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Cortado vs flat white: what's the difference?

A cortado is a double shot cut with about the same amount of warm milk and almost no foam, around 120 ml in all. A flat white has roughly twice as much milk to the coffee and a thin layer of silky foam.

The differences

A cortado

Cortado

Spanish for "cut": a double shot cut with about the same amount of warm milk and almost no foam.

How the café in Cuppology builds it

  1. Start with a hot cup.
  2. Pour in the doppio: 58 ml.
  3. Pour in the steamed milk: 58 ml.

What the café accepts as a cortado

  • Shot: espresso or ristretto
  • Coffee 30–90 ml
  • Milk 35–80 ml
  • Milk per coffee 0.5–2.2×
  • Foam under 8 mm
  • Milk 40–75 °C
A flat white

Flat white

Less milk and a thinner layer of foam than a latte. Many Melbourne cafés use a double ristretto; here that makes a magic.

How the café in Cuppology builds it

  1. Start with a hot cup.
  2. Pour in the espresso: 30 ml.
  3. Pour in the silky microfoam: 110 ml.

What the café accepts as a flat white

  • Shot: ristretto or espresso or lungo
  • Coffee 18–90 ml
  • Milk 80–170 ml
  • Foam under 16 mm
  • Milk 40–75 °C

Which should you order?

Pick a cortado for a short, strong coffee with just its edge taken off. Pick a flat white for something a little longer and creamier.

Make both in Cuppology →

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