What Is a Cortadito Coffee and How Do You Make It?

What Is a Cortadito Coffee and How Do You Make It?

Sean Gregory
3 minute read

While the cafe Cubano, also known as Cortadito, has become a popular cafe menu item, the Cortadito has yet to make its mark. This black, powerful coffee with milk and sugar is a Cuban staple. It may become one of yours as well! While many people like to get theirs from a coffee shop, you can make this drink at home as well.

So, what constitutes a decent cortadito coffee? Let’s take a look.

What Exactly Is A Cortadito Coffee?

Perhaps the simplest way to describe this Cuban specialty is to explain how it varies from other coffees of the same type. If you're familiar with a cortado, the cortadito is its Cuban relative.

Two espresso shots are topped with an equal amount of steamed milk in the Spanish cortado. A 1:1 coffee-to-milk ratio is also used in the cortadito. It does, however, use presweetened espresso or occasionally sweetened condensed milk. However, it is not the only coffee that is unique to Cuba.

How to Make a Cortadito

Cortadito is a type of Cuban espresso with steamed whole milk on top. It's normally brewed in a single serving, is quite sweet, and has nearly twice the potency of a typical American coffee.

We understand that ingesting that much caffeine on an empty stomach could make you nervous. After all, café Cubano is comparable to premium gasoline, but that's where the steamed milk comes into play. Caffeine is less harsh on the stomach when mixed with milk. As a result, a cortadito is an excellent method to get a cup of coffee before eating. Many people enjoy it in place of having breakfast.

We know that the nearest ventanita could potentially be hundreds of miles away. That's why we'd like to show you how to produce the ideal cortadito at home. That's right. You can make this fantastic Cuban drink in your own kitchen. Let's take a look.

People in this culture make time to spend time with the people they care about, frequently over a cup of coffee. Coffee is an important staple in Cuban and is enjoyed among friends and family. Because of this, many times, they make Cortadito at home. 

Steps to Make Cortadito

Start by adding water to your Moka pot and ground coffee to the filter. Assemble the pot back together and place it over medium heat. During this time, warm your 1-2 oz of evaporated milk on the stove or microwave.

Add 4 teaspoons of white sugar and add it to about 1 oz of the espresso before it finishes brewing in a small separate container. In this container, you will whisk the espresso and sugar together, which will create a brown foam. Once the espresso is done, add it to a cup and then pour in the milk, with equal amounts of each. Top with the sugar mixture called espuma and enjoy.

We like the Cortadito since it is versatile and simple to make at home. You don't need any special equipment, not even a milk frother. The nicest part is that the evaporated milk may be heated in a small pot.

Check out our collection of Cuban and Mexican inspired coffees.

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