What do you think of the Flat White?

As we slowly watched our favorite holiday drinks disappear, Starbucks introduced a new espresso drink to its menu – The Flat White. According to the press release, “The Starbucks® Flat White is an espresso beverage made with two ristretto shots, combined with a thin layer of velvety steamed whole milk and finished with a latte art dot.”

Originally an Australian espresso drink, the Flat White contains more caffeine and, unfortunately, more calories because of the whole milk. Ristretto shots are smaller and more concentrated than a regular shot of espresso. While the milk is steamed just like a latte, the bubbly frothy part of the milk is not added to the coffee – only the creamy milk from the bottom of the jug is used. The key to enjoying a true Flat White is that it should never be ordered larger than a Tall.

I tried a Flat White at my ‘local’ (20 miles away) Starbucks yesterday before I had really even read about it. I had become quite accustomed to the sugary sweet drinks of the holidays and was a bit taken aback when I tasted it to discover that it was not sweet at all and had I known that, I definitely would have added at least one sugar. The overall flavor was slightly less bitter than ‘regular’ espresso drinks from Starbucks. Because I like stronger coffee drinks, I quite enjoyed it.

My opinion:  If you are going to indulge in a Flat White, I think it would be one of those drinks best enjoyed in a proper ceramic coffee cup while sitting in Starbucks. I think it loses a bit of its character when drunk from a paper cup.

Have you tried Starbucks new Flat White?  What did you think?