Estimated studying time: 7 minutes

Key takeaways

• The dimensions of milk-based espresso drinks, just like the flat white, varies considerably throughout international locations, chains, and unbiased cafés.
• The definitions of cappuccino and latte have modified significantly throughout historical past and geography.
• Bigger flat white sizes blur the road with lattes, complicated clients.
• Full standardisation appears unlikely given regional variations in style and desire.

The flat white has at all times been considerably elusive. Many declare it originated in New Zealand, whereas others insist Australia is the true birthplace. One factor is definite, although: it’s now some of the ordered drinks in espresso retailers worldwide.

Regardless of its recognition, there’s little settlement on the flat white’s actual dimension. “For me, the perfect flat white is a 160-180 ml drink with a double espresso that yields round 40-45 grams most,” says Tibor Hámori, the 2025 Belgian Cup Tasters Champion and a barista at Caffenation in Antwerp, Belgium.

Specialty requirements usually place the flat white smaller than a latte (and generally a cappuccino), but many chains, and a few independents, nonetheless supply “small” and “giant” variations. This alternative confuses clients, as documented in a “Petty Gripes” article in The Guardian earlier this yr. When a buyer orders a flat white and receives a drink double the anticipated dimension, remakes grow to be way more possible. This slows baristas down, will increase waste, and finally spoils the shopper expertise.

The confusion factors to a much bigger problem for specialty espresso: whether or not to standardise its milk drinks. Doing so would higher inform clients and assist baristas information individuals towards the drinks they really need. However the debate over sizing requirements raises extra questions than it solutions.

You may additionally like our article on how a lot microfoam every milk-based drink ought to have.

Why is there a lot inconsistency within the dimension of milk drinks?

Variation between espresso retailers is nothing new. Order the identical drink in two totally different cities, and even two doorways down, and also you’ll possible discover some distinction. However milk-based drinks are likely to differ essentially the most. The dimensions of a drink, and even the depth of its microfoam, usually hint again to each historical past and fashionable buyer preferences.

Take the cappuccino. In line with James Hoffmann’s World of Espresso, it started in Viennese espresso homes within the 1800s as a small drink made out of brewed espresso blended with milk or cream, colored to match the robes worn by Capuchin monks. 

Italy reshaped the drink within the 1900s into what most individuals now recognise as a cappuccino. The Italian Nationwide Espresso Institute defines it as 25ml of espresso topped with 100ml of steamed milk. Made this manner, the drink retains its espresso and milk foam in separate layers, with a domed white prime and an espresso-stained rim.

Right this moment, the cappuccino appears very totally different. The Specialty Espresso Affiliation (SCA) now defines it as a 150-180ml drink, with a single espresso shot and steamed milk, requiring not less than 1cm of microfoam.

The latte tells the same story. It began in Seventeenth-century Europe as plain espresso with milk, then advanced as soon as it reached the US. Right this moment’s model sometimes sits between 236ml and 340ml (8oz-12oz), topped with round 0.5cm of microfoam.

“You see large variations, which generally give rise to utterly totally different dimension choices,” Tibor says. “I’m not an enormous milk drink client, however I’ve seen lattes over 300ml in specialty espresso retailers, whereas I feel the usual ought to be round 250ml.”

The “giant” flat white debate

Espresso’s most established drinks, just like the cappuccino and latte, differ relying on the place you get them organized, and extra fashionable milk drinks aren’t any exception – particularly the flat white.

Reddit boards name it the “most undefined drink” in espresso, and the confusion runs deep: baristas and clients alike can battle to agree on its dimension, texture, espresso-to-milk ratio, and microfoam depth.

“For my part, the dimensions of a flat white varies by nation in Europe, however inside borders, it’s largely constant,” Tibor says. “Evaluating Hungary and Belgium, for instance, after I began working within the specialty espresso scene in Hungary, it was sometimes served in a glass and was 180ml most. 

“My expertise is {that a} flat white in Belgium is barely bigger, by about 20-30ml, and is often served in a cup.”

Bigger chains have added to the confusion. Many now supply a “giant” flat white alongside the usual dimension, a transfer that strays from the drink’s Antipodean roots and blurs the road between a flat white and a latte.

This ambiguity shapes how clients expertise the drink. Somebody who orders a “giant flat white” anticipating one thing latte-sized, solely to obtain a smaller, extra concentrated one, will possible really feel misled.

The knock-on results for espresso retailers are actual too. Satisfaction drops, baristas develop pissed off, and waste piles up as remakes grow to be extra frequent.

Ought to specialty espresso standardise milk drinks?

Nearer alignment on milk drink sizes would profit the espresso trade. A shared, extra refined reference level would assist baristas and café house owners information clients in the direction of the drink that really matches what they need.

In apply, although, this could be troublesome to realize. Espresso preferences shift significantly from market to market. Asian and US shoppers are likely to favour bigger drinks with extra milk, whereas Australian and European clients lean in the direction of smaller, stronger ones.

“For those who journey rather a lot and canopy lengthy distances, like my journey from Europe to Asia this yr, you discover that milk drinks differ rather a lot,” Tibor says. “They are often as much as 50ml bigger in Asia than in Belgium, which implies a 70ml distinction in comparison with Hungary.”

A hard and fast dimension subsequently dangers alienating clients used to a distinct norm, and their wants come first. “Clients will at all times dictate what they need based mostly on their very own tastes, and the trade will largely observe that,” Tibor says. “On the finish of the day, we’re there for the friends and to serve them, not the opposite method round.”

Agreeing on dimension would increase additional questions too, together with how a lot microfoam qualifies, what milk-to-espresso ratio defines the drink, and even what vessel it ought to be served in.

Milk high quality and temperature are drawing extra consideration from baristas partly as a result of these components form the completed drink simply as a lot as dimension does. Microfoam texture, in the identical method, is arguably as central to a flat white’s identification as its weight and milk-to-espresso ratio.

The definitions of various milk drinks are formed by historical past, geography, and shifting buyer tastes moderately than by a common customary.

Whereas clearer definitions may ease confusion and scale back wasted remakes, buyer desire will at all times be the precedence. For now, the flat white stays open to interpretation.

Want extra leads to your espresso enterprise? Get in contact with PDG Media, our advertising company devoted to specialty espresso, right here.

Flat white FAQs

The place did the flat white originate?
Its origins stay disputed. Some credit score New Zealand, others Australia. No matter its birthplace, the flat white has grow to be some of the ordered espresso drinks worldwide, regardless of little settlement on its splendid dimension.

Why do milk drink sizes differ a lot between espresso retailers?
Measurement variations stem from historical past and regional style. Milk drinks might be as much as 50ml bigger in Asia than in Europe, displaying how distance and market preferences form what is taken into account customary.

Ought to the espresso trade standardise milk drink sizes?
Standardisation may scale back buyer confusion and reduce down on remakes, however buyer style finally drives what baristas serve, and any fastened dimension dangers alienating drinkers used to totally different norms.

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