Coffee Specialty Drinks

This covers the family of espresso-and-milk drinks that form the backbone of Australian café culture. A flat white — arguably Australia’s greatest contribution to the coffee world — is a double shot of espresso topped with steamed milk and a thin layer of microfoam. A latte uses more milk with a light foam layer, while a cappuccino features equal parts espresso, steamed milk, and thick froth, often dusted with chocolate.

These drinks are typically made with full-cream cow’s milk, though cafés routinely offer alternatives. The quality of the espresso shot and the texture of the steamed milk are what separate a great coffee from an ordinary one — baristas aim for silky, glossy microfoam without large bubbles.

In Australia, ordering “a coffee” almost always means one of these milk-based espresso drinks, rather than filter or drip coffee. The flat white in particular has become an international export, now found on menus from London to New York.