A coffee drink of Spanish origin, in some places known as a piccolo.
"cortado is the past participle of the Spanish verb cortar (to cut), in the sense of "dilute", and can refer variously to either coffee or espresso drinks throughout Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries.
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—Wikipedia
Cortado is one of those espresso drinks that has some little variation from place to place, time to time and barista to barista. At its simplest, it's an espresso shot (or possibly two!) in a small cup or glass, served with a roughly equal amount of steamed milk, but usually no foam. Like a latte it has a number of variations. One place serves it with a dash of flavoured syrup, but seriously, I prefered it straight. It has enough espresso flavour to satisfy, and a silky texture, but not so much milk that it triggers my mild allergy, Perfect for midday with lunch, or for breakfast when I want the espresso kick start.
The idea behind the drink is that the milk takes the edge off the espresso shot/s and sweetens the drink but still allows one to taste the essential flavour of the coffee. Think of it as a well-focused cappucchino with a little less milk,but a good deal more than is in a a macchiato. it's in the middle of the spectrum that runs espresso, caffe macchiato, cortado, Gibraltar,cappuccino.
In some places if you ask for one you'll get something closer to a Gibraltar, which generally has more milk and is closer to a small cappucchino. Today at Volt in Davis mine was served in a sturdy Gibraltar glass sans latte art, and on the side, a glass of iced water, but other places may serve it in a small cup. The people here know my picky tastes and hit it dead centre every time.
At home, a small (1-cup) Moka pot or Aeropress shot will suffice with a little frothed microwaved milk to taste. An easy and tasty way of opening the day, I reckon.
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