A wonderful thinks about Starbucks having 13,000 outlets worldwide is that it can take drinks wildly successful in one place (Pumpkin Spice Latte! Caramel Macchiato!) and make it around the world.
That’s the case with the Aussie favorite beverage a Flat White that Starbucks just debuted in the US for 2015.
Here’s what you need to know.
The flat white is an espresso drink developed in the 1980s in Australia and New Zealand, although there’s still a patriotic fight over where it originated. (Just like the battle of ownership over the dessert known as the pavlova.)
Aussie Actor Hugh Jack co-owns New York’s Laughing Man Cafe that features the Flat White as its signature drink.
The drink’s also popular in England presumably because expats brought a taste for it back from Oz.
It is prepared by pouring microfoam (steamed milk with small, fine bubbles and a glossy or velvety consistency) over a single or double shot of espresso.
In Australia, when people ask for coffee they mean espresso. A “short black” is a double shot of espresso. A “long black” is an Americano (espresso with water added). A “short white” and “long white” mean that some frothed milk are added. (By the way these are not racial terms).
The result is like a latte but with about half the milk. Closer to a Cafe Con Pana which Starbucks calls a Cafe Misto. But no one orders a Misto.
Starbucks describes it as “a bold coffee flavor with a sweeter finish.”
Starbucks has said their flat whites will be offered in all current sizes.
Here’s how Aussie guitarist and talk show host Red Symons describes it “In order to get a decent coffee here you have to get a cup and you say ‘I’d like an espresso, and then can you put another espresso in that cup, and then can you pour some milk on top – no that’s enough!’”
So now you know, order a Flat White. It’s a double-shot of espresso with some steamed milk but not enough that ‘s a latte.
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