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Original poster

The Flat White (coffee) is getting downgraded

108 replies

Towcester · 26/10/2022 15:30

Light hearted (kind of)

Always liked a short strong coffee with a bit of foamy milk on top (But I want to taste the coffee not just milk).

When the flat white arrived in the UK it was perfect for my tastes. Now, wherever I order one it seems to come like a latte...like drinking warm milk with a hint of coffee. Is it just charged at a premium rate now but served like a latte? Maybe they add two shots but they serve it in a big cup so it's 90% milk.

I know the cortado is the obvious alternative but when you go to some cafes they don't really know what a corrado is.

Macchiato is probably the one if it is served like in Italy but it seldom is.

OP posts:
Charlieiscool · 27/10/2022 07:18

I agree. I always liked a flat white but they are always being served too milky now. They used to be strong with a bit of milk and in a sensible sized cup. Now I keep getting served weak milky stuff so I’ve switched to macchiato or a double espresso.

NowThatsWhatICall22 · 27/10/2022 07:38

@LadyCassandra I was in Melbourne last in 2019 and there was no chains on every corner, I feel like I didn’t have a bad or too milky coffee anywhere, just so good. Unlike here where you have to target specific indies or be faced with a milky burnt coffee taste due to the quick turnaround to get queue down in popular chains. (Although my local Costa has same person on mid morning who absolutely nails a flat white) I’m due back in Australia next Easter, I cannot wait for my very decent coffee hits.

stuffnthings · 27/10/2022 07:55

Gerwurtztraminer · 26/10/2022 19:00

I agree, at first it was mainly small independent coffee places run by Australians and New Zealanders, who know how to make them properly - not just the right balance of coffee to milk but also to get the consistency of the milk to the right thick velvety texture. (Flat White in Soho, London for example). And the cups were only one medium size.

Also, certainly in NZ, lots of good coffee places roast their own beans or buy them in frequently, and so the coffee is from high quality beans, very freshly roasted and ground and therefore stronger and richer in taste. UK coffee often tastes thin & bitter to me as beans are not very good quality to start with, then not freshly roasted & ground.

Now in the UK it seems it's anything goes for a Flat White - too large a cup, tepid and the milk not the right consistency at all. Anyone saying a McDonald's or Greggs Flat White is OK clearly have never had a proper Aussie/Kiwi one.

Show quote history

Agree with this, some of the best coffee I've ever drunk was in NZ and at many, many places too, not just one offs. I still dream of a long black coffee!

In the UK I only order a double espresso (or ristretto if I know the shop is a bit underwhelming punch wise) with a side pot of hot water, it's the only way I've found to get a decent hit of black coffee.

ShinySquirrel · 28/10/2022 12:30

LadyCassandra · 27/10/2022 06:20

I live in Sydney where we are all obsessed with coffee.
When we came back 8 years ago a flat white was the closest we could get to decent coffee, it was a new concept and the big chains were using properly measured paper pods. They were ok enough to get us through!
I came back in May and I didn’t have a decent coffee for 3 weeks with the exception on an amazing independent cafe in Bold St in Liverpool.
Drip coffee has made a massive comeback here in the last year, but I’m pretty sure that will not translate well over there either.

@LadyCassandra Is there any chance you remember the name of the Liverpool cafe please? I'm a Liverpool local and would love to give them a go.

OneTC · 28/10/2022 12:36

Flat whites have nearly always been too big in the UK, in chain shite shops anyway.

Costa used to do a mini size until recently and that was the best of a bad lot

LadyCassandra · 28/10/2022 23:41

@ShinySquirrel i’ve searched my phone and found this picture, the location says Ropewalks, not sure if that’s the name?! It was Bold St on the right as you walk up from the city centre.

LadyCassandra · 28/10/2022 23:44

Photo!

The Flat White (coffee) is getting downgraded
Metabigot · 29/10/2022 08:16

Even the cortado is going this way. Ordered one in Costa yesterday and it was mahoosive.

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