There is an ongoing rivalry between Australia and New Zealand about who invented the flat white. Alan Preston, an Australian, claimed that he created the term in 1985 when he opened his café in Sydney. After moving to Queensland in the 1960s he stated that he frequently offered ‘White coffee- Flat’.
Fraser McInnes a former barista in New Zealand, says he came up with the Flat White in 1989 after making a bad Cappuccino. He said that the milk for the cappuccino didn’t rise properly, therefore serving a flat white to the customer.The dispute is ongoing today between the two countries. And no one can accurately say who is correct, it remains one of coffees mysteries.