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EveryCow

Milk drinks

Flat white

Espresso topped with a thin layer of velvety steamed milk, the everyday coffee of Australia and New Zealand.

A flat white is a short, strong coffee of espresso with steamed milk stretched into a fine, glossy microfoam and poured so that only a thin layer of foam sits on top. It is smaller and stronger than a latte, and less frothy than a cappuccino. It became the standard café coffee in Australia and New Zealand from the 1980s.

What goes in

Whole milk: 60%60%Espresso: 30%30%Microfoam: 10%10%3parts
  • Whole milk660%, Steamed to a fine microfoam.
  • Espresso330%, A double shot in most cafés.
  • Microfoam110%, A thin, glossy layer.

Rough parts by weight. The ring shows each input's share of the product.

Made step by step

Each drawing shows the operation for that step. Quantities and timings differ from house to house and herd to herd; this is one traditional way, in outline.

  1. Step 1: Cook Pull a double shot of espresso into a small cup.
  2. Step 2: Boil Steam cold whole milk, folding in a little air for a fine foam.
  3. Step 3: Churn Swirl the jug so the milk is glossy.
  4. Step 4: Serve Pour it into the espresso, leaving a thin layer of foam on top.
  5. Whole milk: 60%60%Espresso: 30%30%Microfoam: 10%10%
    Finished Flat white, by share.

Sydney or Wellington

Both countries claim the flat white. Accounts place it in Sydney in the mid 1980s and in Wellington around the same time, and the argument has never been settled. It grew out of the espresso culture brought by Italian and Greek migrants. In the 2000s it spread to London and beyond with Antipodean café owners.

Dairy countries

New Zealand and Australia are large dairy producers, and milk is central to their coffee. Baristas take care with milk temperature and texture, and many cafés specify their milk. The national herds are mostly Holstein-Friesian, Jersey and crossbred cows grazing pasture for much of the year. The long black, the other local favourite, is espresso poured over hot water with no milk at all.

Where it is used

Morning coffeeCafé culture

The breeds behind it

Holstein FriesianLargest part of the New Zealand and Australian herds.

Also part of it, and being written: Jersey cattle (Widely kept on New Zealand pasture dairies.), Illawarra Shorthorn (Australian dairy breed from New South Wales.), Australian Milking Zebu (Australian tropical dairy breed.).

More on EveryCow

No breeds here yet. New pages are added every day.

Sources and further reading

About this page

Original text and drawings by the EveryCow desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. The shares are a rough, illustrative ratio, not a recipe: every family and dairy makes it differently. If we have something wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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