Distinguishing your favorites
Flat white vs latte vs cappuccino – what’s the difference?
Thanks to the wide range of coffee machines on the market these days, specialty coffees that use an espresso base have become increasingly common in homes, with the flat white, latte, and cappuccino being part of many people's daily routines. Despite this, many people still don't know precisely what makes up each of these famous coffees. We're here to fix that so you forever know the exact differences between a flat white, a latte, and a cappuccino.
Flat white
The flat white coffee is still in its relative infancy, having originated in Oceania towards the end of the 20th century. While it is disputed whether the drink was invented in Australia or New Zealand, it is widely accepted that its creation came through the region's prevalent espresso culture and a desire for a stronger alternative to the traditional latte.
Ratios for a flat white
- Two parts coffee
- Three parts steamed milk or milk alternative
- One part microfoam
To make your flat white, pour your double espresso shot and combine it with the steamed milk. Finish it off by topping it with a thin microfoam layer to give your coffee a pleasing velvety texture.
Suggested glassware for your flat white: Nachtmann Ethno Barista Flat White/Cappuccino Glass.
Discover more about the flat white, including its history and recommended food pairings, in our comprehensive flat white blog.
Latte
You might be surprised to hear that, like the flat white, the latte is also a contemporary coffee style. While milk and coffee have been combined as long ago as the 1700s in Europe, the modern, renowned café latte is thought to have been developed and popularized in the 1980s through Seattle's thriving coffee scene. With the growth of coffee chains like Starbucks that followed, the latte became a standard offering in coffee shops all over the world.
Ratios for a latte
- One part coffee
- Four parts steamed milk or milk alternative
- One part microfoam.
To make your latte, begin by pulling a single or double espresso shot, depending on your taste. Next, pour in the steamed milk, then finish it off with a thin layer of microfoam. This follows the same process as you would for a flat white; you're just using more milk when making a latte.
Suggested glassware for your latte: Nachtmann Ethno Barista Latte Macchiato.
Cappuccino
If the flat white and latte are relatively fresh additions to the coffee scene, the cappuccino is the seasoned coffee style that has seen it all.
In 18th-century Austria, a drink called the Kapuziner was developed, combining coffee with cream and sugar. This evolved into the modern Italian cappuccino in the early 1900s when, following the invention of the espresso machine, people began to create thick, airy foams to pair with their espresso shots. This eventually led to the development of more and more espresso-based drinks, meaning the cappuccino can be seen as a sort of template for the espresso-style milk drinks that followed.
The cappuccino is arguably the most distinct style of coffee of the three listed here, thanks to its noticeable frothiness, but do you know exactly how much foam is used to make it?
Ratios for a cappuccino
- 1 part coffee
- 1 part steamed milk
- 1 part foam
This is the balance that traditional cappuccino recipes use. Many modern baristas may use a slightly higher milk-to-coffee ratio, but the spirit of a cappuccino lies in having a higher proportion of foamed milk relative to steamed milk. Even if you use the same amount of espresso in a cappuccino as in a latte, the higher volume of foam results in the espresso flavor coming through more prominently in a cappuccino than in its latte counterpart.
To make your cappuccino, first pull a double espresso shot. Next, pour the steamed milk into the espresso, then spoon the thick foam on top. Many modern coffee shops finish their cappuccinos by sprinkling cocoa powder on top, but this is not how the drink is traditionally made.
Suggested glassware for your cappuccino: Nachtmann Ethno Barista Flat White/Cappuccino Glass.
There you have it. Flat whites are velvety with a strong espresso flavour, lattes are silky with a less prominent coffee flavor, and cappuccinos deliver a coffee-forward, foamy sipping experience. Whichever espresso-based coffee you like best of the three, enhance it by sipping it from the appropriate glass from our Nachtmann Barista Collection.
Locations
