Making a Flat Whitish with a Frother

mong my favourite coffees is the flat white, which is coffee with milk where the milk has very tiny bubbles which gives the coffee a beautiful velvety texture.

So I've been trying to create the flat white at home. But I don't have a fancy coffee machine where you can spray steam into the milk to create those tiny bubbles. These machines are at least USD$250 and require actual coffee beans, and I'm not sure it's worth the price and bother. But I did get a milk frother which is only a little over US$25 from Amazon.

Of course, what I make at home with a frother would not be a true flat white. But it's flat whitish, and flat whitish enough.

So here's how you make it:

1. Make your coffee with sugar as you would normally do but only put in a small amount of hot water. It should be hot thick coffee occupying just a few millimetres of a 200ml clear glass. This is our equivalent of a shot of espresso.

Add half a pinch of salt. It makes a difference.

If your coffee is usually light, you might consider adding another half portion of coffee without increasing the amount of hot water. Then this would be our equivalent of a double shot of espresso. It depends on your taste.

If you are using instant coffee like me, it's best to get the more expensive kind. I like the Moccona Indulgence. In Europe, it's called Douwe Egberts Pure Indulgence.

Yes, instant coffee works for this. The secret of the flat white is in the milk, not the coffee.

And no, a clear glass is not necessary but it adds class and enjoyment.

2. Froth your fresh whole milk using the frother. Now, this is the tricky part. If you froth too much, the bubbles will become too big, and your coffee will become like a cappuccino instead of flat whitish.

So froth the milk twice, for about 12 seconds each time, and allowing the big bubbles to settle and disappear after each froth. Then froth it a third and last time, and again for about 12 seconds. After the third froth, the milk should be foamy.

3. Without waiting for the foam to settle, pour the frothed milk into your cup of espresso equivalent.

That's it. Now you can enjoy your flat whitish.