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Piccolo vs cortado: what's the difference?

Both are small milk coffees in a little glass. A piccolo is a single ristretto topped with silky, slightly foamed milk, like a baby latte. A cortado is a double shot cut with an equal amount of warm milk and almost no foam, so it is stronger.

The differences

A piccolo

Piccolo

A single ristretto topped with silky milk in a small glass. Think of it as a baby latte.

How the café in Cuppology builds it

  1. Start with a hot cup.
  2. Pour in the ristretto: 20 ml.
  3. Pour in the silky microfoam: 70 ml.

What the café accepts as a piccolo

  • Shot: ristretto
  • Coffee 10–30 ml
  • Milk 35–100 ml
  • Foam under 10 mm
  • Milk 40–75 °C
  • In the cup under 130 ml
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

Which should you order?

Pick a piccolo for a small, sweet, gentle coffee. Pick a cortado for a small, strong one.

Make both in Cuppology →

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