Cortado coffee is the caffeine fix baristas love

Coffee culture is confusing enough, is it okay to order alternative milks now? But we're going to throw a new coffee into the mix that will be your new go-to.

Espresso, cappuccino, quarter-decaf-latte-with-extra-hot-milk – everyone’s got their go-to when it comes to coffee (for better or worse).

For me, it’s a coffee that most people have likely never heard of – a cortado.

I, too, was once blind to the magic of the cortado until it appeared to me (my friend ordered one) in a vision (a tiny cafe in Berlin which, coincidentally, also served avocado toast that was uncharacteristically good for Europe) on a chilly morning in 2015.

Wrapped in a woollen coat, perched on a stool on a street in Neukölln, it was the best coffee I’d had in weeks. And so began my obsession.

When you get down to it, a cortado is very simple.

Equal parts espresso and steamed (not frothed) milk, it’s smoother than a macchiato but stronger than a flat white or piccolo, and feels a little more substantial than downing an espresso in a single mouthful.

I remained faithful to my new-found coffee order throughout my trip – it saved me from many atrocious milky brews while travelling to cities not known for their caffeine cred (I’m looking at you, London) – but upon returning home to this land of undeniably good coffee, I found myself defaulting to far less exciting orders.

I persevered for a while, but like with many a holiday romance, the passion fizzled.

These days, I’m a cappuccino person (with oat milk in an ideal world), but this morning, for the sake of this story, I returned to my 2015 ways and opted for my old favourite.

After stumbling over my order as if my request for this fairly simple coffee was the most outrageous thing my barista was going to be asked today (“Um, can I please have a cortado… please?

If that’s okay?

With oat milk? Please?”), the happy memories all came flooding back.

The steamed milk mellows out the acidity of the coffee without diminishing the “whoah – there’s definitely caffeine in this” factor we know and love from other short coffee styles.

You can savour it, but still finish it before it’s a sad, lukewarm puddle at the bottom of your cup.

And the unexpected surprise (which admittedly would have left 2015 me speechless)? It was $4.50. For a coffee in Surry Hills. With plant-based milk! Unheard of!

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Originally published as Cortado coffee is the caffeine fix baristas love