Same double shot, two different drinks. Here's where a flat white and a cappuccino go their separate ways.
It's mostly about the milk. Both start with espresso, usually a 60 ml double shot. A flat white adds about 100 ml of milk steamed into smooth, silky microfoam, with only a very thin layer of foam on top. A cappuccino is roughly equal parts espresso, steamed milk and thick, airy foam, about 60 ml of each. So a flat white tastes stronger and more of coffee, while a cappuccino feels lighter and frothier.
Chapter one
It all starts with a double shot: finely ground coffee, nine bars of pressure, about twenty-five seconds, and sixty millilitres in the glass. Every drink on this menu begins exactly like this.
Chapter two
This is where it gets interesting. Steam the milk gently and you get microfoam: tiny bubbles, glossy and smooth, a bit like wet paint. That's what makes a flat white. Keep steaming and it turns into the thick, airy foam that sits on top of a cappuccino.
Chapter three
This is where they part ways. The shot is the same, so it's the milk that decides. Silky microfoam goes one way, thick foam the other, and you end up with two very different cups.