What is a Cortado?

A cortado is equal parts espresso and steamed milk, served in a 4 to 5 oz glass. The name comes from the Spanish verb cortar, to cut. The milk cuts the intensity of the espresso without drowning it.

There is no thick foam layer on top. The texture is smooth and integrated. Total volume sits around 4 ounces, which is why it disappears fast.

Only 15.9% of the world's 462,531 coffee shops are specialty. Most cortados live there.

Pulled Coffee tracks 462,531 active coffee shops worldwide. Of those, 73,350 are classified as specialty shops. Those are the places almost certain to have a cortado on the menu. Walk into a chain and you probably will not find one.

In cities like Denver and San Francisco, specialty shops are dense enough that finding a cortado takes about thirty seconds.

"73,350 specialty shops worldwide. That is the cortado's habitat. The other 389,000 shops mostly do not carry it."

Cortado vs flat white vs latte: here are the actual numbers

A cortado is 4 oz. A flat white is 5 to 6 oz with microfoam pulled thin. A latte is 8 to 12 oz. The cortado has the strongest coffee-to-milk ratio of the three.

A traditional macchiato is even smaller, just espresso with a spoonful of foam. The cortado sits between the macchiato and the flat white on the intensity scale.

How to order one without overthinking it

Say "a cortado, please." Some shops call it a Gibraltar, which is the same drink served in a specific 4.5 oz glass made by Libbey. Blue Bottle Coffee popularized that name in San Francisco. At Intelligentsia locations, cortado or Gibraltar both work.

If you want oat milk, say "oat cortado." If you want more punch, ask for a double shot cortado.

Related: What is a flat white?, Latte vs cappuccino, Best espresso drinks ranked.