Cortado vs flat white: settling it once and for all

At least once a week, someone at the counter asks, a little nervously, what the difference is between a cortado and a flat white. It's a fair question. Both are small, both are milky, both arrive with a neat bit of latte art. But they're built differently, and once you taste them side by side, you'll have a favourite.

The cortado: equal parts, no nonsense

The cortado comes from Spain, and the name comes from cortar, "to cut". The idea is simple: espresso cut with roughly the same amount of warm milk. Ours is a double shot topped with an equal measure of milk, served in a small glass.

The milk is steamed with very little foam, so the drink stays dense and smooth rather than airy. Because the ratio is close to one-to-one, the coffee stays front and centre. You taste the espresso first, then the milk rounds off its edges.

Order a cortado when you want something stronger than a latte but softer than an espresso, or when you're about to have a long conversation and want a drink you can finish while it's still warm.

The flat white: velvet, with more milk

The flat white comes from Australia and New Zealand, where both countries still argue about who invented it. It's made with a double ristretto (shorter, sweeter espresso shots) and topped with more milk than a cortado, steamed into a fine, glossy microfoam.

That microfoam is the whole point. It should be silky, with no visible bubbles, and it folds into the coffee instead of sitting on top of it. The result is creamier and a little sweeter than a cortado, but still more coffee-forward than a latte or cappuccino.

Order a flat white when you want something comforting that still tastes clearly of coffee, or when it's cold out and you'd like to hold your cup for a while.

So which one wins?

Here's the honest answer we give at the counter:

• Stronger coffee flavour: cortado.
• Creamier texture: flat white.
• Smallest cup: cortado.
• Best canvas for latte art: flat white, thanks to all that microfoam.

The argument that started Kaafi was about the perfect cortado, so you can guess where our loyalties lie. But we pour plenty of both, and our Hazelnut Cortado, with house-made praline, has converted more than a few flat white loyalists.

Try them side by side

The best way to settle it is to order one of each and share. Taste the cortado first while it's warm, then the flat white, and notice how the extra milk changes the coffee.

If you get hooked on the milk side of things, our Latte Art 101 workshop teaches you to steam it properly and to pour a heart that doesn't look like a potato.