A cortado (from the Spanish cortar, known as "Tallat" in Catalan

Catalan language

Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...

 and "Ebaki" in Basque

Basque language

Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...

, "Pingo" or "Garoto" in Portugal and "noisette" in France) is an espresso

Espresso

Espresso is a concentrated beverage brewed by forcing a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure through finely ground coffee. Espresso is widely known throughout the world....

 "cut" with a small amount of warm milk

Milk

Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...

 to reduce the acidity. The ratio of milk to coffee is between 1:1 - 1:2, and the milk is added after the espresso. The steamed milk does not have much foam, but many barista

Barista

A barista is a person, usually a coffee-house employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks.- Application of the title :...

s make some micro foam to make latte art

Latte Art

Latte art is a method of preparing coffee created by pouring steamed milk into a shot of espresso and resulting in a pattern or design on the surface of the resulting latte. It can also be created or embellished by simply "drawing" in the top layer of foam...

. It is popular in Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 and Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, as well as throughout Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

, where it is drunk in the afternoon. In Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, it is known as a cortadito. It's usually served in a special glass, often with a metal ring base and a metal wire handle. There are several variations, including cortado condensada or bombon (espresso

Espresso

Espresso is a concentrated beverage brewed by forcing a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure through finely ground coffee. Espresso is widely known throughout the world....

 with condensed milk

Condensed milk

Condensed milk, also known as sweetened condensed milk, is cow's milk from which water has been removed and to which sugar has been added, yielding a very thick, sweet product which when canned can last for years without refrigeration if unopened. The two terms, condensed milk and sweetened...

) and leche y leche (with condensed milk and cream

Cream

Cream is a dairy product that is composed of the higher-butterfat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, over time, the lighter fat rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream this process is accelerated by using centrifuges called "separators"...

 on top).

The drink is very popular in Miami, FL, and is known as a "cortadito". Brought to Miami by Cuban-Americans in the 1960s to Miami's Little Havana

Little Havana

Little Havana is a neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. Home to many Cuban immigrant residents, Little Havana is named after Havana, the capital and largest city in Cuba. The approximate boundaries are the Miami River , SW 16th Street , SR 9/West 27th Avenue and I-95...

 neighborhood, it is now found throughout the city, and is an important part of everyday culture, particularly amongst Cubans.

Similar drinks

However a cortado is made, it is important to distinguish it from the Italian caffe macchiato

Caffè macchiato

Caffè macchiato , sometimes called espresso macchiato, is a coffee drink, made out of espresso with a small amount of milk.'Macchiato' simply means 'marked' or 'stained', and in the case of caffè macchiato, this means literally 'espresso stained/marked with milk'. Traditionally it is made with one...

, which is traditionally an espresso with a small amount of foam/steamed milk added (less than 1:1), though in modern American usage a macchiato often uses 1:1 proportions and differs from a cortado primarily in having more foam, being a small latte. The cortado should always be served in a 150–200 ml (5–7 fl oz) glass and the milk should only be steamed; maybe a little foam settles to the top but the essence of the drink must be steamed milk. Cortado is more similar to a less-foamy cappuccino than an espresso macchiato. Distinguished from American variation of cafe au lait

Café au lait

Café au lait is a French coffee drink. The meaning of the term differs between Europe and the United States; in both cases it means some kind of coffee with hot milk added, in contrast to white coffee, which is coffee with room temperature milk or other whitener added.- Europe :In Europe, "café au...

, which is a regular coffee base and warm milk, cortado is made with espresso and steamed milk.

A similar drink in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 is known as a Piccolo Cafe Latte, or simply a Piccolo for short. This is a single espresso shot in a macchiato glass, which is then filled with steamed milk in the same fashion as a cafe latte. This results in a 90mL drink, with a 1:2 ratio of coffee to steamed milk, and about 5mm of foam on the top.

A larger drink, popular in Portugal, is the galão

Galão

Galão is a hot drink from Portugal made of espresso and foamed milk. In all similar to café latte or café au lait, it comes in a tall glass with about one quarter coffee, three quarters foamed milk, as opposed to the smaller garoto that is served in a demitasse/espresso smaller china cup. When the...

, which uses 1:3 proportions but is otherwise similar to a cortado.