Coffee!

Author
Discussion

matchmaker

Original Poster:

8,696 posts

209 months

Monday 30th December 2024
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Why is it so bloody difficult to order a simple cup of coffee nowadays? We were having lunch near Dundee a few days ago and after eating decided to end with a nice cup of coffee. My wife asked for a white coffee, I asked for a white decaffinated coffee.

"Lattes?"

"No, a white coffee, and a white decaffinated coffee"

"We don't do white coffee - it's a latte"

"What's a black coffee with milk?"

"An Americano with milk"

"That will do"

There's also apparently something called a flat white. Which is also apparently a black coffee with milk...

And milk is cows milk!

loskie

5,892 posts

129 months

Monday 30th December 2024
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It's been like this for a while now. You aren't the only one. Thank goodness someone came up with flat whites recently. Lattes are way too big and Cappuccino after breakfast is just crazy!

StoutBench

597 posts

37 months

Monday 30th December 2024
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Wow this is a throwback to the past. Where do you live Oop Norf?

daqinggregg

3,607 posts

138 months

Monday 30th December 2024
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Solution, visit countries that can actually make coffee, Italy, France, or the big surprise to me, Vietnam; I’m sure there are many others.

Chains, they’re just pretending.

HTP99

23,496 posts

149 months

Monday 30th December 2024
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As someone who drinks strong black coffee, the whole latte, flat white, cappuccino, Americano with milk thing just baffles me, aren't they all just white coffee!

Silvanus

6,461 posts

32 months

Monday 30th December 2024
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daqinggregg said:
Solution, visit countries that can actually make coffee, Italy, France, or the big surprise to me, Vietnam; I’m sure there are many others.

Chains, they’re just pretending.
There are loads of independent coffee shops in the UK that do excellent coffee. I don't know of any coffee shops that don't do a white coffee, universally know as a white Americano.

Tickle

5,348 posts

213 months

Monday 30th December 2024
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Avoid chain coffee places, plenty of good coffee available in the UK. Most, if not all will know what a white coffee is.

wyson

2,962 posts

113 months

Monday 30th December 2024
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Lol there is a classic Curb Your Enthusiasm sketch where Larry David goes off on the deep end about all the BS names for coffee and milk.

I asked a barista and she explained them to me.

The coffee base is the same, an expresso shot. What is different is how the milk is treated. More or less steam etc. Different proportions of coffee and milk is another differentiator.

If you want a black watered down expresso shot with milk, you want a White Americano. This is probably what you mean by a ‘white coffee’.

A latte is an expresso shot with steamed milk, which changes the texture. It is the milkiest out of the coffee’s you listed.

A flat white is a variant with more expresso vs steamed milk compared to a latte.

They also have varying amounts of frothy milk foam.

If you try them all, you will find a preference.

For milky coffee, I always go for a Macchiato, which is expresso with a thin layer of foamed milk.

This choice is a good thing. Wouldn’t want to go back to the days before chains where it was really hard to get a decent coffee anywhere. Even a Starbucks coffee (created in a high pressure expresso machine) is preferable to instant or something out of a bean to cup machine.

Edited by wyson on Tuesday 31st December 11:55