How to Make a Flat White at Home

What you get: a small, strong milk drink where the coffee still leads, with silky milk and just a thin skin of microfoam on top. What it takes: one good shot, a steel pitcher, and enough milk for a few practice rounds before it clicks.

A flat white takes no special gear, only a machine with a real steam wand, a small pitcher and a cup that isn't too big. If you're after the difference from a latte, that's on our flat white vs latte page. This page is the doing.

What the recipes say

No standards body defines the drink, so here's how two named sources build it.

We follow Breville's smaller cup in the steps below. It keeps the espresso dominant, which is what separates this drink from a latte, in Breville's description.

Make it step by step

1. Weigh and pull the shot

   Dial in your usual espresso and pull a single or double shot straight into a cup of 8 oz or less. A sweet, syrupy shot matters here, because there's less milk to hide behind.

2. Fill a cold pitcher

   Pour cold whole milk into a small steel pitcher. Purge the steam wand into the drip tray first, so condensed water stays out of the milk.

3. Add a little air

   Hold the tip just under the surface and start the steam. Add air only briefly, less than you would for a cappuccino, until the milk starts to swell slightly.

4. Spin until hot

   Raise the pitcher so the tip sits a little deeper and the milk turns in a vortex. Fold in the bigger bubbles. Stop at 140 to 149 °F, or when the jug is hot to touch.

5. Tap and swirl

   Wipe and purge the wand. Tap the pitcher on the counter to pop large bubbles, then swirl until the surface looks glossy and flat.

6. Pour low and steady

   Start pouring from a little height, then bring the spout close to the cup. Keep the textured milk on top, aiming for about a quarter inch of microfoam at the end.

The milk should look like wet paint

That glossy surface in the pitcher is the goal. Breville wants the milk smooth, velvety and relatively flat across the surface. Bubbles you can see mean too much air or too little spin. Our microfoam page explains what's going on in there.

Read about microfoam

The shot

Your normal recipe is fine. Breville's guide gives 18 to 22 g, a 1:2 ratio and 25 to 30 seconds. A good first recipe, not a standard. This calculator gives you the yield to stop at, and you can try a tighter ratio if you want the coffee stronger through the milk.

Our ratio page goes further into what each ratio does. If the coffee tastes sour or thin once the milk is in, fix the shot first. Our dial-in guide goes through that.

Common mistakes

• Too big a cup. A big mug turns this into a latte, however careful the milk. Choose the cup first, then pour to fit.
• Too much air. A thick cap makes something closer to a cappuccino. Shorten the stretch, and keep the tip nearer to the vortex.
• Milk too hot. Breville's range tops out at 149 °F. Stop when the jug is hot to touch, and use a thermometer for your first few rounds.
• Steaming too early. Pull the shot first, then steam, and pour soon after you swirl.
• Reheating leftovers. Gaggia's Classic Evo manual warns against reusing hot milk, because it hurts the froth and the taste. Measure what you need instead.

Which machine makes this easy?

Any machine with a real steam wand can do it, including a single boiler that makes you wait a little before steaming. If you don't want to learn the wand, the Bambino Plus textures milk for you with 3 temperatures and 3 levels of texture, and you can still go manual, per Breville.

For the full routine at the wand, including tip positions, see how to steam milk. A small pitcher helps with a small drink, and our milk pitcher page sorts them by size. For the machines themselves, our guide to semi-automatic machines starts from what you drink.