CAFE DRINKS EXPLAINED: Breaking down the cappuccino, flat white, cortado, latte, and more

Hope you enjoyed! If I missed a major global milk beverage, do let me know below!

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Sprudge Article:

Time Cues:
0:00- Confusion Abounds
2:08- SurfShark
3:22- Macchiato
5:28- Cortado/Gibraltar/Piccolo
7:33- Cappuccino/Flat White
11:21- Caffe Latte
13:13- Latte Macchiato
14:00- Latte Art Harms Flavortown
15:24- Patience is a Virtue

[willh]

@lancehedrick hearing you utter the word “shite” just doubled my appreciation of your channel. I thought only northern uk residents used such descriptive language. Thanks for explaining milk and espresso in its many ratios… and thanks for Karen

[andrasandras]

I'm from Romania, I worked as a barista for 9 years or so. In our region, latte macchiato is really wide spread. Pro tip, before you pour in the espresso, you have to wait for the foam to separate completely from the milk. And if you pour the coffee 😅n carefully enough, you'll get a triple layer drink. Milk, espresso, foam. It looks really nice. And if you put like a bit of honey or some thick syrup on the bottom of the glass, you'll get an extra layer. It's really fun!

[DanA-btdr]

Although I know many of these nuances I still found this video entertaining. It was hilarious and self-deprecating while still driving home the point of being respectful to front line service workers like baristas who face so much unnecessary harsh and rude criticism. Kudos for doing this Lance.

[Vercingetorix]

Here in Argentina we have "capuccino a la Italiana". It's served in a large transparent cup, and you can see the three parts: coffee, milk and foam. Then they put chocolate or cinnamon on the top.

[jacobsheart]

In Czech republic most cafes differentiate cappuccino and flat white by the strength of the drink, most commonly a cappuccino made from single shot and flat white from a double shot

[mjxx]

In German specialty coffee places it's mostly like this: a cappuccino here is usually the same as a latte with microfoam, latte art etc. A flat white is the same thing served in the same cups (sometimes though in a cortado glass?), but with a double shot of espresso and thus a little bit less milk. A latte here is either served in a big ceramic cup with a double shot and a lot of milk or they just make a latte macchiato in a tall glass with foamy milk first and espresso on top and call it a latte too; always a gamble.

Oh and yesterday I went to one of my favorite places and they had something called "Capucin" (French pronunciation) which was mostly like a small flat white or cortado.


Either way it's a mess lol

[meningokokken]

I like this „new“ clean video aesthetic with the slightly warm off-white highkey look.
You videos feel like a milky Cappuccino after a relaxing shower.

[akuraou]

Thank you for explaining! They all seem so similar until you really get to know each drink's ratio. As a returning barista who's relearning these recipes, this was super helpful :)

[Katamaricilla]

I work as a barista in a southern city of Spain (Málaga) where we have a specific way to name different coffees that is not used anywhere else outside of our city. I work in a third-wave style shop so I usually have to "translate" to the locals from "Malagueño" to "specialty coffee" 😂. It's confusing sometimes but always very interesting! And I love watching videos like this that help me "translate" better ;)

[BuckeyeGirl]

Oh my gosh, thank you SO very much for this video! We moved from the Midwest, USA to Germany while I'm in the middle of learning anything about espresso drinks and couldn't put two and two together for anything! Latte macchiato was really throwing me for a loop here, so extra thanks for including that bit of info. I'm saving this to watch on repeat for a while! ☕☕☕

[НикитаДобровольский-бэ]

In my experience flat white is more coffee forward beverage, usually double shot and about 200ml. Cappuccino is 150ml with single shot or 300ml with double shot. And both of them are made with micro foam.

[TriStarFamily]

Thank you for breaking these down! You're opening up the world of coffee for all of us beginners out here!

[mrfrankel]

As somebody from one of the lands down under (Australia & New Zealand), thank you Lance. I appreciate you.

[OneIdeaTooMany]

Another great video. My favourite: Soy flat white because im lactose intolerant. Flat whites are supposed to be flat in my opinion. If you're batching with a cappuccino or a mocha, you pour that first and then pour the flat white. That's how i was taught.

[katelilley]

Your intro about ordering a cappuccino is SO ACCURATE

[oto]

guys, i am a french barman, macchiato (italian), cortado (spanish), noisette ( french), it is all the same drink, single shot of coffee and a tiny shot of hot milk, that is it!!

[youtubuzr]

This video makes me, a person who's had hundreds of cappuccinos and flat whites, very happy. Because I can't really tell the difference. (Except at the places that serve cappuccinos with a pile of foam on top...)

[danymeeuwissen]

Here in Belgium, often a cappuccino is same cup as a flat white, but with a single shot (flat has double shot). And you know you're in trouble when they ask if you want a cappuccino with milk or whipped cream. 🙃

[GarlanThundershield]

Today I learned that I serve a latte macchiato every time that someone asks for a cappuccino. Thanks Lance!!

[DavidScott-hifz]

As a New Zealander from Wellington (the home of NZ coffee) going to cafes in the early 90s when Flat Whites became a thing, I remember they came in a smaller glass cup, rather than a larger ceramic coffee cup. It used to be a single shot of espresso, with steamed but not foamed milk. Baristas would even use a spoon when pouring the milk to make sure no foam got to the cup. Because of the small glass, the ratio of espresso to milk was a lot greater than a normal latte or cappuccino. At the time NZ was transitioning from a Coffee Lounge culture where the only options were white or black filtered coffee, to italian names like espresso, cappuccino, macchiato etc. It was overwhelming for some people, so the flat white was invented as a no nonsense option of "just milk and coffee like you are used to and no funny stuff". Also capuccinos back then were nuts. At least 1/4 of the cup was foam.