What’s the Difference Between a Flat White and Cortado?
One’s from Spain, one’s from Australia, but there’s more to the differences than provenance.
A cortado comes from Spain, It means ‘cut’ in Spanish. The milk isn’t texturized—the Spanish don’t texturize the milk like the Italians do.The milk is lightly steamed and little telltale froth or foam you’d see in a latte or cappucino.
“A flat white,” on the other hand, comes from Australia, It’s a drink that’s still relatively new in America. The Australians learned their coffee-making techniques from Italian immigrants. The flat white contains textured milk—unlike the smoother milk in a cortado. That textured steamed milk is also much hotter, leading to a hotter cup of coffee overall.
“The amount of espresso is the same in both drinks,” he said. “But the flat white is basically a small latte.” Flat whites tend to be hotter and thicker than the cortados and usually featured “latte art” on top.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 shots espresso
- 2 oz steamed milk
- 1/4 oz vanilla syrup (optional)
- 1/4 oz honey syrup (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Brew a double shot of espresso.
Steam the milk.
Add in the vanilla and honey syrups to the coffee and mix it up.
Add equal parts milk into the coffee/syrup mixture, leaving a thin layer of foam on top.
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¿Sabes realmente que es un cortado y cómo prepararlo?
El cortado, sin embargo, aunque es un clásico en Argentina y también un “café con leche”, no tiene muy claro su origen ni su preparación.
El término cortado se refiere a la forma en que la leche “corta” la intensidad del espresso, atenuando su acidez mientras mantiene el sabor del café. La manera tradicional de servirlo es con poca espuma y en una proporción de 1:1 de leche por cada shot de espresso. La leche no se texturiza mucho, solo hasta que se forma una espuma muy ligera antes de añadirla al espresso, y se presenta en un pequeño vaso. Por su aspecto, a menudo se confunde con un flat white australiano o neozelandés, un macchiato o un piccolo latte.