In the talk Coffee Hydrolics and Advanced Coffee Art, George Sabados (Australian) gave a quick definition of a "flat white". This was at the 2001 SCAA convention in Miami beach and is about 32 minutes into the first audio file:

For those of you who don't know what a flat white is, essentially it's what you'd consider a latte; we in Australia make the equivalent of a late in a ceramic cup and we call it a flat white... One's called a late in a glass the other is a flat white, essentially both the same thing.

I'm not saying that this is how the term is used today, especially with the flat white becoming marketed outside of Australia, but it does provide a baseline or history to the definition. George goes on to explain how in Australia they'll steam milk in pitchers greater then two liters when busy to a paint like consistency and build as many as twelve drinks in a row, starting with the cappuccinos pouring out the foam and then doing all the drinks with the milk and how important it is to have the "Guinness effect" that occurs in the cup.

I found the talk interesting, starting with coffee hydrolics and a recommendation to dose volumetricly rather then by weight to maintain a constant spacing from the dispersion screen to maintain proper hydrolics and ends with talks about latte etching.

Psyd wrote:Is it too late to put in yet another plea for some sort of lexicography? Perhaps headed up by the SCA with the cooperation of the BGA? Or am I flagellating an ex-equine?

Why, so that we can add yet another definition to the mix that 75% of coffee people will grumble about?

Hey Ben. Welcome to coffee. Its kind of the wild-west when you start talking drink construction. I suspect it always will be.

The Italians have pretty clearly defined espresso and cappuccino. I think these are perfectly valid definitions for the basic drinks. They invented them, so perhaps we should give them a little consideration. Clearly you're going to find variations. I do agree with the earlier assessment that the "standard American quality indie" capp is built with a double. (I happen to dislike the "wave" term, so avoid using it). Starbx's variations can be found on their website, I'm sure.

I'd leave the definition of the Flatty to the Aussies. As I understand it, its essentially a "no-foam" latte. Size varies according to who you ask. I doubt they are truly without foam, because that would not be much fun.

My advice is to collect as many definitions and stories as you can, drink lots of different variations, make them different ways, and then choose your approach for your reasons. Just make them good ones.

ginalola wrote:I've been to Italy 20 times, and this is the only way I have ever been served a cappuccino:

It is 1/3 espresso, 1/3 steamed milk, 1/3 froth on the top

To your espresso, add (pour) in the warm milk first; you may want to hold back the froth with a spoon or you may want to allow some of the froth to combine with the milk to create the pretty outline of the crema around the edge of the cup. Then either spoon the final 1/3 of the cup with the froth or gently allow the froth to pour from the pitcher. This is a cappuccino as served everywhere in Italy.

When steaming the milk, you want to obtain a 'drier' result....this is the thick froth that will rest on top on the espresso and steamed milk. Since you are expanding the milk more than you would for other milk drinks, you may need a larger frothing pitcher. It is also a good idea to keep your pitcher in the freezer since frothing the milk for a cappuccino takes longer, and the extra coldness will allow this.

Could you please elaborate on this a little more? Single espresso or double? What size cup?

Haven't been to Italy yet, so I'm curious.

Psyd,

Thanks for the link. this link should be a Google translated text version, which leaves much to be desired, being a convenient but brutal machine translation.

Ok. Just wanted to get some more info on this.

I'd sort of assumed that the standard capp served in Italy was made according to the official Italian definition (posted above) - a single 25mL espresso topped with 125mL of a mixture of milk and milkfoam. I'd heard that the double espresso was the exception, not the rule, in Italy.

By my math, 25mL/150mL is 1/6, not 1/3. Also, in my experience, 100mL of milk frothed to 125mL does not yield a mix that will result in equal parts milk and foam. So the drink that results from this official recipe is more like 1/6 espresso, 1/2 milk, 1/3 foam.

I see lots of references to this "rule of thirds" thing, but it doesn't match the official word. Just trying to see what actual experience was. As I said, not been to Italy myself yet.

For the record, I prefer (and always serve) a double capp made with slightly thicker (doubled) milk in a 6oz ceramic, just like you described. Glad to hear that this is reminiscent of the capps you had when there.