COFFEE BEANS & BEINGS / FLAT WHITE FROTHING

GUEST BLOG / By Janel, founder of the Nellie Bellie Kitchen Blog (click here)

https://www.nelliebellie.com/us/

In Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, the flat white seems to be a quite popular beverage recently.  I wish I that had been true when I was in South Africa a few years back!  When I was there, the only place you would find anything other than really, really horrible instant coffee was at a fancy restaurant.

I learned to drink a lot of tea.

Now, I think I would have more options.

Flat white is one of those coffee drinks that is seriously misunderstood.  Here in the U.S., we look at the flat white and assume it is just a latte under a different name.  I actually did the same when I was over in South Africa, simply because I didn’t have a lot of options to compare it to.  Now that I’m back in the U.S. where rich, glorious coffee is available in pretty much any combination I want it to be, I can definitely tell the difference between a latte and this flat white.

And there’s actually a couple key differences between them.  The two main ones are the coffee to milk ratio and the density of the foam. 

Coffee to Milk Ratio

A latte usually has a shot or two of espresso, and then a ton of milk.  A flat white has more coffee, less milk.  Put two shots of espresso in an 8 oz cup, and then fill the rest with your microfoam.  You’ll have about the right ratio. 

Density of the foam

Our readers continue to remind us that THIS is the most important aspect of a correctly made flat white.  You need perfect microfoam. 

Here is the heart of the difference.  In a latte, you get a lot of milk with a touch of foam at the top.  And this foam can be of varying qualities.  That won’t fly with a flat white.  A flat white requires impeccably created microfoam with the tiniest bubbles you can create.  The froth should be so silky and smooth that it is actually shiny.  And when you pour that microfoam into the cup, be sure you don’t miss it all and just put in the milk that might remain at the bottom of your pan/cup.  The microfoam is important!

 If you don’t own an espresso machine, a hand-frother will work just fine.

Flat White | Australian Coffee

Ingredients

whole milk

espresso (or strong coffee)

Instructions

--Froth 1 cup of milk, either using an espresso machine or on the stove using a milk frother.

--You want to heat the milk to about 160 F.

--You want a froth with very fine bubbles.

--While you are frothing the milk, make your espresso.

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--Combine the espresso and foam.

THE BREWSPAPER / No. 1 SAN DIEGO IPA

GUEST BLOG / By Mike Shess, Publisher, West Coaster craft beer website and print magazine.

Once a year, usually in the Fall, as in 2016, West Coaster craft beer website and print magazine publishes the results of its Readers’ Poll.  Publisher Mike Shess and Editor Ryan Lamb ask readers to vote for their favorites among the following categories:

         Best San Diego Beer

         Best San Diego Brewery

         Best Brewmaster

         Best Brew Pub

         Best Homebrewer

         Best Tasting Room

         Best New Beer Spot

         Best Beer Bar

         Best Beer Restaurant

         BEST SAN DIEGO IPA

         Best Beer Region within San Diego County

         Best Beer Festival

         Best Bottleshop

         Best Beer Selection

         Most Underrated Brewery

For the next few weeks, PillartoPost.org daily online magazine in its weekly The Brewspaper column will profile on “Best of” from West Coaster’s annual poll. 

This week Part 9:

BEST SAN DIEGO IPA

Hop Fu by North Park Beer Company

 After years of earning respect and awards in the homebrewing world, Hop-Fu! made its production debut in 2016 with the grand opening of North Park Beer Co. Brewer Kelsey McNair scaled up the recipe skillfully and this IPA is ready for primetime. McNair was surprised when told he’d won this category: “I think the commercial version of Hop-Fu! still has a lot of room for improvement.” Our readers disagreed, and the history of this recipe bolsters their choice: Hop-Fu! took home a gold medal in the American Homebrewers Association’s annual competition in 2010, 2012 and 2014 in the highly competitive American IPA/Imperial IPA category.