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A flat white is a coffee drink consisting of espresso and steamed milk. It generally has a higher proportion of espresso to milk than a Latte, and lacks the thick layer of foam in a cappuccino. While the origin of the flat white is unclear, café owners in both Australia and New Zealand claim its invention.
The way a flat white is made varies between regions and cafés. In Australia a flat white is usually served in a ceramic cup with a handle, often of a similar volume () to the glass in which a latte is served, but the flat white usually has less milk and microfoam. According to New Zealand tourism, flat whites are more commonly served in a smaller cup (). In both Australia and New Zealand, there is a generally accepted difference between lattes and flat whites in the ratio of milk to coffee and the consistency of the milk due to the amount of microfoam produced when the milk is heated.
There is documentary evidence of coffee drinks named "flat white" being served in Australia in the early 1980s. A review of the Sydney café Miller's Treat in May 1983 refers to their "flat white coffee"."Miller's Treat," café review, Liz Doyle and Brett Wright, Sydney Morning Herald, 6 May 1983 Another Sydney newspaper article in April 1984 satirised a vogue for caffè latte, stating that: "cafe latte translates as flat white.""It's time to dare to be the same," Jenny Tabakoff, Sydney Morning Herald, 16 April 1984 At Moors Espresso Bar in Sydney, Alan Preston added the beverage to his permanent menu in 1985. Preston claimed he had imported the idea to Sydney from his native far north Queensland. According to historian Dr Garritt Van Dyk, many wealthy Italian cane plantation owners in the area came to enjoy "white coffee: flat" in the cafés' of the 1960s to 1970s, with Preston's café popularising the drink in the southern states. Other documented references include the Parliament House cafeteria in Canberra putting up a sign in January 1985 saying "flat white only" during a seasonal problem with milk cows that prevented the milk froth from forming."How Canberra lost its froth," Milton Cockburn, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 January 1985
However, the origins of the flat white are contentious, with New Zealand also claiming its invention. One New Zealand claim originates in Auckland, by Derek Townsend and Darrell Ahlers of Cafe DKD, as an alternative to the Italian latte; they recalled learning of the name "flat white" from a friend who had worked in cafes in Sydney. A second New Zealand claim originates from Wellington as a result of a "failed cappuccino" at Bar Bodega on Willis St in 1989. Craig Miller, author of Coffee Houses of Wellington 1939 to 1979, claims to have prepared a drink known as a flat white in Auckland in the mid-1980s, using a recipe from Australia.
The flat white is similar to a caffè latte, which is espresso with steamed milk added, served in a glass. A flat white has less milk and less microfoam than a latte.
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