# Cortado

Source: https://dailyextraction.com/drinks/cortado/
Last updated: 2026-10-21

> A cortado is a small Spanish espresso drink: equal parts espresso and warm milk, about 4 oz in all, with the milk steamed only to temperature, without much foam. The name comes from cortar, "to cut", because the milk cuts the espresso's sharpness. In the US it's also called a Gibraltar.

## At a glance

- Chapter: Espresso drinks
- Served: Hot
- Brewing method: https://dailyextraction.com/methods/espresso/
- Origin: Spain
- Glass: Small glass, about 4 oz (the Gibraltar is 4½ oz) (120 ml)
- Also known as: café cortado, Gibraltar

## Ingredients

- 1 double shot (about 2 oz / 60 ml) espresso
- about 2 oz (60 ml) milk, steamed just to temperature

## Steps

1. **Make the espresso**: Brew a double shot of espresso, about 2 oz (60 ml), into a small glass or cup that holds about 4 oz.
2. **Warm the milk**: Steam about the same amount of milk only until it's hot, without stretching it into a thick foam.
3. **Combine**: Pour the milk into the espresso, equal parts of each.
4. **Serve**: Serve straight away. A small latte-art design is fine; a tall head of foam isn't.

A **cortado** is one of the simplest coffee drinks there is: [espresso](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/espresso/) and warm milk in **equal parts**, about **4 oz** (120 ml) in all, with the milk steamed just to temperature rather than whipped into foam. The name is Spanish, from *cortar*, "to cut", because the milk cuts the edge off the espresso. It began as a working person's coffee in Spain and is now on specialty menus everywhere, sometimes under other names. Here's how to make one, and how it differs from its cousins.

## The short version

- **Equal parts** espresso and milk, usually a double shot and about 2 oz of milk.
- **About 4 oz** in all; there's no large size.
- **Milk steamed to temperature**, with no thick foam.
- **From Spain**; the name means "cut".
- **Called a Gibraltar** in parts of the US, after the glass.



## What's in a cortado?

Barista Magazine's description:

| Part | A cortado |
| --- | --- |
| Espresso | A double shot, about 2 oz (60 ml) |
| Milk | The same amount, about 2 oz |
| Milk texture | Steamed only until hot, not stretched into foam |
| Size | About 4 oz (120 ml), always |
| Ratio | 1 to 1 |

That equal-parts version is how specialty cafés make it. **In Spain itself**, guides describe less milk: Devour Tours calls a café cortado "a small cup of espresso with just a splash of milk", and Escuela Hablamos says it's like a [café con leche](https://dailyextraction.com/drinks/cafe-con-leche/) "but with far less milk", an espresso with just a dash.

| Where | How much milk | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Specialty cafés | Equal parts espresso and milk, about 4 oz | Barista Magazine |
| Spanish bars | Espresso with just a splash or dash of milk | Devour Tours; Escuela Hablamos |

The milk is there for **balance**, not texture. Barista Magazine says it softens espresso's natural acidity and bitterness, and its lactose adds a little sweetness without any sugar, so the coffee's own flavours still come through. Coffee professional **Aaron Duckworth** told the magazine that the "aromatic fruit bomb of an Ethiopian espresso will still be there", only slightly sweetened.

## How do you make a cortado at home?

1. **Pull a double espresso** into a small glass or cup. See our [espresso guide](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/espresso/).
2. **Steam the same amount of milk** just until it's hot. Don't let in much air: there isn't room for a head of foam in a 4 oz glass, Barista Magazine points out.
3. **Pour it in**, equal parts, and drink it while it's hot.

Don't scale it up. "A double shot of espresso is roughly 2 ounces, so an equal amount of milk puts you at 4 ounces," barista **Ruben Pablo** told Barista Magazine. Make it bigger by adding milk, and it's no longer a cortado.

## Where does the cortado come from?

**Spain**, but Barista Magazine's two writers tell it slightly differently:

| Question | One account | Another account |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Where in Spain | Spain in general (Gemma Boothroyd) | The **Basque** region (Eddie P. Gomez) |
| When | Early 20th century, popular with workers on short breaks (Boothroyd) | Not dated (Gomez) |
| How it spread | To Portugal, then to Latin America during colonisation (Boothroyd) | Across the Iberian Peninsula, from Galicia to Portugal, then Latin America (Gomez) |

Boothroyd notes that the Spanish drink much more milk than Italians and happily drink milky coffee after 11am, and that the cortado was originally meant to be drunk sitting down. By the end of the 20th century, Gomez writes, cortados were being served around the world.

## What's a Gibraltar?

A cortado by another name. In 2010, Barista Magazine recounts, the *New York Times Magazine* traced the American version to **Steve Ford** of Blue Bottle Coffee in San Francisco, who made a cortado-like drink and named it after the glass it was served in: the **4½-ounce Gibraltar**, made by Libbey. It reached New York when Ford worked a few shifts at Cafe Grumpy.

The cortado has other relatives too. Barista Magazine names the **piccolo** in Australia, the **cortadito** in Cuba (with sweetened espresso) and the **noisette** in France as cortado-like drinks.

## Cortado vs other espresso drinks

- **[Espresso macchiato](https://dailyextraction.com/drinks/espresso-macchiato/):** espresso with only a little milk.
- **[Flat white](https://dailyextraction.com/drinks/flat-white/):** about twice as much milk as coffee, with silky microfoam.
- **[Cappuccino](https://dailyextraction.com/drinks/cappuccino/):** a single shot under a thick cap of foam.
- **[Café cubano](https://dailyextraction.com/drinks/cafe-cubano/):** Cuba's sweet, foamy coffee.

Explore every drink in the [espresso drinks chapter](https://dailyextraction.com/drinks/espresso-drinks/).

## Words used in this guide

- [Acidity](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/acidity/): Acidity in coffee is the bright, lively, juicy quality you taste on the tongue, like the tang of fruit.
- [Microfoam](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/microfoam/): Microfoam is milk steamed so that the air in it forms very small, even bubbles, giving a silky, glossy texture rather than a stiff, bubbly froth.

## FAQs

### What does cortado mean?

"Cut". Cortado comes from the Spanish verb cortar, to cut, and refers to the espresso's sharpness being cut, or softened, by the milk, Barista Magazine explains.

### What is the difference between a cortado and a flat white?

The milk. A cortado is equal parts espresso and milk, steamed only to temperature, with almost no foam. A flat white has about twice as much milk as coffee and a thin layer of silky microfoam, so it's bigger and milkier.

### What is a Gibraltar?

The San Francisco name for a cortado-like drink. According to a 2010 New York Times Magazine article quoted by Barista Magazine, Blue Bottle Coffee's Steve Ford named it after the 4½-ounce Gibraltar glass made by Libbey that it was served in.

### Can you get a large cortado?

Not really. Barista Magazine says the size doesn't change: a double espresso is about 2 oz, so equal milk makes about 4 oz. Add more milk and, as Las Vegas barista Ruben Pablo puts it, you'd be better off ordering a latte or cappuccino.

### Is a cortadito the same as a cortado?

Not quite. Barista Magazine says Cuba's cortadito has the same quantities of milk and espresso, but uses sweetened espresso, reflecting Cuba's sugar-growing history and taste for sweet drinks.

## Sources

- [How to order coffee in Spain: the complete guide](https://devourtours.com/blog/ordering-coffee-in-spain/)
- [How to order a coffee in Spanish](https://www.escuela-hablamos.com/en/how-to-order-a-coffee-in-spanish/)
- [Tiny drink, big influence: the history of the cortado](https://www.baristamagazine.com/tiny-drink-big-influence-the-history-of-the-cortado/)
- [Misunderstood coffee drinks: the cortado](https://www.baristamagazine.com/misunderstood-coffee-drinks-the-cortado)
- [The murky origin of the flat white coffee begins in the land down under](https://www.tastingtable.com/2141755/flat-white-coffee-drink-history)