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When is a flat white not a flat white?

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  • #16
    Re: When is a flat white not a flat white?

    Originally posted by Thundergod link=1215952738/0#14 date=1216625666
    Im a qualified ISO auditor and I dont know of any written standard.

    The one for tea is ISO 3103:1980
    That standard looks like its used for sensory analysis. If so, there is a similar one for coffee... ISO 6668:2008

    Neither standard answers the question. Maybe there just isnt a definitive answer for good reason?

    I doubt whether anyone is going to get out a ruler and measure the depth of foam sitting on the top of a coffee at a specific point in time.

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    • #17
      Re: When is a flat white not a flat white?

      Okay...according to the baristas bible...

      The industry standard that is being taught in the Prepare and Serve Coffee unit is that the Flat White is "an espresso topped with silky smooth textured milk" and has "up to 5mm of foam".

      It is also stated that the foam depth for a flat white will vary from barista to barista.

      I honestly think that if you have one idea of how a coffee is made in your mind...then just make it that way for yourself at home. When youre out, you are never going to get your own standard of drink unless you can take the time to personally train the barista and I dont really see that happening. So, you are either just going to have to accept that the flat white will vary from cafe to cafe or maybe stop drinking them all together and just drink espresso. At least theres not much debate on how much foam they should have!

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      • #18
        Re: When is a flat white not a flat white?

        Put simply, there is no global or national standard. Only a cafes individual standards. Some are 2mm some are 2cm, at the end of the day theyre all right, as long as they keep to their own standards. If they make a flat white the way you like it, go back. If they dont, either go somewhere else or ask politely for the barista to make it how you like it (no foam, little foam, lots of foam).

        The cappucino has been around for decades all over the world and is still not made to any standard rule (throw out that 1/3 1/3 1/3 cr@p, wed be looking at double shots in every 6oz cup). Or even an espresso, 50 years later were still debating its definition. So what hope does the flat white, created in Australia (and pretty well only consumed here except by special request) only a few decades ago, have at becoming a standardised model.

        I say who cares, if you really only like "your" coffee made "your" way, then stick to making yourself one at home. If you like going out and chancing a new experience, then do that. I think this is one of the major hurdles holding coffee from becoming truly cullinary. To this day no-ones still tried to define exactly what or how to cook an omelete, or the exact way to make ragu, or any number of a thousand other classic culinary feats (including wine, cognac, gin, vodka etc etc etc).

        Its not the definition thats important, but whats in the cup. Id hate it if everytime i went out for a coffee i got the same thing again and again (think, star-bucks!).

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        • #19
          Re: When is a flat white not a flat white?

          Thanks for that Dennis.

          ------------

          psaigh some people dont mind being adventurous.

          Its natural though to seek the comfort of familiarity.

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          • #20
            Re: When is a flat white not a flat white?

            Originally posted by damian1 link=1215952738/0#9 date=1216472839
            I was told only today by a chef about a customer who ordered a steak well done.  It was served, and the customer complained it was underdone.  It went back to the kitchen, was thrown on the floor, jumped on, and then cooked some more.  The customer then thought it was great.  

            that is why I would never return a meal, or a coffee.
            That is disgusting!!! I have worked in a number of cafes and restuarants and have never seen this happen, not that I believe it doesnt. It is all about proffesionalism, if the "chef" had a problem cooking a steak well done than they should have conveyed this to the customer. I have had a few customers who complained about their coffee not being boiling hot. After remaking it with super heated cup and max of 67 degree milk if they still said it was not hot enough I send them next door. I would instantly fire any staff member I caught "tampering" with a coffee or meal.

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            • #21
              Re: When is a flat white not a flat white?

              Originally posted by NewToEspresso link=1215952738/0#13 date=1216623401
              Thing is, you never know what happens behind in the kitchen. If your steak has been stomped on, you wouldnt be able to tell anyway. You could be polite to the waiter in your complaint but that could be transmitted quite differently to the chef...
              True, you have to trust the kitchen staff - but this is true whether you send food back or not. You trust that the chefs wash their hands after they go to the toilet, refrigerate food that needs to be refrigerated and dont let roaches live under the fridge. Id never send food back at a restaurant I didnt trust, becuase I wouldnt be eating there in the first place

              As I said, in over a decade of working in many cafes and restaurants my wife has never seen or heard of food being interfered with. Though a chef was fired for throwing a knife at a waiter at one restaurant...

              But yeah, OT...

              Ive been served flat whites with anywhere from 1mm to 1.5cm of foam; at home I tend to make them with about 2-4mm.

              There seems to be a pervasive belief in the more food-oriented cafes that the correct way to make a flat white is to boil the milk until its hot water underneath and meringue on top, then scrape off the foam. Instead of a few mm of foam, a custard-like skin slowly forms on top...

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              • #22
                Re: When is a flat white not a flat white?

                Originally posted by scoota gal link=1215952738/0#16 date=1216635469
                Okay...according to the baristas bible...

                The industry standard that is being taught in the Prepare and Serve Coffee unit is that the Flat White is "an espresso topped with silky smooth textured milk" and has "up to 5mm of foam".

                ...
                At least theres not much debate on how much foam they should have!  
                and it looks like in NZ flat white is more of a cross of Australian flat white and a latte (that is at least 4-5mm of foam on top, often more, but not quite 12mm of a latte ;-)

                I guess the only way to get the coffee you want is either go to the cafe where you know what they serve and you like it or make it yourself...

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                • #23
                  Re: When is a flat white not a flat white?

                  Before the term barista was widely used , if I ordered a flat white it usually came without foam.  But Id say times have changed.  And Im getting long in the tooth

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                  • #24
                    Re: When is a flat white not a flat white?

                    Hi TK421.

                    If you want a zero-foam flat-white youll need ask for your milk to be microwaved. Steaming (and the inevitable fine layer of microfoam) allows for a distinct increase in sweetness, nicer microscopic texture and consistent milk flavour throughout the flat-white. The fine layer of microfoam that rises to the top increases heat retention in your cup.

                    Personally, I am far fussier about the espresso extraction and freshness of beans than milk at cafes. Unless the milk gets scalded of course! Or if the steam wand looks like it hasnt been cleaned...

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                    • #25
                      Re: When is a flat white not a flat white?

                      Originally posted by Intellidepth link=1215952738/20#23 date=1221441143
                      Hi TK421.

                      If you want a zero-foam flat-white youll need ask for your milk to be microwaved. Steaming (and the inevitable fine layer of microfoam) allows for a distinct increase in sweetness, nicer microscopic texture and consistent milk flavour throughout the flat-white. The fine layer of microfoam that rises to the top increases heat retention in your cup.

                      Personally, I am far fussier about the espresso extraction and freshness of beans than milk at cafes. Unless the milk gets scalded of course! Or if the steam wand looks like it hasnt been cleaned...
                      Some one microwave my flat white, and I am out of there quicker than you can reach for the key on the till.

                      Sorry... but I have seen many a reasonable espresso / pour get killed by the incorrect management of milk...

                      Give me the full package or not at a ll... A job half done is not worth considering.

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                      • #26
                        Re: When is a flat white not a flat white?

                        I have had a flat white turn up made with instunt and scalded milk I think there Idea of a Barista was any 16 year old they could pay peanuts to.

                        Personally if I order a flat white and get a latteish version I dont mind if it tastes good If I get a Capp instead then I wold ask for a new one politley, same as if I get a cold one.

                        No one is going to improve or bother to take care if they dont get a gentle reminder of a bad brew.

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                        • #27
                          Re: When is a flat white not a flat white?

                          I would not be so much worried about the 2-10mm of foam or no foam, at the end of the day i am more worried about the quality of the coffee shot itself as this is, in my opinion, the most important factor.

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                          • #28
                            Re: When is a flat white not a flat white?

                            I saw a horrible thing at lunchtime today. My local bakery 1 litre jug with milkshake sized bubbles coming to the top, no thermometer (no hand underneath) being poured over coffee (wont even call it espresso) made from preground beans spooned into the portafilter then tapped (not tamped) before being exterminated into cold cups foam held back with a spoon to make a flat white

                            Really nice pies and bread BUT I would never drink their coffee!!!

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                            • #29
                              Re: When is a flat white not a flat white?

                              When I was growing up flat white was the fancy cafe name for what dad made on Sunday mornings.   Heat the milk on the stove without boiling it over beacuse you put a lump of metal called a milk saver in the bottom of the saucepan.   A teaspoon of instant in the cup and pour on the hot milk.

                              If you were lucky you would get drip filter coffee instead of instant and the microwave just made it all cleaner.

                              The shell servo restaurants called it made on milk with a bit of a huff about you being a snob if you called it flat white.   Not many cafes had espresso machines outside Melbourne.   If there was an espresso machine people ordered flat white to make sure they werent ripped of by getting half the cup filled with foam instead of milk.

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                              • #30
                                Re: When is a flat white not a flat white?

                                The shell servo restaurants called it made on milk with a bit of a huff about you being a snob if you called it flat white. Not many cafes had espresso machines outside Melbourne. If there was an espresso machine people ordered flat white to make sure they werent ripped of by getting half the cup filled with foam instead of milk.
                                Well you learn something every day

                                When I was a pup mum put Turkish coffee to the hot milk and poured it over cut bread so we could eat something as well
                                Mums are smart

                                KK

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