Walk into three cafés and order a cappuccino, a flat white and a latte. You will often get the same cup three times, or three cups that look nothing alike. The truth is that these drinks are not different coffees. They are the same espresso with a different amount of milk and a different texture of milk. Once you see the ratios, you can order what you want and make it at home.
All three drinks start with espresso: a small, strong shot pushed through finely ground coffee under pressure. Then comes steamed milk. When you heat milk with a steam wand or a frother, you mix in air. Light, airy milk is called foam. Silky, glossy milk with tiny bubbles you cannot see is called microfoam. The mix of espresso, hot milk and foam is the whole story.
Here are the common versions. Cafés vary, and the history of the flat white in particular is claimed by both Australia and New Zealand, so treat these as the usual specs, not laws.
| Drink | Typical cup | Espresso : milk | Texture |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cappuccino | 150–180 ml | about 1 : 2 including foam | Thick, airy foam, about a third of the cup |
| Flat white | 150–180 ml | about 1 : 3 | Thin, silky microfoam |
| Latte | 240–300 ml | about 1 : 5 or more | Mostly hot milk, a thin foam cap |
Pick a drink and move the cup size. The glass shows how the espresso, milk and foam divide up. The numbers are a guide built from the ratios above, not a strict recipe.
The ratios get you close, but the feel of the drink comes from how you steam the milk. Milk is mostly water, with sugar (lactose), fat and protein. Proteins wrap around air bubbles and hold them. Heat the milk too far and the sugar tastes flat and the foam breaks down, so aim for a drink you can hold comfortably, around 55–65°C, as a lot of baristas do.
The same shot of espresso tastes stronger in a flat white than in a latte, simply because there is less milk to dilute it.
Milk makes a drink taste softer, but it does not remove the caffeine. A single shot holds very roughly 60–80 mg, and the exact figure depends on the beans and the dose. A latte made with a double shot has about the same caffeine as a flat white made with a double shot, even though it tastes milder. If you are cutting back, order a single shot or use a decaf bean, and keep an eye on how many cups you have across the day.
You do not need a café machine for the milk part. A steam wand gives the most control, but a simple electric frother makes hot, textured milk that works well for lattes and cappuccinos. For a flat white you want a frother that heats and stirs gently without making much foam. Try the drinks in this order: latte first, because it is forgiving, then cappuccino, then flat white, which needs the finest texture.
If you want a lighter version, oat or soya drinks made for baristas froth reliably, and a half-size cup with one shot is a good small afternoon option.