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Of all the espresso drinks with milk, the cortado is one of the easiest to get right at home, because the hardest part of milk drinks, the foam, barely matters. If your machine can pull a decent double shot and warm a small jug of milk, you can make one as good as a café’s.
What You Need
- An espresso machine with a steam wand, or a separate milk heater that can warm milk without whipping it
- Freshly roasted beans; medium to dark roasts give a rounder cup with milk (see espresso beans for milk drinks)
- Whole milk, or a barista-style oat milk such as Oatly Barista Edition
- A small glass that holds about 4.5 ounces (130 ml), like the Libbey Gibraltar (more in our cortado glasses guide)
The Recipe
Pull a double shot straight into the glass. A common starting point is 18 grams of ground coffee in and about 36 grams of liquid out, in 25 to 30 seconds. If the shot tastes sour, grind a little finer. If it tastes harsh and bitter, go a little coarser. Some cafés use a ristretto for this drink, a shorter pull with less water that gives a sweeter, denser base; try it once you’re happy with your regular shot.
Then steam the milk, or steam it while the shot runs if your machine can do both at once. Steaming only 60 ml is fiddly, so fill a small jug with about 100 ml of cold milk and pour off what you need. Hold the steam wand tip just under the surface for a second or two, long enough for a short hiss, then sink it deeper and let the milk spin until the jug is hot to the touch but you can still hold it: around 55 to 60°C (130 to 140°F). You want warm, silky milk with very little foam. Use a milk thermometer for the first few tries. After that your hand will know.
Tap the jug on the counter, give it a swirl, and pour into the espresso. Stop when the milk roughly matches the coffee. Keep going and you’re making a latte. There’s no need for latte art; a thin pale layer on top means you got the texture right.
Two Common Mistakes
Too much foam turns a cortado into a small cappuccino. If a thick layer sits on top, you let air in for too long, so shorten that first hiss next time.
Milk that’s too hot is the other. Much past 65°C, milk loses its sweetness and starts to taste flat, and in a drink this small there’s nowhere for that to hide.
No Machine? Plant Milk?
A stovetop moka pot, like the Bialetti Moka Express, gets you close (see our Moka Express guide). It doesn’t make true espresso, but its strong, concentrated coffee cut with the same amount of hot milk makes a good cortado, and it’s how a lot of people in Spain and Cuba drink coffee at home anyway. Warm the milk in a small pan and whisk it briefly, or give it a few seconds with a handheld frother.
Oat milk is the easiest plant milk to work with. Barista versions are made to steam well, and their slight sweetness suits the small milk dose. Almond and soy work too, but keep an eye on the heat: both can split when they hit hot, acidic espresso.
Make it twice and the ratio will be in your hands. After that it’s a two-minute drink.