# How to make an "interesting" flat white



## AndyZap (Dec 29, 2016)

I can make good espresso (most of the time) and I do enjoy the taste. But as soon as I add milk to it, not much left of the "interesting" bits. The flat white is nice and smooth, nothing alarms me in the taste. But equally nothing to show off to my friends (and all of them have coffee with milk ...).

I use mostly medium-roast beans, e.g. from the Has Bean subscription or Gatare from Foundry.

Whats is the trick to make flat whites with more "interesting" taste? Do I need e.g. to brew longer medium-roast beans, to make espresso a bit more bitter to cut through? Maybe this is the pre-infusion which softens the taste (this is what I usually use). Or do I need a dark-roast to make it work?


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

What size cup are you using, and what weight of beans/shot? And if you have a FW out, at a decent coffee shop, how would you compare the taste to yours?

I use 150ml cups 34g shot using 15g beans, and then around 80g foamed milk weight. I think a lot depends on the quality of your milk 'foaming' for a tasty FW, among other things.


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## jj-x-ray (Dec 31, 2017)

As Mildred says, we need more detail on quantities.....ie if your putting a small shot in a vat of milk you won't taste nowt but milk.

However in my own limited experience, you do need strong flavours to punch through the milk and certainly (but not exclusively) a dark roast can help. I have been enjoying the java jampit hit blend from compass as a flatty. Quite a dark roast but very smooth and rich.


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## cloughy (Apr 11, 2018)

I use a dark roast 18g/36g in 180ml cup


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## AndyZap (Dec 29, 2016)

With Foundry' Gatare, I use 18.5g beans into 37-38g shot with 18g VST basket. I have 170 ml cup, fill with foamed milk to the top (did not check the milk weight although). The foamed milk is "ok", but definitely needs a bit of improvement. I use half-fat Yeo organic.

Today I tried espresso and flat white in "Department of coffee and social affairs" here in London, this coffee https://departmentofcoffee.com/shop/mellow-tide. Not bad, but definitely not as good espresso as I make Gatare. FW was about as mine, "milky"...

Another coffee shop around is Taylor St Baristas https://www.taylor-st.com/. That is the FW I want to match. I am not good at describing the taste, but the taste which is very distinct from the milk, the taste which clearly "cuts through". And I think their milk taste really good (they use Yeo organic, I think, and probably full fat).


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

I tend to think of a 150ml cup as a flat white cup. Any more and I'm into cappa territory, so that could explain your lack of taste, in part. I also prefer ss milk as I find full fat way to 'milky', or creamy, and to me it just overwhelms the coffee. My flats just don't taste like a milky drink!

Change one thing a a time. Cup size and shot to milk balance first, maybe?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Coffee tastes better without milk







it may taste a little flat to you as your used to black coffee, your diluting it and adding a big sweeter. But do your friends enjoy it, it may not be dull to them. Perhaps try them with an Americano with cold milk. Ween them off the white stuff.


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## tobyjrn6 (Dec 22, 2016)

Have to say i always felt this way with a lot of medium roast coffees - tasty and inoffensive but a tad boring. I've just picked up a dark(ish) roasted naturally processed ethiopian from rave and even in as much as a latte size cup i get loads of plum flavours + tge standard chocolate. Think this has confirmed to me that darker beans are the way to go when it comes to making milk drinks interesting - probably why starbucks has any appeal at all to the naïve...


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## Deeez Nuuutz (Apr 15, 2018)

I use flat white cups (150ml) but I do find that latte art is a lot easier and comes out better when I use a larger cup like 200ml. But hen I lose the taste of the coffee too much. Catch 22!


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## Dumnorix (Dec 29, 2017)

I must admit I really like the taste of natural process coffees as a flat white.


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