It’s a bit like saying that a garden shed is just a smaller house. But that still doesn’t mean that a flat white is just a small latte. In most cafes, a flat white is smaller than a latte. Cup: It’s not the size of the cup, it’s what you do with it But on average, the coffee is not really what makes a Flat White different to a latte or cappuccino. Likewise, some high-end baristas will make the espresso shot differently for the different drinks (such as a ristretto shot for a Flat White). Some people would say that a single shot flat white isn’t really a flat white, but that’s a bit too purist and there are plenty of cafes in New Zealand and Australia that do serve singles. You can have a double shot or a single shot in a flat white or in a latte. We can hold the preparation of the espresso as a constant across drinks. How can a a flat white, small latte and a small cappuccino all use the same espresso of coffee and be served in the same cup but still be different drinks? Espresso shot: How much coffee is there in your coffee? I’ve had a lot of discussions with baristas and I thought it was time to shine some light on the common debate about exactly “ what is a flat white?” I drink flat whites and my partner drinks lattes so we’ve seen the differences between the two drinks across cafes in the UK, USA, New Zealand, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden and Denmark. The flat white may look like a small latte, but there’s more to it. Flat white and a Latte from Climpson & Sons in Shoreditch. The flat white vs latte debate is common in the UK and USA where the flat white is still new.

If you get caught in a cafe that doesn’t serve a flat white, then a small latte might be a passable substitute, but they’re still not the same drink. A flat white coffee isn’t just a small latte.

Latte vs macchiato vs flat white