Inventing the ‘Flat White’: Australia v New Zealand - A Tom Cashman Recount
- vanessabland
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Inspired by heated online discourse, Paige Petrou investigates the origins of the ubiquitous and beloved Flat White. Can Australia or New Zealand victoriously claim ownership?
Pavlovas, Lamingtons, Anzac biscuits—what do all of these things have in common? Both Australian and New Zealand residents claim to be the origin of these delicious treats, but this simply cannot be! Thus, the multi-generational battle began as to who gets to claim these treats as theirs. One debate that has caught the attention of over 600k people is the debate of who invented the infamous flat white.
Imagine my surprise when I was peacefully scrolling on TikTok and I came across a video by the glorious Tom Cashman that ended up being a whole video essay on who crafted the Flat White coffee.[1] On 14 May 2025, Tom Cashman recounted how when he arrived in New Zealand, he was greeted with a sign that stated, ‘Home is where the Flat White was really invented,’ sponsored by the company Contact. Confused by this statement, Cashman went to do his own research and saw on Wikipedia that, ‘While the origin of the Flat White is unclear, cafe owners in both Australia and New Zealand claim its invention’. Cashman was intrigued and decided to dig deeper, finding out what both countries' claims were for their ownership.
It is said that a review of a Sydney cafe in May 1983 refers to a ‘Flat White coffee,’ while another article in a Sydney newspaper released in April 1984 explained that, ‘cafe latte translates as Flat White’. However, when looking at New Zealand’s claims, it was recounted that the two owners of Cafe DKD, ‘recalled learning of the name ‘Flat White’ from a friend who had worked in cafes in Sydney’. So, case closed, right?
New Zealand sources said that the Flat White travelled from Sydney as part of their claims to account for New Zealand’s origins. Another claim to support the New Zealand debate states, ‘[the Flat White] originates from Wellington as a result of a ‘failed cappuccino’ at Bar Bodega in 1989,’ which is later than Sydney’s claim of 1983. I think it is important to note that neither of the New Zealand claims have evidence in their support, merely a recollection of events.
In contrast, Sydney has written evidence to support their arguments. One piece of written evidence that New Zealand does put forth is contained in a book by Craig Miller. The author of Coffee Houses of Wellington 1939 to 1979, claims to have prepared a drink known as a Flat White in Auckland in the mid-1980s, using a recipe from Australia,’ so that is not very convincing for their claim.[2]
The rest of Cashman’s video is quite humorous to watch, as he digs deeper into who Contact is and the disinformation rules in New Zealand. With the conclusion of this video, I continued swiping. I went about my day thinking that the Flat White debate was over, as it was clear that it originated from Sydney, Australia…
On 17 May 2025, Cashman uploads ‘Flat White fracas update’.[3] Cashman’s video had caught the attention of news platforms and journalists alike, all fascinated with New Zealand’s claim of ownership of the Flat White. The video update is more centred on the company Contact and their plans to merge. I will not be getting into this, as their merge is unfortunately not Flat White related, but I would direct you to Cashman’s video if you want a succinct and easy-to-understand recap of what is going on. This is not the end of the story, though.
Cashman’s third update, posted on 24 May 2025, was very Flat White centered.[4] Cashman had been reached out to by the Executive Producer of Seven Sharp (a daily current affairs programme in New Zealand) asking, ‘We’d love to interview you tomorrow about your outrageous Flat White claims - do you have availability?’
Cashman was touring in New Zealand at the time, so he took up the offer for an interview to get some extra promo and to have a fun debate over the origins of the Flat White. Halfway through the interview, Cashman claims he was ‘blindsided’ by a random man who joined in on the debate. That man ended up being Derek Townsend, one of the owners of Cafe DKD - one of the original supporters of the New Zealand claim!
Cashman apologises to the Australian community as he ended up conceding in the debate, only due to being a victim of a stitch-up by both Hilary Barry and the original claimant, Townsend. Nevertheless, the debate started with Cashman and Barry discussing the validity of Wikipedia as a reference source, which led to Barry bringing out Townsend to set the record straight. Townsend claimed that they got the name for the Flat White from Australia, but that he and his co-owner invented the actual recipe. Cashman fights back valiantly, ‘What I'm hearing here is that you got the recipe from Italians and you got the name from Australians,’ which stumped Townsend.
Barry tries to help Townsend by restating, ‘The name came from Australia, but this product is a New Zealand invention.’
Cashman tried to argue, ‘What is it, if not the name? Because the combination has existed for ages,’ which unfortunately was to no avail in the debate. Cashman concluded that, with some cross-pollination, the Flat White could be seen as a New Zealand invention, leaving the debate as a draw.
So in the end, who can really claim the Flat White? I’ll leave that in your hands.
End Notes
[1] Cashman, Tom. @cashman.tom Inventing the Flat White: Sydney v NZ, TikTok, 14 May
[2] Miller, Craig. Coffee Houses of Wellington 1939 to 1979. 2015.
[3] Cashman, Tom. @cashman.tom Flat White fracas update, TikTok, 17 May 2025,
[4] Cashman, Tom. @cashman.tom Blindsided by sneaky NZ media, TikTok, 24 May 2025,
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