Latte vs Cappuccino vs Flat White: What’s the Difference?

Order a latte, a cappuccino or a flat white and you get the same two ingredients: espresso and steamed milk. What changes is the ratio of coffee to milk, how much air is whipped into that milk and the size of the cup. A cappuccino is small and capped with thick foam, a latte is the biggest and milkiest of the three, and a flat white is a compact, coffee-forward drink with a thin, glossy layer of microfoam.

That is latte vs cappuccino vs flat white in one breath. Below are the numbers baristas work with, a side-by-side table, the tangled history behind each name and simple steps to make all three at home.

Key takeaways

• All three drinks are espresso plus steamed milk; the differences are milk volume, foam thickness and cup size.
• A traditional Italian cappuccino is about 25 ml of espresso topped with roughly 125 ml of steamed, foamed milk in a 150–160 ml (about 5 fl oz) cup.
• A latte is the largest and mildest, usually 8 fl oz (240 ml) or more, with only a thin layer of foam.
• A flat white usually pairs a double shot with less milk and a very thin layer of silky microfoam, so it tastes the most of coffee.
• Caffeine depends on the number of shots, not the milk: a 1 oz (30 ml) espresso has about 63 mg.

In this article

1. Same ingredients, different ratios
2. Latte vs cappuccino vs flat white at a glance
3. The cappuccino: small, foamy and Italian
4. The latte: the mild, milky one
5. The flat white: the coffee-forward one
6. How to order exactly what you want
7. How to make all three at home
8. The best beans for milk drinks
9. FAQ

Same ingredients, different ratios

Think of these drinks as three settings on the same dial. Each starts with one or two shots of espresso. The barista then steams cold milk, which heats it and, during the first few seconds, pulls in air to create foam. How much air goes in, and how much milk ends up in the cup, decides which drink you get.

• More air, less milk: cappuccino. The foam is thick and light, and it sits as a distinct cap on top.
• Little air, lots of milk: latte. The milk stays fluid with a thin foam layer, and it dilutes the espresso the most.
• Very little air, less milk: flat white. The milk becomes velvety microfoam, with bubbles too small to see, that blends into the espresso instead of sitting on top.

Because foam is mostly air, a foamy drink can look full while holding less liquid milk. That is why a cappuccino tastes more of coffee than a latte made with the same shot, even though both look like a cup of milk from above.

Latte vs cappuccino vs flat white at a glance

Recipes vary between cafés and countries, so treat these as typical ranges rather than strict rules.

The cappuccino: small, foamy and Italian

The name comes from the Capuchin friars, whose brown hooded habits share the color of espresso lightened with milk. The Italian word is usually traced to German: Viennese coffeehouses gave the name Kapuziner to coffee topped with whipped cream and spices, and by the late 1700s it appeared on coffeehouse menus across the Habsburg lands. Cappuccino shows up in Italian writing during the 19th century, but the espresso-and-foam drink we know today only took shape in the 20th century, after espresso machines spread through Italy. English speakers had picked up the word by 1948.

Italy’s National Espresso Institute (Istituto Nazionale Espresso Italiano, or INEI), which sets certification standards for espresso and cappuccino, describes the classic version as about 25 ml of espresso topped with roughly 125 ml of steamed milk in a 150–160 ml cup, with fine, tight foam. The milk is heated to only about 55°C (131°F), cooler than many cafés serve it. In practice that is a 5 oz drink with a single shot: small by American standards, and beautifully balanced.

You will often hear the rule of thirds: one-third espresso, one-third steamed milk, one-third foam. It is a handy mental picture, though in a real cup the layers blend at the edges.

In Italy, the cappuccino is above all a breakfast drink. Italians rarely order one after about 11 a.m., which is why a cappuccino after a big lunch is the classic sign of a visitor.

The latte: the mild, milky one

Caffè latte simply means milk coffee in Italian. Coffee with milk is an old breakfast habit across Europe, but the espresso-based latte you get in cafés today, with steamed milk and a thin cap of foam, grew up with the espresso machine and became a global café staple. A tip for travelers: latte on its own means milk in Italian, so ask an Italian barista for a latte and you may get exactly that, a glass of milk.

The latte is the largest of the three. A classic café latte holds around 8 fl oz (240 ml), and chains routinely serve 12, 16 or 20 fl oz versions with one or two shots, sometimes more. The milk gets only a brief burst of air, so it stays fluid and pours smoothly, finishing with a thin layer of foam, usually well under the thick cap of a cappuccino.

All that milk makes the latte the mildest of the trio, with the espresso in a supporting role. It is the usual base for flavored drinks, from vanilla to pumpkin spice, and its fluid, glossy milk is what lets baristas pour hearts and rosettas.

The flat white: the coffee-forward one

The flat white is the youngest of the three, and its birthplace is one of the coffee world’s friendliest feuds. Australians point to Sydney: café owner Alan Preston says he put flat white on the menu of his Moors Espresso Bar in 1985 and has photographs to back it up, although he says the style itself came from cafés in far north Queensland. New Zealanders tell a story set in Wellington in 1989, when barista Fraser McInnes is said to have named a failed cappuccino, made with milk that would not froth, a flat white. Yet the phrase already appears in a 1983 Sydney Morning Herald review of a Sydney café, so the honest answer is that nobody can prove who was first.

Where it went next is clearer. By 2005, the flat white had traveled from Australia and New Zealand to the UK, and Starbucks added it to its US stores on January 6, 2015, describing its version as two ristretto shots with a thin layer of velvety steamed milk.

A good flat white comes down to three things:

• A double shot, often pulled short (ristretto) for a sweeter, more concentrated base.
• Less milk than a latte, in a smaller cup of about 5.5–8 fl oz (160–240 ml).
• Microfoam, not froth. The milk is barely aerated, leaving a thin, shiny layer about 1/4 inch (5 mm) deep.

The result is the most coffee-forward of the three: you taste the espresso first, wrapped in silky milk. If lattes feel too milky and cappuccinos too foamy, this is probably your drink.

How to order exactly what you want

• Want it stronger? Ask for an extra shot, or pick a flat white or a small cappuccino over a large latte. Cup size changes strength more than the name on the menu.
• Want more or less foam? Ask for a dry cappuccino (more foam, less milk, lighter and more coffee-forward) or a wet one (more milk, less foam, closer to a small latte).
• Want it hotter or cooler? Ask. Milk steamed past about 160°F (70°C) starts to taste scorched, so extra hot is not always better.

How to make all three at home

You need espresso or a strong substitute, cold milk and a way to steam or froth it. The quantities below assume a home espresso machine; a method without one follows.

Step 1: Pull the espresso

Pull a single or double shot straight into your cup. For milk drinks, aim for a full-bodied, chocolatey shot, because it has to stand up to several times its volume in milk. If you are still dialing in grind, dose and timing, our guide on how to make espresso at home walks you through it.

Step 2: Steam the milk

1. Pour very cold milk into a stainless steel pitcher, filling it no more than halfway. A 12 oz (350 ml) pitcher suits a cappuccino or flat white; a large latte needs a bigger one.
2. Purge the steam wand, place the tip just under the surface of the milk and open the steam.
3. Stretch the milk: keep the tip near the surface so you hear a gentle hiss. Allow about 2–4 seconds for a latte and 4–6 seconds for a cappuccino; for a flat white, stay at the short end, just enough to add a little volume.
4. Texture it: lower the tip slightly and tilt the pitcher so the milk spins in a whirlpool, which breaks large bubbles into microfoam.
5. Stop at 140–150°F (60–65°C). Tap the pitcher on the counter and swirl until the milk looks like glossy wet paint.

Step 3: Pour and finish

Steam a little more milk than you need. A few spoonfuls left in the pitcher give you better control over the pour.

No espresso machine? Try this

A moka pot or an AeroPress will not produce true espresso or crema, but either one makes a concentrated coffee that works well under milk. Brew 1.5–2 fl oz (45–60 ml) of moka pot coffee, or a short, strong AeroPress using less water than usual, then froth the milk one of these ways:

• French press: heat the milk to 140–150°F (60–65°C), pour it into a clean French press no more than one-third full and pump the plunger quickly 15–20 times. Pump less for a latte or flat white and more for a cappuccino.
• Handheld frother: whisk warm milk in a tall jug with the whisk just under the surface, rest it for 30 seconds and tap out any large bubbles.
• Jar method: shake cold milk in a half-full sealed, microwave-safe jar for 30–60 seconds, remove the lid and microwave it for about 30 seconds to set the foam.

Not sure which you prefer? Make all three over a weekend with the same beans. Because the espresso stays constant, you will taste exactly what milk and foam do to it.

The best beans for milk drinks

Milk softens acidity and mutes delicate flavors, so the coffees that shine in lattes and cappuccinos tend to have body, sweetness and chocolate notes that carry through. Our African Espresso is a good example: a medium-dark blend of coffees from Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia with red fruit, chocolate and a lively finish, which keeps a flat white tasting of coffee rather than warm milk. For a rounder, more classic profile, explore our coffee blends. Freshness matters as much as origin: we roast 1–5 days before delivery, so the beans arrive with the aroma and sweetness a shot needs to cut through milk. Choose the Espresso grind for a machine or moka pot, or Whole Bean if you grind just before brewing.

Latte vs Cappuccino vs Flat White FAQ

Which is stronger: a latte, a cappuccino or a flat white?

A flat white usually tastes strongest because it pairs a double shot with relatively little milk. A traditional single-shot cappuccino comes next, and the latte is the mildest. A double-shot cappuccino can taste as strong as a flat white, so the number of shots and the cup size matter more than the name.

Which one has the most caffeine?

Caffeine comes from the espresso, so count the shots. The Mayo Clinic lists about 63 mg of caffeine in a 1 oz (30 ml) espresso, which puts a single-shot drink at roughly 63 mg and a double at roughly 126 mg, however much milk is added. A two-shot latte and a two-shot flat white end up about the same.

Is a flat white just a small latte?

They are close cousins, but a flat white uses a double (often ristretto) shot, less milk and a thinner layer of microfoam, served in a smaller cup. It tastes noticeably more of coffee than a latte.

Can I make these drinks with oat or almond milk?

Yes. Barista editions of oat milk, which contain added fat, steam most like dairy milk. Almond milk is harder to foam and tends to break down above about 140°F (60°C), so heat it gently.

Sources

1. Cappuccino (etymology), Online Etymology Dictionary.
2. Cappuccino, Wikipedia: history of the Kapuziner and traditional serving sizes.
3. Francesca Milano, Cappuccino Day article on the INEI standard and Italian habits, Il Sole 24 Ore, 2018.
4. Who invented the flat white?, New Zealand Story (New Zealand Government).
5. Alan Preston and the origins of the flat white, The New Daily, 2024.
6. Flat white, Wikipedia: early print mentions, spread to the UK and typical sizes.
7. Report on the US launch of the Starbucks flat white, Seattle Met, January 2015.
8. How to Steam Milk for Lattes and Cappuccinos at Home, Clive Coffee.
9. Caffeine content for coffee, tea, soda and more, Mayo Clinic.

Facts checked in October 2026.

Keep reading: How to Make the Perfect Espresso at Home · Single Origin vs Blend Coffee · Shop our coffee blends