How to Make a Flat White at Home

Learning how to make a flat white at home is a great way to improve your espresso and milk-steaming skills.

A flat white combines espresso with silky steamed milk and a thin layer of fine microfoam. Compared with a latte, it is generally smaller and has a higher proportion of coffee to milk, allowing the espresso flavour to remain prominent.

The secret isn’t creating lots of foam. It’s producing smooth, glossy milk that integrates with the espresso.

This guide explains how to make a flat white step by step, from grinding the beans to pouring the finished drink.

What you’ll need

Before learning how to make a flat white, gather the following:

• Espresso machine with steam wand
• Freshly roasted coffee beans
• Coffee grinder
• Portafilter and basket
• Tamper
• Digital scales
• Cold milk
• Stainless-steel milk pitcher
• Flat white cup
• Thermometer, optional

Whole dairy milk is an approachable choice for practising microfoam, but plant-based alternatives can work too.

Our guide to milk alternatives for coffee compares the main options.

Step 1: Choose your coffee

Choosing suitable beans is an important first step when learning how to make a flat white.

Espresso provides the foundation, so start with coffee you enjoy.

Chocolatey, nutty and caramel-like coffees can pair particularly well with milk, but you don’t have to use a very dark roast. Medium and lighter profiles can work too.

Browse our freshly roasted coffee to explore different origins and flavours.

Our guide to choosing the best coffee beans can also help you compare origins and roast levels.

Step 2: Grind and dose

Consistency with grinding and dosing makes learning how to make a flat white much easier.

Grind your coffee finely for espresso and weigh a suitable dose for your basket.

Distribute the grounds evenly in the portafilter and tamp them level.

If the espresso runs far too quickly, grind finer. If the machine struggles to push water through the coffee, try grinding slightly coarser.

Make one adjustment at a time so you can see what improves the shot.

Step 3: Extract the espresso

Lock the portafilter into your espresso machine and begin the extraction.

There’s no single espresso recipe that works for every coffee, but a brew ratio around 1:2 provides a useful starting point. For example, you might use 18g of ground coffee to produce approximately 36g of espresso.

A survey published by the Specialty Coffee Association found that professional baristas reported an average espresso brew ratio around 1:2, although individual recipes varied.

Use figures like these as starting points rather than rigid rules. Taste the espresso and adjust as necessary.

Our guide on how to make espresso covers espresso preparation in greater detail.

Getting the espresso right is fundamental to how to make a flat white that tastes balanced.

Step 4: Prepare the milk

Milk texture is another crucial part of how to make a flat white.

Start with cold milk and a clean pitcher. Use enough for your drink while leaving room for the milk to expand.

Briefly purge the steam wand according to your machine manufacturer’s instructions, then position the tip just beneath the surface.

Unlike a cappuccino, you don’t want to introduce a large amount of air. A flat white needs a thinner, silkier layer of microfoam.

Step 5: Create silky microfoam

Turn on the steam and introduce a small amount of air near the beginning.

You should hear a gentle sound rather than loud spluttering.

Once you’ve introduced enough air, position the wand so the milk circulates in the pitcher. This whirlpool helps incorporate tiny bubbles throughout the milk.

The finished milk shouldn’t have a layer of stiff foam floating on top.

Instead, aim for a shiny, fluid texture resembling wet paint.

Mastering this texture is one of the most important parts of how to make a flat white.

Step 6: Get the temperature right

Aim for milk around 60–65°C while you’re learning.

A thermometer can help you achieve consistent results and avoid overheating.

Stop steaming once you reach your target temperature, turn off the steam and remove the wand. Wipe and purge it afterwards according to your machine’s instructions.

Hotter isn’t automatically better. Controlling milk temperature helps when learning how to make a flat white consistently.

Step 7: Swirl and pour

Gently tap the pitcher if any larger bubbles remain, then swirl the milk.

It should look glossy and integrated.

Begin pouring steadily into the centre of the espresso. Start slightly higher to combine the milk and coffee, then bring the pitcher closer to the surface as the cup fills.

This also gives you an opportunity to create latte art.

When first learning how to make a flat white, concentrate on milk texture and flavour before worrying about appearance.

What size should a flat white be?

There isn’t one universally mandated cup size, and cafés serve flat whites differently.

However, a flat white is generally smaller than a typical latte. A smaller cup helps maintain a stronger balance between espresso and milk.

If you use a large mug and fill it with milk, the espresso can become much less prominent.

Rather than obsessing over an exact number of millilitres, aim for a drink in which the espresso remains clearly noticeable alongside the milk.

That balance is central to how to make a flat white successfully.

Flat white vs latte and cappuccino

All three drinks combine espresso and steamed milk, but their proportions and textures differ.

A latte generally contains more milk and may be served in a larger cup. A cappuccino usually has more aeration and a more pronounced foam texture.

A flat white is typically smaller and uses a thin layer of silky microfoam closely integrated with the espresso.

You can compare the techniques in our guides on how to make a latte and how to make a cappuccino.

Understanding these differences makes it easier to learn how to make a flat white with the right balance and texture.

Can you use oat milk?

Yes.

Oat milk can work well in a flat white, particularly products formulated for barista use. Soy and other alternatives are also possible, although their steaming characteristics vary.

If you’re learning how to make a flat white without dairy, use the same milk consistently while practising. This makes it easier to understand how your technique affects the result.

Aim for fine, glossy microfoam rather than trying to make a plant-based drink behave exactly like dairy milk.

Can you make latte art?

Yes. The silky microfoam used for a flat white is well suited to latte art.

A simple heart is a good place to begin before progressing to tulips or rosettas.

Our latte art guide explains the pouring technique in more detail.

Appearance comes second to flavour and texture. Excellent espresso and silky milk matter more than a perfect pattern.

Common flat white mistakes

Several problems regularly appear when people learn how to make a flat white:

Too much foam: Introduce less air at the beginning of steaming.

Large bubbles: Keep the steam tip under better control and create a steady whirlpool.

Milk too hot: Stop steaming earlier and use a thermometer while practising.

Weak coffee flavour: Use a smaller cup or reduce the amount of milk.

Espresso runs too quickly: Adjust your grinder finer.

Espresso runs too slowly: Try a slightly coarser grind.

Milk separates: Swirl the pitcher after steaming and pour promptly.

Fix one issue at a time rather than changing several variables together.

Improve your flat white

Repetition is more useful than chasing one supposedly perfect recipe.

Measure your coffee, watch your espresso yield and pay attention to how much air you introduce into the milk.

If something doesn’t taste right, make one small adjustment next time.

The key to how to make a flat white consistently is controlling a few important variables rather than making the process unnecessarily complicated.

Make your flat white

The process comes down to good coffee, balanced espresso, silky milk and controlled pouring.

Start with freshly roasted beans, measure your espresso and practise introducing only a small amount of air into the milk.

Now that you know how to make a flat white, switch on your espresso machine and put the technique into practice.

With repetition, you’ll soon be able to produce a smooth, espresso-forward flat white without leaving home.