Coffee Capital Icon · Espresso & Microfoam
Flat White
Photo: (WT-shared) Shoestring / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 1.0
Wellington and Sydney have argued for decades over who actually invented it, and Wellington baristas will happily name the exact 1980s cafés they say got there first.
A flat white is a shot of espresso topped with a thin layer of steamed, microfoamed milk — flatter and stronger-tasting than a latte, with none of a cappuccino's thick foam cap. It's the default order at Wellington's espresso bars, most of which pull a double shot unless you ask for less.
Why it's made this way: Wellington claims one of the highest café-per-capita rates of any city in the world, and its coffee scene has spent decades refining the flat white into the drink locals consider a point of civic pride.
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