It all starts with one shot
From Milan to Melbourne, most café drinks are built from the same two things: espresso and milk. The base is a single shot of espresso, about 30 ml, with a layer of golden crema on top. A double is about 60 ml.
What changes from drink to drink is the milk: how much of it goes in, and what the steam wand does to it.
Three textures of milk
A steam wand blows hot steam into cold milk. Depending on how the barista handles it, you get one of three textures, and the size of the bubbles is the whole difference:
- Steamed milk: hot milk with very little air. The bulk of a latte.
- Foam: big, airy bubbles that sit on top in a thick, dry cap. The signature of a cappuccino.
- Microfoam: tiny, glossy bubbles, so fine the milk looks like wet paint. This is what a flat white is topped with, and the one for latte art.
The three drinks side by side
| Drink | Coffee | Milk | Cup | How it tastes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cappuccino | Single shot | Roughly thirds: espresso, steamed milk, thick foam | About 150 to 180 ml | Balanced, airy on top |
| Latte | Single shot | Mostly steamed milk, thin layer of foam | 240 ml or more | Mild and milky |
| Flat white | Double shot | Less milk, thin velvety microfoam | About 150 to 180 ml | Strongest of the three |
These are the classic recipes; cafés stretch and tweak them, so treat the table as a guide. The quick way to remember it: cappuccino is thirds, a latte is mostly milk, a flat white is a double shot with a thin top.
Why a flat white tastes stronger
The flat white comes from Australia and New Zealand, and it surprises people who order it expecting a small latte. It is smaller than a latte, yet it holds twice the coffee: a double shot under less milk. More coffee and less milk means a stronger-tasting cup (and, with two shots, more caffeine than a single-shot latte), even though it looks like the gentler drink.
So if you find a latte too milky but a cappuccino too foamy, the flat white is the one to try.
How to tell them apart on the table
You can often read the cup before you taste it:
- A thick, dome-like cap of foam in a small cup: a cappuccino.
- A big cup or glass, mostly pale, with a thin layer on top: a latte.
- A small cup with a deep coffee colour and a thin, glossy surface: a flat white.
The macchiato trap
Macchiato means "stained" or "marked" in Italian, and there are two drinks with the word in them that are almost opposites:
- Caffè macchiato: an espresso stained with a dab of foam. Small, strong, a touch of milk.
- Latte macchiato: a tall glass of milk, stained with a shot of espresso poured in.
One is coffee with a little milk, the other is milk with a little coffee. Order the wrong one and you get a very different drink.
Common mistakes
- Ordering "a latte" in Italy. In Italian, "latte" just means milk. You might be handed a glass of it. Ask for a caffè latte instead.
- Thinking a flat white is a small latte. It is smaller, but it has a double shot and less milk, so it is stronger.
Questions people ask
Which is stronger, a latte or a cappuccino?
In the classic versions both use a single shot, so they hold the same amount of coffee. The cappuccino tastes stronger because it is smaller and has less milk; a latte is mostly milk, so it tastes milder.
What is the difference between a flat white and a latte?
A flat white is a double shot with less milk and a thin, velvety microfoam top, in a smaller cup. A latte is a single shot with lots of steamed milk, in a cup of 240 ml or more. The flat white tastes stronger.
What does macchiato mean?
"Stained" or "marked". A caffè macchiato is an espresso marked with a dab of foam; a latte macchiato is a glass of milk marked with espresso.
Which coffee drink has the most milk?
The latte. It is mostly steamed milk, with only a thin layer of foam on top.
