Cortado: What makes it good

What makes our Cortado different, aside from using our Caffè Nero Classico Blend, is that it’s served in its purest form – with no frills.

The Cortado is prepared with 1:2 parts espresso to milk with 0.5cm of micro-foam. Nothing more, nothing less.

How the Cortado gets its flavour

Over a thousand compounds are responsible for the aroma of coffee. The compounds influence mouthfeel (bitterness, sweetness, sourness) which is perceived by the tongue.

To extract an espresso shot, filtered water is quickly forced through the coffee grounds at high pressure. When this happens, the water dissolves a lot of the coffee’s flavours, which is what you taste when you drink your coffee.

The bitterness of the espresso comes in the tail end of the extraction. A shorter extraction, like that used for a ristretto, is sweeter. This is because fewer caffeine compounds are extracted in a ristretto, and these compounds typically account for a percentage the bitterness within an espresso.

Why milk matters

Milk’s added to enhance the sweetness of the drink and lift the aromatic notes of the roast.

Cortado’s milk is foamed less, the same as the Flat White. This allows for a denser milk which, when combined with our Caffè Nero Classico Blend,  lifts the notes of bright acidity, caramel-like sweetness and rich dark chocolate-like bitterness.

You can see where the Cortado sits in our family of drinks or find out the similarities between the Cortado, Flat White and Macchiato.