As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Most espresso machines come with a milk pitcher, and it's usually the wrong one for a cortado. It's often a 20 oz jug, built for lattes. A cortado needs about 60 ml of milk. Pour that into a big pitcher and it barely covers the bottom. The steam wand tip can't stay under the surface, and you get loud, bubbly, dry foam … [Read more...] about Milk Pitcher Size for a Cortado: A 12 oz Jug Beats a 20 oz One for Small Drinks
Cortado
Gibraltar Coffee: San Francisco’s Cortado, Named After a 4.5-Ounce Glass
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. A Gibraltar is a double shot of espresso topped with warm, lightly steamed milk and served in one particular glass: the Libbey Gibraltar, a small, heavy-bottomed rocks tumbler that holds 4.5 ounces, about 130 ml. The name comes from the glass. Serve the same drink in a ceramic cup and most baristas would call it a … [Read more...] about Gibraltar Coffee: San Francisco’s Cortado, Named After a 4.5-Ounce Glass
Buenos Aires Cortado: Argentina’s Most Ordered Coffee and the Lágrima That Reverses It
In Buenos Aires the cortado is the default coffee. It's the most common order in Argentine cafés, the one you'll hear from the next table again and again, and it comes as a small cup of espresso cut with steamed milk and often a little foam. How much milk depends on the café. Some pour a splash, others nearly as much milk as coffee. How to Order One Start with size. A plain … [Read more...] about Buenos Aires Cortado: Argentina’s Most Ordered Coffee and the Lágrima That Reverses It
Bialetti Brikka: The Moka Pot With a Pressure Valve Makes a Stronger, Foamier Cup for Milk
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The classic Moka Express lets coffee trickle up into the top chamber as soon as there's enough steam pressure to push it. The Brikka holds it back. A valve on top of the column stays shut until the pressure builds, then the coffee comes out in one quick, foamy rush. The result is shorter, stronger and topped with a … [Read more...] about Bialetti Brikka: The Moka Pot With a Pressure Valve Makes a Stronger, Foamier Cup for Milk
Latte Art Explained: What a Heart or a Rosetta Says About the Milk
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The heart on top of a flat white is decoration, and it's also a report on the milk. To pour one, a barista needs milk steamed into microfoam, a fine, glossy texture that flows like wet paint. Get the milk wrong and there's no heart, however steady the hand that pours it. So when your cup arrives with a crisp white shape … [Read more...] about Latte Art Explained: What a Heart or a Rosetta Says About the Milk
Cortado Glasses: The 4.5 oz Libbey Gibraltar, the 130 ml Duralex Picardie and Their Rivals
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. A cortado is a double shot and about the same amount of warm milk. That comes to 4 to 4.5 oz, roughly 120 to 135 ml. Put it in a mug and it disappears at the bottom and goes cold. Put it in an espresso cup and it overflows. The drink has its own size, and a few glasses have become its standard. Libbey Gibraltar, 4.5 … [Read more...] about Cortado Glasses: The 4.5 oz Libbey Gibraltar, the 130 ml Duralex Picardie and Their Rivals
Cortado vs Flat White: The Flat White Carries About Twice the Milk
Set a cortado next to a flat white and the family resemblance is obvious. Both start with a double shot, and neither wears the tall hat of foam you get on a cappuccino. The difference is mostly volume, with texture a close second. How Much Milk A cortado runs about 4 to 4.5 ounces in total, roughly 120 to 130 ml: a double shot and about as much milk again. A flat … [Read more...] about Cortado vs Flat White: The Flat White Carries About Twice the Milk
Cortado vs Macchiato: A Dab of Foam Against an Equal Measure of Milk
The two get mixed up because both are small espresso drinks with a little milk, and cafés don't always agree on what either word means. The short version: a macchiato is espresso with a spoonful of foam, and a cortado is espresso with about as much warm milk as coffee. One is marked. The other is cut. What Macchiato Means Macchiato is Italian for stained or marked. A … [Read more...] about Cortado vs Macchiato: A Dab of Foam Against an Equal Measure of Milk
Barista Oat Milk: Added Oil and a Phosphate Buffer Are Why Barista Editions Steam Without Splitting
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Steam a carton of ordinary oat milk and you'll probably get thin, bubbly foam that collapses in a minute. Pour it into hot espresso and it may split into flecks. Barista editions exist to fix both problems, and the fix is on the ingredients list. What's Different in a Barista Edition Two things, mostly. Added oil, … [Read more...] about Barista Oat Milk: Added Oil and a Phosphate Buffer Are Why Barista Editions Steam Without Splitting
What to Eat With a Cortado: Pairings From Pastel de Nata to Palmeras
A cortado is gone in a few sips. It's strong enough that you taste the coffee and soft enough, with its splash of warm milk, to drink without wincing, and that makes it good with food. Most of the places where people drink one have a pastry they reach for at the same moment. There's some logic to the pairings. Butter and milk soften coffee's bitterness, which is why a flaky, … [Read more...] about What to Eat With a Cortado: Pairings From Pastel de Nata to Palmeras