What is White Coffee?
White coffee means coffee with milk, Malaysian Ipoh white coffee or US white roast. How white roast is made, how it tastes, its caffeine and how to brew it.
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White coffee is three different drinks that share a name. In the UK, Ireland and Australia it’s simply coffee with milk. In Malaysia it’s Ipoh white coffee, made from beans roasted with margarine and served with condensed milk. In the United States it usually means white roast: beans taken out of the roaster at about 160 °C (325 °F), long before they turn brown. White roast is pale, very hard and tastes nutty and tea-like, nothing like regular coffee. It’s sold pre-ground and brewed mostly as espresso.
Updated October 2026: rewritten to cover all three drinks called white coffee. The caffeine and chlorogenic acid figures are now checked against published studies, and brewing tips we couldn’t verify have been removed.
- Roast: white roast ends at about 160 °C (325 °F). Regular roasts finish at 230–250 °C (450–480 °F).
- Taste: nutty, herbal and thin-bodied, with none of the caramel or chocolate notes of roasted coffee.
- Caffeine: about the same as regular coffee. Claims of 50% more aren’t backed by research.
- Grinding: buy it pre-ground. The beans are hard enough to damage home grinders.
- Brewing: espresso, moka pot or AeroPress. A drip machine makes it weak and watery.
Three drinks called white coffee
Which one you get depends on where you order it.
- Coffee with milk (UK, Ireland, Australia). Any black coffee, filter or espresso, with milk or cream added. Ask for a coffee “white” in London and this is what you’ll get. It isn’t the same as a flat white, which is a specific espresso drink with a thin layer of steamed milk.
- Ipoh white coffee (Malaysia). Beans roasted with palm-oil margarine, then brewed and sweetened with condensed milk. It comes from the city of Ipoh, and the “white” refers to the milky drink, not the bean. More on it below.
- White roast (United States). Coffee roasted at low heat and stopped very early. This is the drink most of this guide is about.
What is white roast coffee?
White roast is coffee pulled from the roaster at about 160 °C (325 °F), according to Sprudge and Tasting Table, before the beans reach first crack. First crack is the popping sound beans make at about 196 °C (385 °F), when moisture inside them turns to steam and splits them open. After that point the beans brown quickly and develop the caramel, chocolate and roasted flavors most people know as coffee. Regular roasts finish at about 230–250 °C (450–480 °F).
Stopped that early, the beans stay pale yellow-tan, dense and very hard. The brewed coffee is a light tan color, not white.
Sprudge traces the style to Yemen, where very lightly roasted beans are traditionally mixed with grains and spices and served with hawaij, a Yemeni spice blend. The coffee version of hawaij varies by region, but ginger and cardamom are common to most of them, and Sprudge also lists cinnamon, cloves, mace and nutmeg.
What does white coffee taste like?
Not like coffee. Sprudge describes white roast as having a “nutty, herbaceous flavor profile, absent the usual cozy, caramelized-sugar notes.” The body is thin, closer to tea than to a regular cup. Those missing caramel and chocolate notes are created by roasting, so a white roast can’t have them.
Opinions on it vary a lot. Matt Woodburn-Simmonds, a former barista who writes Home Coffee Expert, says he thinks it “tastes pretty awful on its own”. If you try it, start with a small amount before buying a full bag.
White coffee vs regular coffee
| White roast | Regular roast | |
|---|---|---|
| Roast ends at | About 160 °C (325 °F) | 230–250 °C (450–480 °F) |
| First crack | Never reached | Reached, then roasted past it |
| Bean | Pale yellow-tan, very hard | Brown, brittle |
| Taste | Nutty, herbal, grain-like | Caramel, chocolate, fruit, roast |
| Body | Thin, tea-like | Medium to heavy |
| Caffeine | About the same | About the same |
| Chlorogenic acid | Likely more | About half gone at 230 °C |
| Grinding | Buy pre-ground | Any burr grinder |
| Best brewed as | Espresso, moka pot, AeroPress | Any method |
If you like light, bright coffee but not white roast’s grassy edge, a regular light roast is the better middle ground. Our guide to light roast coffee has picks.
Does white coffee have more caffeine?
Not meaningfully. Some sellers advertise 50% more caffeine than regular coffee, but the research doesn’t support that. Caffeine is a stable molecule: Sprudge sums up the evidence as only about a 5% drop in caffeine from unroasted to dark-roasted beans.
A 2024 study in Scientific Reports by researchers at Berry College and Drexel University measured caffeine in brewed coffee across five roast levels. Caffeine only started to leave the beans once they passed about 204–216 °C (400–420 °F), well beyond where white roast stops. But the very lightest roasts also extracted less: the authors found that extremely light roasts inhibit extraction. Brewed the same way, every sample landed between 134 and 165 mg of caffeine per 8 oz (240 ml) cup.
So a white roast bean holds slightly more caffeine than a dark roast bean, but less of it is likely to end up in the cup. How much coffee you use matters far more than the roast. Our caffeine calculator shows how the amount changes with brew method and dose.
Is white coffee healthier?
That’s the main selling point, and it rests on chlorogenic acids, a family of antioxidant compounds found in green coffee. Roasting breaks them down. A 2009 study at the University of California, Davis (Moon, Yoo and Shibamoto) found that roasting at 230 °C (446 °F) for 12 minutes cut total chlorogenic acids by nearly half, and roasting at 250 °C (482 °F) for 21 minutes left almost none.
White roast stops far below those temperatures, so it’s likely to keep more of these compounds than regular coffee. We couldn’t find a study that measured white roast itself, or one showing that drinking it leads to better health. Treat health claims on the bag with caution, and ask your doctor if you’re drinking coffee for a health reason. See our health disclaimer.
Can you grind white coffee beans at home?
It’s best not to. White roast never goes through first crack, so the beans stay dense and tough. Sprudge quotes Lena Battegay of the grinder maker Mahlkönig, who describes the beans as “almost as hard as pebble stones” and warns that ceramic burrs are more likely to break on them. Sprudge also reports that the US coffee chain Dutch Bros switched to roller-style grinders for its white coffee.
That’s why almost all white coffee is sold pre-ground, usually to an espresso grind. Buy it that way. If you do have whole beans, check your grinder’s manual and warranty before you try. Our coffee grinder guide explains the difference between steel and ceramic burrs.
How to brew white coffee
Use a method with pressure or a long contact time. Because extremely light roasts extract poorly, the gentle flow of a drip machine leaves white coffee thin and watery. Home Coffee Expert recommends espresso, moka pot and AeroPress, and suggests these adjustments:
- Espresso: pre-infuse for about 6 seconds, stop the shot and wait 20 seconds so the dense grounds can soak, then pull the shot as usual. Start with the recipe in our espresso guide.
- Moka pot: use slightly lower heat than usual for a slower brew. Our moka pot guide has the full method.
- AeroPress: brew it inverted, so the coffee can steep longer before you press. See our AeroPress guide.
At Dutch Bros, roasting production supervisor Marshall Mcalpine told Sprudge his preferred way to drink it is as an Americano or as a shot poured over milk.
If you want to try it in milk, our breve guide shows how to make a richer milk drink with half-and-half.
Ipoh white coffee from Malaysia
Ipoh white coffee comes from the city of Ipoh in Perak, Malaysia. The beans are roasted with palm-oil margarine, then the coffee is brewed and served with sweetened condensed milk, which gives the drink its pale color and name. It’s sweet and creamy, the opposite of a white roast.
Where to buy white coffee
Several US roasters sell white roast, almost always pre-ground for espresso. These picks are researched, not tested: we chose them from the roasters’ own descriptions and haven’t brewed them for this guide. Take any “extra caffeine” claims on the labels with a grain of salt (see above).
Poverty Bay White Tornado White Coffee
According to Poverty Bay, this white roast coffee has 50 percent more caffeine than their other coffees. The reviews seem to support that, looking at comments about the jittery effect. The flavor is sweet with a nutty aftertaste.
Poverty Bay roasts their White Tornado coffee to only 325 degrees. They only offer it in an espresso grind. The company has been operating in the Pacific Northwest for over 30 years.
Lowery's Wired Willey’s White Coffee
This is another caffeine-packed option that brings a nutty flavor and low acidity. Brought to you by Lowery’s Premium Roast Gourmet Coffees, this lightly roasted coffee comes in espresso grind. It has earned high ratings for flavor and caffeine power.
Alaska Artisan Coffee White Coffee
Alaska Artisan Coffee, formerly known as Alaska Coffee Roastery, offers this organic coffee. They are a small, family company located in Alaska.
You’ll also find this fully caffeinated white roast coffee under the name Polar Bear Blend. As with most white roasts, the body and flavor are more like tea than your typical medium or dark roast coffee.
Bargreen's Espresso Classico White Coffee
This white roast coffee is 100 percent low-acid Arabica beans to bring you a smooth, nutty cup of coffee. Bargreen’s Coffee is a family-owned, independent roaster with over 120 years of combined experience. Like other similar coffees, the Classico White comes only in an espresso grind.
Caffe Appassionato Caffe Bianco
Caffe Bianco is a blend of 100 percent Arabica beans with an extremely light roast. You should note that this company grinds their beans a bit coarser than most other companies. It may be better suited for a French Press coffee maker.
They recommend that if you do use an espresso maker, you might want to discard the first pull then run water through the grounds a second time. This might be a cardinal sin to a barista, as that would create a horrible, bitter drink with a regular roast. But the white roast is anything but regular coffee.
This brand is not a newcomer to the white roast scene. They have been producing white roast coffee since their beginning in 1990.
White coffee FAQ
No. White roast has about the same caffeine as regular coffee, and very light roasts extract less in the cup. Claims of 50% more caffeine come from sellers, not studies. How much coffee you use makes a much bigger difference than the roast.
Not much. White roast tastes nutty, herbal and grain-like, with a thin, tea-like body. The caramel, chocolate and roasted flavors of regular coffee come from roasting past first crack, which white roast never reaches.
It likely keeps more chlorogenic acids, antioxidant compounds that roasting breaks down. No study has shown that drinking white roast improves health, so treat health claims with caution and ask your doctor if you have a medical reason for drinking coffee.
It’s not recommended. White roast beans are so dense that they can damage home grinders, and grinder maker Mahlkönig warns that ceramic burrs are more likely to break. Buy white coffee pre-ground.
No. A flat white is an espresso drink with a thin layer of steamed milk, made with regular roasted coffee. White coffee is either coffee with milk, Malaysian Ipoh white coffee, or US white roast, depending on where you are.
No. Light roast is roasted through first crack and finishes at roughly 200 °C (390 °F) or more, so it tastes like coffee, with bright and fruity notes. White roast stops at about 160 °C (325 °F), before first crack, and tastes nutty and grain-like.
Sources
- Liz Clayton, What Is White Coffee?, Sprudge (2023) (roast temperature, Yemen and hawaij, taste, caffeine, grinding; quotes from Mahlkönig and Dutch Bros).
- Lindsey Z. R. et al., Caffeine content in filter coffee brews as a function of degree of roast and extraction yield, Scientific Reports (2024).
- Moon J.-K., Yoo H. S. and Shibamoto T., Role of Roasting Conditions in the Level of Chlorogenic Acid Content in Coffee Beans: Correlation with Coffee Acidity, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2009).
- Tasting Table, What Is White Coffee And How Is It Made? (2023) (roast temperatures).
- Arne Preuss, What Is White Coffee?, Coffeeness (first crack temperature).
- Matt Woodburn-Simmonds, What is White Coffee?, Home Coffee Expert (brewing adjustments).
- Wikipedia, Ipoh white coffee, White coffee and Hawaij.
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