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Craving a cafe-style coffee drink at home? Try this simple recipe for Cortado Coffee! Equal parts espresso and frothed milk, it’s easy enough for a beginning barista, and it will satisfy even the pickiest coffee expert.
If you’ve never tried a cortado coffee, you may just find that it’s your new favorite coffee drink. Like a latte or flat white, this simple drink is all about frothy milk and hot espresso. However, it’s not as big as a latte – it’s only 4 ounces total.
Originally from Spain, cortados are also popular in Portugal and throughout Latin America, and once you try one, you’ll see why! Cortado is the Spanish word for “cut” and perfectly captures how the richness of frothed milk cuts the sharpness of espresso, making a perfectly balanced drink.
What Is Cortado
A cortado is a type of coffee drink that originated in Spain. It consists of equal parts espresso and steamed milk. The milk in a cortado is usually steamed, which helps to reduce the acidity and intensity of the espresso.
Is a Cortado the Same as a Flat White?
A cortado is different than a flat white, although they both use basically the same ingredients. Cortados are made with equal parts espresso and milk, while a flat white has more milk than espresso.
What Is in a Cortado Coffee
- Espresso: To make the espresso, you’ll either need enough espresso-ground coffee to make two shots, OR you’ll need 2 two tablespoons of instant espresso.
- Water: To make the espresso.
- Milk: Whole milk froths the best, but you can substitute dairy-free milk such as oat milk if you prefer. Keep in mind that low fat milk substitutes are trickier to froth.
How To Make a Cortado Recipe
One thing that makes this cortado coffee recipe so easy is that you have options. There are two easy ways to do this at home: making “real” espresso, or making espresso with instant espresso powder. Here’s how to do it, step by step.
Using Espresso Powder
- Make the Espresso. First, put about one tablespoon of espresso powder into each glass mug. Then add two ounces of very hot water to each mug, and stir well to dissolve the powder.
- Top with Frothed Milk. Froth the milk using any method you choose (more on that in the Tips section!). Once it’s done, divide it between the two cups.
- Enjoy! Serve your cortados immediately.
Using an Espresso Machine (or Pot)
- Make the Espresso. Follow your espresso machine or pot’s guidelines to make four shots of espresso (that’s four ounces, total). Pour two shots into each glass.
- Froth the Milk. Make the frothed milk however you choose (see the Tips section for ideas) and pour it evenly over the espresso in each cup.
- Enjoy! Serve right away.
Recipe Tips And Variations
- Cinnamon Cortado: The perfect finishing touch is a sprinkle of ground cinnamon in a cortado recipe!
- Iced Cortado: Make the espresso and frothed milk, but pour both into a rocks glass or similar, over ice.
- Flavored Cortado: Add a small amount of liqueur or syrup (think hazelnut, vanilla, caramel, etc) to your taste, just as you would in a Mexican coffee.
- Cortado Condensada: This rich little variation uses a small amount of sweetened condensed milk along with whole milk, for a sweeter and creamier variation.
- Frothed Milk Hacks: While you can use a real milk frother, if you don’t have one, you can also froth milk using a stick blender, a regular blender, a French press, or even by shaking it in a jar! Just heat your milk so that it’s very hot but not boiling, and then carefully blend it, pump it, or shake it. Make sure to use a large enough container, oven mitts or heatproof gloves if you’re handling anything hot, and be very careful to avoid spattering the milk – hot liquids can cause severe burns.
Can You Store Leftovers?
I don’t recommend storing leftover cortado because the milk will not stay as frothy when refrigerated (and especially when reheated). Espresso does not store well for longer than a few hours and should not be reheated. All in all, it’s best to enjoy this drink freshly made.
Coffee Drinks To Try
- Starbucks London Fog Drink
- Irish Coffee
- Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce Latte
- Easy Whipped Coffee Recipe (Dalgona Coffee)
- Pumpkin Spice Latte
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Cortado Coffee
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder, or use enough espresso-ground coffee to make four espresso shots*
- 4 ounces water, heated if using instant espresso
- 4 ounces milk
Instructions
If Using Instant Espresso
- Divide the espresso powder between two cortado glass mugs.
- Pour in the hot water; about 2 ounces in each mug, and stir to combine.
- Froth the milk with a frother.
- Top the espresso with the steamed (frothed) milk.
- Serve immediately.
If Using an Espresso Maker
- Follow your espresso maker's guidelines to make four shots of espresso.
- Divide the espresso evenly between two glass cortado mugs.
- Froth the milk.
- Top each mug with frothed milk.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
