Though only one half of the ETW team is a coffee lover – we’re both always interested in learning about different coffee cultures around the world. Just when we feel like we are getting a handle on the latest trends and variations – we encounter a totally new drink – in this case: The Flat White. Though it is becoming popular worldwide, we were interested to learn it was invented in New Zealand, a country so far not on our coffee radar. The Flat White is a double-shot coffee drink topped with foamed milk, somewhere between a latte and a cappuccino, but with a smaller size than typically expected of a latte. Still sound a little obtuse? There are several definitions on the Coffee Hunter site. Anyone have a place to order a flat white in Chicago?
Flat White Coffee by Cygnoir
I was just chewed out by a know-it-all Barista at an unnamed Chicago coffee shop that a Flat White is simply a “small latte.” I politely asked why many european coffee shops, then, include small lattes AND small flat whites on their menu if they are, in fact, the same thing, and he had no response (well, besides for an eye roll). Regardless, I hear Intelligentsia will make you a flat white, however, it’s not on the menu!
I don’t think the flat white has really broken into the American market which may explain the barista’s reaction (though not their rudeness). I just tried my first flat white in London, where it is on seemingly every menu – even Starbucks! I hope to write a post about it soon.