Cortado: What It Is and How to Make One at Home

A cortado is a small espresso drink “cut” with a roughly equal amount of warm, lightly steamed milk. The name comes from the Spanish verb cortar, to cut, because the milk cuts the intensity and acidity of the espresso without burying it. The result is a short, smooth, coffee-forward drink of about 4 fl oz (120 ml), with little or no foam on top.

If you have been wondering what is a cortado and how it differs from the other small drinks on a café menu, this guide covers its Spanish roots, the ratio, the glass, the cortado’s cousins around the world and a step-by-step recipe you can make at home in five minutes.

In this article

1. Cortado recipe card
2. Where the cortado comes from
3. The ratio, the milk and the glass
4. How a cortado compares to a flat white and a macchiato
5. How to make a cortado at home
6. Variations to try
7. The best beans for a cortado
8. FAQ

Cortado recipe card

Time: 5 minutes. Makes 1 drink.

Where the cortado comes from

The cortado is a Spanish café staple, ordered at the bar all over Spain, usually in a small glass or cup and often with a packet of sugar on the side. In Spain it sits between the café solo, a plain espresso, and the much milkier café con leche. Other languages of Spain have their own words for the same idea of cutting coffee with milk: tallat in Catalan and Valencian, and ebaki in Basque.

No one person or café is credited with inventing it, and you should be wary of any article that names one. It grew up as an everyday way of ordering espresso with a little milk, the same instinct behind similar drinks all over the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world.

The cortado’s cousins

The ratio, the milk and the glass

Ratio: about 1:1

The heart of a cortado is balance: roughly equal parts espresso and milk. Exact proportions vary from café to café and country to country. In Spain a cortado is often simply an espresso with a small amount of milk, while specialty cafés in the US and UK usually serve a double shot with an equal volume of milk. Think of 1:1 as the target and adjust from there.

Milk: warm and silky, not foamy

Unlike many Italian milk drinks, the milk in a cortado is steamed with very little air. You want it warm, smooth and pourable, with at most a thin layer of microfoam. A thick foam cap would turn it into a different drink.

The Gibraltar glass

In the United States, the cortado is closely tied to a specific glass. San Francisco roasters, starting with Blue Bottle Coffee and later Ritual Coffee Roasters, served their cortado-style drink in a Libbey Gibraltar tumbler of about 4.5 fl oz (135 ml), and the drink took the glass’s name. A typical Gibraltar holds a double espresso of about 2 fl oz (60 ml) topped with roughly 2.5 fl oz (75 ml) of steamed milk. If a café lists a Gibraltar, you are essentially ordering a cortado.

At home, any small, heatproof glass or cup of 4–5 fl oz (120–150 ml) works. A glass lets you see the color, which is part of the pleasure.

How a cortado compares to a flat white and a macchiato

Two quick comparisons answer most questions at the counter:

• Cortado vs flat white: a flat white is larger, with more milk and a silky microfoam layer, while a cortado is smaller and closer to equal parts espresso and milk with little foam.
• Cortado vs macchiato: an espresso macchiato is an espresso marked with just a teaspoon or two of milk or foam, so it tastes stronger than a cortado, which uses far more milk.

How to make a cortado at home

With an espresso machine

1. Warm your glass. Rinse a 4–5 fl oz (120–150 ml) glass or cup with hot water so the drink does not cool too fast.
2. Pull a double shot. Dose 14–18 g of finely ground coffee and pull about 2 fl oz (60 ml) of espresso directly into the glass. Need a refresher on dialing in? Read our guide on how to make espresso at home.
3. Steam a little milk. Pour about 3 fl oz (90 ml) of cold whole milk into a small pitcher. Steaming with too little milk is hard to control, and you will only use part of it. Keep the steam tip just below the surface for 1–2 seconds only, then submerge it slightly to heat the milk without adding more air.
4. Stop at 130–140°F (55–60°C). A cortado is meant to be drunk quickly, so warm milk works better than very hot milk. Tap and swirl the pitcher until the milk is glossy.
5. Pour about 2 fl oz (60 ml) of milk into the espresso, low and steady, so it blends in rather than sitting on top. Stop when the glass holds roughly equal parts coffee and milk.
6. Serve right away, with sugar on the side if you like it the Spanish way.

Without an espresso machine

A true cortado needs espresso, but you can make a satisfying version with a moka pot. Brew about 2 fl oz (60 ml) of moka coffee using the Espresso grind. Heat 2 fl oz (60 ml) of milk in a small saucepan or the microwave until steaming, about 130–140°F (55–60°C), and whisk it briefly with a handheld frother or a small whisk just to give it a silky texture, not a foam. Pour it into the coffee and serve.

Tips for a better cortado

• Use a bold, chocolatey espresso. With only an equal amount of milk, every flaw in the shot shows, but so does every good note.
• Whole milk gives the best balance. Its fat and natural sugars round off espresso’s edges.
• Do not overheat the milk. Scorched milk tastes flat and slightly cooked.
• Weigh your shot. A kitchen scale makes the 1:1 ratio easy to repeat.

Variations to try

• Cortadito, Cuban style: pull a single shot and stir in about 1 fl oz (30 ml) of warm sweetened condensed milk, or sweeten the espresso with sugar before adding milk. It is sweet, rich and very strong in flavor.
• Oat milk cortado: barista-style oat milk steams well and keeps the drink dairy-free. Heat it gently, since plant milks scorch more easily.
• Iced cortado: pour a double shot over a few ice cubes in a small glass, stir, then add an equal amount of cold milk.
• Single-shot cortado: for a gentler drink with less caffeine, use one shot of about 1 fl oz (30 ml) and the same amount of milk in a smaller cup.

The best beans for a cortado

Because milk and coffee share the glass almost equally, a cortado rewards an espresso with body and sweetness. Our African Espresso combines coffees from Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia in a medium-dark roast with red fruit, chocolate and a lively finish, so it stays bright through the milk. If you like a deeper, more Spanish-style cup, our Italian Roast is our darkest roast, a blend of specialty grade Arabica and Robusta with smoky, intense dark chocolate notes and a thick crema. Both are roasted 1–5 days before delivery; order the Espresso grind for a machine or moka pot, or Whole Bean to grind fresh.

Cortado FAQ

Is a cortado stronger than a latte?

It tastes stronger, because there is far less milk. A cortado is roughly half espresso, while a latte can be three or more parts milk to one part espresso. If both use a double shot, the caffeine is about the same.

How much caffeine is in a cortado?

It depends on the shots. The Mayo Clinic lists about 63 mg of caffeine in a 1 oz (30 ml) espresso, so a single-shot cortado has roughly 63 mg and a double-shot cortado roughly 126 mg.

What is the difference between a cortado and a Gibraltar?

Very little. Gibraltar is a San Francisco name for a cortado-style drink served in a 4.5 fl oz (135 ml) Libbey Gibraltar glass, typically a double espresso with a little more steamed milk than espresso.

Is a cortado sweet?

Not by itself. The warm milk adds natural sweetness and softens bitterness, but there is no sugar unless you add it. In Spain, sugar is usually served on the side, and the Cuban cortadito is sweetened with condensed milk.

Sources

1. Cortado, Wikipedia: definition, etymology, regional variants and the Gibraltar.
2. Cortado, Wikipedia in Spanish: Spanish serving customs and regional names.
3. Caffè macchiato, Wikipedia.
4. Flat white, Wikipedia.
5. Caffeine content for coffee, tea, soda and more, Mayo Clinic.

Facts checked in October 2026.

Keep reading: How to Make the Perfect Espresso at Home · Whole Bean vs Ground Coffee · Shop our coffee blends