel so that for us

here in modern coffee today they're the

three most popular coffees you'll pump

them out through the bar we've got

that's probably I reckon 80 of the

volume in most of the cafes that we

manage here in our our wholesale Campo

Partners

um we'll be pumping out large caps all

day but um we definitely we love our

black coffee but this is a huge part of

the market and you want to make sure

that you understand the differences so

when people you can talk to your

customers and know what experience

they're getting so I hope this helps if

you've got any questions put your

comments down below if you have any

feedback or you do it differently in

your country in your Cafe what do you do

what's you know what size cups do you

use is there any other techniques

um do I do it differently to you so

we're always interested to hear what

people say in their areas

um let me know if you like the video hit

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the what we're growing here at artistic

so thank you for watching I hope this

helps and we'll see you next time cheers