Cortado Recipe
Follow this recipe to craft your Cortado coffee at home.
Equipment
- Espresso Machine Optional (Moka pot, Aeropress or other brewers)
- Milk frother If you don't have an espresso machine with steam wand
- Four-ounce metal or glass cup Gibraltar glass
Ingredients
- 2 ounces espresso
- 2 ounces lightly foamed milk
Instructions
- Grind, measure, and tamp enough espresso beans to make two ounces—or two shots—of espresso. For a double shot, we use 18 grams of coffee beans and pull 36 grams of espresso.
- Extract two shots of espresso and pour them into the four-ounce small glass.
- Steam milk with the steam wand, aiming for a thin layer of foam. Whole milk gives the best flavor, but you can use alternative milk such as almond, oat, coconut, or other types of nut milk as well.
- Pour equal parts milk over the espresso very slowly. This approach gives the milk time to mix with the espresso without you needing to stir. It's trickier to pull latte art with less milk in a smaller glass compared to other espresso-based drinks.
Notes
Espresso is key to the cortado’s taste, so having an espresso machine is crucial. If you don’t have one, you can use an alternative, like a French press or Moka pot.
Always make sure to use equal parts espresso and milk. Adhering to this recipe gives you the strongest cortado flavor that you’re sure to love.
While a cortado is a basic coffee drink, you can add flavors to it if you’d like sweetened coffee. Never mess with the milk and espresso ratio when you’re adding syrup, though. Keep those as one to one, and mix in additional flavors to suit your tastes.
The espresso flavor is dominant so always use freshly roasted coffee for the best flavor.
Using different types of milk can elevate your cortado. Substitute whole milk for frothed condensed milk in the same ratio to make a cortado condensada. Add cream on top of your condensed milk cortado to transform it into a Leche y leche.
Nutrition
Serving: 4ozCalories: 34kcal
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