It can be said that latte, Australian white, and cappuccino are the "Three Musketeers of Milk Coffee" that are now permanently on the menu of coffee shops. Although they are both composed of coffee and steamed milk, due to the different proportions, they have different distinctive characteristics. And we rely on their distinctive characteristics to find the best golden ratio for making them.In previous articles, Front Street has shared the golden ratio of latte and cappuccino in the "Three Musketeers of Milk Coffee", so what I want to share today is the most suitable ratio of coffee and milk for the last addition of Australian White in the "Three Musketeers". And this is also a question that friends often ask backstage, because compared to the first two, the production of Australia White is not so unified!What are the characteristics of Australian White?As Front Street mentioned earlier, if we want to make a good cup of coffee, we first need to understand what characteristics it has. Because only in this way can we set a direction and then find the best golden ratio to achieve the goal based on the direction.For example, latte is characterized by a balanced taste without too much coffee bitterness, so more milk is used when making it until it can be balanced with the taste of coffee; cappuccino is characterized by strong coffee flavor, and you can clearly feel the dense touch brought by the milk foam when drinking it, so when making it, we will use thicker milk foam to create a dense touch, and use less milk to highlight the taste of coffee.Aobai coffee also has two characteristics. The first is that it tastes very smooth, and the second is that the coffee tastes strong but not bitter. The taste characteristics are mainly achieved by reducing the thickness of the milk foam. When the milk foam is made thinner, the fluidity of the liquid surface will be higher, and the taste experience will be smoother when tasting.The taste characteristics can be achieved by adjusting the amount of milk, just like latte and cappuccino. But beyond that, we were able to adjust by changing the type of espresso.
For example, replace the regular concentrate with Ristrido（Ristretto）Making Australian white not only makes the Australian white thick but not bitter, but also makes it(Australian White)Further widen the difference between the first two! It's just that the use of Restrido will change the ratio. It is precisely because of this that the production of Australian white is different from latte and kabob. Each coffee shop's Australian white method will be different due to the store's different understanding, so the proportions vary.In order to prevent some newbies here from Front Street from not knowing the difference between the two, let me first briefly share the differences between Ristrido and our conventionally extracted concentrate.(This is just a brief introduction. If you need to know more, you can search for the tweets shared by Yibuqianjie in the past)The biggest difference between espresso and ristretto is actually the amount of liquid extracted! The powder-liquid ratio usually used for espresso extraction is about 1:2. For example, 20g of coffee powder will extract 40ml of coffee liquid. The powder-to-liquid ratio of Restretto is about 1:1.5, which is about a quarter less than that of concentrated coffee. For example, 20g of coffee powder only extracts 30ml of coffee liquid. The difference in liquid volume will affect the amount of dissolved substances, which will affect the intensity of the coffee flavor.Compared to ristretto, espresso has a larger liquid volume and a more complete extraction, so its flavor intensity will be relatively higher. Because the substance in the tail section is also dissolved in an appropriate amount, the sour, sweet and bitter taste of the whole cup of coffee is very balanced, and you can feel the coffee flavor better when you drink it. But relatively speaking, its concentration will be lower;As for Ristrido, because the liquid volume is smaller, the extraction will be relatively less complete than concentrated, so the taste will not be as strong as concentrated. Because the bitter substances in the tail section do not have enough water to dissolve, the taste of the whole cup of coffee is mainly sour and sweet, and it does not taste too bitter.When we use Ristrido to make Australian white, the milk coffee will have a higher sweetness due to the reduced bitterness. However, it should be noted that when making Ristrido, it is best not to just lower the liquid volume from the original concentration parameters, because this will easily lead to a cup of coffee with high acidity and under-extraction.(The specific method of Restrido can be moved to"Portal"Learn about this article)Okay, now that we know the difference between the two, we can start to find out the best ratio for making Australian white.What is the ratio of coffee to milk?In fact, it is easy to find. Since the coffee flavor of Australian white is between latte and cappuccino, it is strong but not bitter. When using concentrate as the base to make Australian white, the ratio of coffee and milk is naturally between the ratio of latte and cappuccino. Here Front Street uses the Front Street classic blend in the bean list to demonstrate!The classic blend is a medium-dark roasted Italian bean made from Indonesia, Brazil, and Vietnam. The espresso made with it will have rich and fragrant flavors such as chocolate, cream, and caramel. When we want to use this medium-dark roasted concentrate to make a cup of latte, in order to balance the taste of the milk with the coffee, we will probably use a ratio of 1:5~5.5. If the espresso is 40ml, the milk will be about 200ml.(moderate milk froth); To make a cappuccino with strong coffee flavor, the ratio is about 1:4, that is, 40ml of espresso with 160ml of milk(thick milk froth)。Then the ratio of Australian white is between them, that is, about 1:4.5. That is, 40ml of espresso needs to be made with 180ml of steamed milk.(Remember to send a thin portion of milk foam)。Although Australia White and before and after(Kabu, latte)The difference is only 20ml of milk, but the taste and texture of the coffee have changed a lot. When you drink it, you can feel the strong coffee flavor, and the flavors of chocolate, cream, and butter cookies are very obvious! But it is not as bitter as kabu, and has a higher sweetness. And because the overall concentration is higher than that of latte, it has a richer texture than latte. Paired with thin milk foam, the taste is very silky!And if we use Ristrido to make it, then the ratio needs to be appropriately reduced, around 1:4, that is, 30ml of coffee with 120ml of milk. Because as the street said, the amount of liquid extracted from Ristrido is less, so less bitter substances are dissolved, and the flavor intensity of the coffee is not that high. The flavors of Ristrido extracted from Front Street's classic blend are cream, nuts, cocoa, and caramel!After using the ratio of 1:4 to make Australian white, its sweetness is even better than the former! As soon as you take your mouth, you can clearly feel the sweetness similar to maple syrup, followed by the aroma of cream, chocolate, and toast! Likewise, the taste is very smooth due to the thin milk foam.It should be noted that the ratio recommended by Front Street above only applies to medium-dark roasted coffee beans. If the coffee beans we use are medium or medium light roasted, then the ratio may need to be larger.For example, the espresso made with the Front Street Strawberry Candy and Gesha blend in the Front Street bean menu will have flavors similar to strawberry fudge, white flowers, and berries. Although these flavors sound very tempting, because they are relatively fresh types and the flavor intensity is not as high, the milk used cannot be as much as with dark roasted beans.Otherwise, the flavor of milk will easily cover up the flavor of coffee, or balance it with the flavor of coffee, and then the Australian white will become a latte with thin milk foam. Therefore, when we use medium or medium-light roasted coffee beans to make Australian white, it is best to increase the proportion.For example, when Front Street uses strawberry candy to make Australian white, the ratio is 1:3.8, that is, 40ml of espresso and about 150ml of milk. The Australian white produced in this way can taste a very obvious coffee aroma, which is strawberry milk, berries, raisins, and elegant floral aroma. Excellent sweetness, smooth taste, very good~
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
