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Iced Flat White Recipe

Mary Jankins
Keep in mind that how well your recipe is going to turn out is going to depend on the quality of your ingredients. Be sure to choose a high-quality coffee and fresh milk, and also be sure to use spring ordistilled water for ice cubes (to be a purist!) It is also recommended that you use ice cubes that are new and are not reminiscent of any odors in the freezer.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Course Coffee
Servings 1 cups
Calories 149 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 glass

Ingredients
  

  • 0.24 l whole milk
  • 2 ristretto shots
  • ice cubes
  • sugar or flavored syrup

Instructions
 

  • Foaming up the milk
    Flat whites do not require the milk to be steamed until it is hot. Instead, you can “cold froth it” using the nozzle on your espresso machine or a milk foamier or even a french press after choosing your milk. Coffee connoisseurs claim that chilled 2% milk is the best to use if you want to top your flat white with the perfect layer of microfoam. Basically, the more fat content has, the harder the milk to froth, so nut milk work really well in a flat white.
  • Making ristretto shots
    Brew your ristretto shot. Fill and tamp your portafilter with a finely ground coffee, the finer, the better!  Pull 1 to shots of ristretto created from 15-20 ml. of coffee.
    The more finely ground your beans are, the better. In fact, short ristretto shots succeed best if they are ground to powder. This helps you get a better, sweeter taste from the ground beans. Astronger-tasting coffee known for creating a superb crema is best. If you want a sweeter flavor, then it is recommended that you use a blonde roast, which has a lot more acidity than darker beans and suits the light tangy taste of an iced flat white.
  • Putting ice cubes into the glass
    The more ice you have in your glass, the cooler and stronger your iced flat white is going to taste. Fill it to the top with the largest ice cubes that you have. Don’t use ice chips as they will disappear once in contact with the hot coffee. 
  • Adding your coffee to the ice cubes
    Pour the ristretto shot over your ice, and then give it all a quick stir. If your crema is not somehow miraculously broken up by the ice cubes in the glass, you can leave it because it can give the drink a very attractive layered look.
  • Topping the iced coffee with cold foamed milk
    Choose a small, preferable chilled metal container to foam about 2 ounces of milk. It can be any milk that you choose, including almond milk (sweetened or unsweetened), oat milk, rice milk, coconut milk, soy milk, or of course, dairy milk.
  • Adding a syrup or sugar (optional)
    Syrups and sugars are more associated with flavoring a latte, but many people also do it with a flat white, even though the point of a flat white is to experience the taste of your coffee in its rich exalted state.

Notes

It is always preferable to stick to tradition and just drink the flat white straight, however, variations of the flat white do exist in the popular chain coffee houses. An example would be an iced blonde flat light using light blonde beans as Starbucks does, making a flat white with Pike beans. If you are at home, adding a splash of real vanilla or cinnamon flavoring can add a bit of interest to the drink. Some people add honey or sugar, as would be the case with an iced honey almond flat white. You can also make an iced flat white with almond milk that is presweetened, and many brands also come with added vanilla flavoring as well.