These days, Flat Whites are hip. They have been on specialty coffee shop menus around the world for a while, alongside Lattes, Cortados, and Cappuccinos. Even Vogue has dubbed the drink their "latest coffee obsession". But do you really know what Flat White is? And what is the difference between Flat White and other coffee drinks?

Why the term "flat"?

In New Zealand, the term "flat" is used to describe a soft drink (or soda) that has lost its fizz and doesn't have any bubbles (yes, someone believes that Flat White originates from this island country). Actually, Flat White is a perfect alternative for those who don't want the typical dry frothiness of Cappuccino or Latte but also want to have velvety smooth milk with a bit of froth - compared with other milky coffee, Flat White has a higher proportion of coffee to milk, allowing the espresso to dominate the flavor while being supported by the milk. Its special microfoam (steamed milk with small, fine bubbles and a glossy or velvety consistency) is around 20 mm with a meniscus.

Origin debate: Sydney vs. Wellington

Few people are familiar with this lost British crime-thriller film Danger by My Side, in which Flat White Coffee was mentioned for the first time in 1962.

The next description of this coffee drink didn't appear until 1985 in a coffee shop named Moor's Espresso Bar in Sydney. The owner of the shop was Alan Preston, an espresso fan, and he opened this Italian-style coffee shop after he moved to Sydney. According to Preston, in his home state Queensland, many cafés in the 1960s and 1970s offered a type of espresso typically described as "White Coffee – flat". So when he opened Moors, he used the term "Flat White" on the menu, and it caught on.

Needless to say, Kiwis took the issue with that - Fraser McInnes swears that he's the original creator. It is said that McInnes invented the Flat White accidentally. In 1989, he was a barista at a cafe in Wellington. One customer ordered a Cappuccino, but when he went to steam the milk, there wasn't enough fat to make it rise properly. As a result, it was at a foam level somewhere between Latte and Cappuccino. Anyway, McInnes still gave the botched espresso drink to his customer and apologized: "Sorry, it's a flat white." The term stuck from then on.

Entered the mainstream

Flat White has been around down under since the 1980s. Later, when Starbucks began to serve Flat White as a "bold" alternative to Latte in the USA, it became clear that the drink entered the mainstream. Google searches for "Flat White" spiked in January 2015 around the world, after Starbucks announced it would be adding the drink to American menus. Now, Flat White is a specialty café standard.

How does Flat White differ from other milky coffee?

We have known that Flat White is an espresso with steamed milk and little foam. Isn't that Latte? Or Cappuccino?

Flat White and Latte are similar. In Italy, a Caffè Latte is usually a very milky breakfast drink made with a shot of coffee from a stovetop espresso maker. Elsewhere, the name now generally means a shot of espresso topped with steamed milk and a layer of foamed milk on top. The Flat White, in contrast, is topped by a very thin, "flat" layer of steamed milk, and nothing else.

In general, Cappuccino is a smaller, stronger drink. It usually consists of a simple espresso and two parts milk froth – a liquid part and a solid milk froth topping which usually rises slightly over the edge of the cup. The Flat White, on the other hand, is prepared with a double Espresso Ristretto – which is a more concentrated version of espresso.

How to make a cup of Flat White

1)Pull a double espresso into a cup or glass.

2)Steam the milk to 55–62 °C.

3)To make the milk velvety and smooth and disperse any bubbles, give the pitcher a thump on the counter and swirl the milk lightly around the pitcher.

4)Pour 100ml of the frothed milk into the espresso - this should create a rich floating crema on top of the milk.

5)Make a Latte art pattern on the surface of the Flat White.