I've journalised about coffee before, mentioning the amount of froth in my latte and the unfortunate accident associated with it. Based on my observations associated with this event and those subsequent, I've come up with a Theory. The observations which led to me formulating this Theory are as follows.

1. I note that my latte had more froth than I think it should — more like a cappuccino.
2. I note that the shop provides a shaker of chocolate powder for customers to top off their own cappuccino, thus a latte and a cappuccino are more or less identical at the time they are handed to the customer.
3. I note that the prices of "cappuccino", "latte", and "flat white" are identical, given the same size cup.

My theory: they're making exactly the same cup of coffee under three different names.

Observation to date had determined no difference between the latte and cappuccino, so I decided to make my first test of this theory a purchase of a "flat white". From the description "flat white", I would expect a white coffee with no froth, but my theory suggests that it would be as frothy as the other coffees I've purchased there from time to time. So I purchased a regular "flat white".

It was frothy. Indeed, I couldn't pick any difference between it and the lattes I'd purchased previously, but that might just be a factor of my lack of culture with regards to the appreciation of good coffee.

Clearly one isolated test like this isn't enough to warrant accepting the theory, but the results have been impressive so far. One of these days I might be brazen enough to confront the staff directly with this Theory, and see if they deny it. I'll make a point of doing that only if there aren't a lot of other customers around, though. I wouldn't want to embarrass them unduly.