I’m not much of a coffee drinker. (Heresy!) When I do indulge, it’s always decaf (stop crying already!) and if I can find it, I like a good soy latte.
[On a side note, I’ve found that neither almond nor coconut milk make good lattes. I can’t figure out why – I’m sure there’s science behind it, somewhere – but I don’t like lattes with almond or coconut milk. I don’t drink it very often, but soy is the way to go here.]
In Queenstown, I rarely have trouble finding decaf or soy. I could drink a flat white like most of the locals, but I prefer a latte. I’ll let you decide what the difference really is and whether it matters… In the meantime, I think my favorite coffee shop in town is Halo.
I stopped in there with one of my flatmates the other day, as an afternoon break. They regularly have GF options on the menu board out front, but I haven’t eaten here yet – I’ve probably gotten takeaway coffee at least half a dozen times, though. The food looks pretty good here. I ran into what looked like a “new moms” club meeting one morning, and the food on the table looked outstanding. It’s on my list to come back to, so I’ll fill you in on the goodies when I do!
If you are not a big coffee drinker, preferring a latte over a flat white makes sense. The latter has a greater ratio of espresso to milk.
Not sure about the almond/coconut milk question. For some reason, I remember Mark Bittman writing an article about his experimenting with milk substitutes for those who are vegan. It was a few years ago; I’ll try to search for it later.