Not much is known about the cortado’s origins, apart from the fact that it comes from Spain’s Basque Country. The term cortado, or cut, refers to the milk cutting through the intensity of the espresso, toning down its acidity while retaining the coffee’s flavour.
Traditionally it’s served with little froth and a 1:1 milk to espresso ratio. The milk is steamed until a very light foam is created before being added to the espresso, and is served in a small glass with a metal ring base and a metal wire handle. Based on its appearance, it’s often confused with an Australian/New Zealand flat white, macchiato, or piccolo latte.
Nino Tusell is the Owner of Tusell Tostadores, a roastery in Barcelona, Spain. He says, “In Spain, a cortado is one shot of espresso plus a little milk. [It] could be a ratio of 1:1 or 1:0.5, [with] less milk than coffee most of the time.” Visit Spain and you’re likely to be presented with this traditional form and ratio. However, venture further abroad, and you’ll encounter other versions of the drink.
THE CORTADO AROUND THE WORLD
A Specialty Coffee Association article on milk-based drinks admits that “While the idea of standardisation is attractive – we all want a standard to work from – it’s important to understand that [drinks] are a product of culture.” For the cortado, this is especially applicable.
Often, its ingredients depend on what the customer requests. Camilo Cárdenas is a barista at Brew92, a café and roastery in Saudi Arabia. He says, “Traditionally [the cortado] was just black coffee and a small dash of milk, hot or cold. Then, when people asked for it in coffee shops, it got adapted as an espresso with a small quantity of steamed milk. In my workplace, we serve it with a double shot and steamed milk. [It’s] a bit smaller than a flat white”.
Adrian Valentine Yong is a roaster at Malaysia’s Mountain Coffee Roasters and says, “I’ve met a few people who order cortados, and each of them interprets it differently… It’s how we make an espresso macchiato (double espresso with a dash of milk). Another type… would be similar to a flat white (double espresso and warm milk). I’ve also experienced people who request half-and-half (equal parts heavy cream and milk) with a double espresso, [and] some ask for ristretto shots.”
For others, it’s all about the ratio. Paula Chaverri Echandi, the owner of Café Sikëwa in Costa Rica, says “[The] cortado as I know it is one espresso plus one ounce of hot milk.” Bruno Danese is the owner of Japan’s Hoccino Coffees, and says it’s “1:1 espresso and steamed milk… a cortado can be as small as three ounces or as big as 16 ounces, as long the coffee to milk ratio remains the same.”
Other baristas and coffee professionals have different ideas. Frederik Westborg Schiøtz, an Educator at True Intent Coffee in Denmark, says it’s a “Double-shot [with a] minimal amount of foam, preferably with no latte art.” Lanz Castillo, owner of Candid Coffee in the Philippines, says it’s a one-ounce double ristretto with two and a half ounces of steamed milk, while Melaleuca Head Barista Johnsy La Jessica Sartiani says that in Italy, it’s called a macchiatone and consists of a single espresso shot with milk, served in a 50 ml cup.
CORTADO VARIATIONS
As the cortado spread from Spain to cafés around the world, its recipe evolved to meet the needs of local consumers. A significant change it underwent occurred when it reached the USA. Here, serving sizes for coffee beverages have steadily crept up over the past half-century, and it’s not uncommon to find 20-ounce beverages on offer at US coffee shops.
A famous variation of the cortado is the Gibraltar, which Time Out USA says was invented by the Blue Bottle Coffee Company in San Francisco in 2005. This variation is served in a four and a half ounce Libbey Gibraltar glass tumbler, and features two shots of espresso and two shots of steamed milk. For this reason, many third-wave coffee shops find the Cortado synonymous with this glass.
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