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From our Blog

Catch up on the latest news from Dreambeans and from the coffee world.

Coffee FAQ

What is the difference between a cortado and a macchiato?2022-12-03T19:36:12+00:00

The key difference between a cortado and a macchiato is that there is a little more milk in a cortado and the milk isn’t textured, whereas it is always foamed in a true Italian macchiato, no matter how small the serving of milk might be. Macchiato means “marked” in Italian so it’s basically an espresso marked with a little hot foam whereas a cortado has coffee and milk on a 1:1 ratio. The milk tends not to be as hot in the cortado, just gently steamed to heat it up and it’s usually served in a small heavy glass instead of an espresso cup.

Australian coffee aficionados have embraced the idea of the cortado too, although they call it the piccolo there, or the latte piccolo (literally, small latte), or a low-tide latte. Again, these are served in a glass, like the cortado.

What is a cortado coffee?2022-12-04T13:36:21+00:00

What is a cortado coffee?

There’s a definite trend in coffee consumption towards stronger drinks with more coffee and less milk. As coffee gets better generally, our taste is for more  flavour in our cup and less dilution, thus, the latte is giving way to the flat white, the cafe au lait is yielding to the macchiato and we are looking for new alternatives, as we seek to make our caffeine fix smoother and stronger.

The most recent player in this trend is the cortado, which emanates from the Basque Country in Northern Spain, where cortado (past participle of cortar, meaning cut) or café cortado describes a strong coffee drink which is half espresso and half heated milk. The milk “cuts” through the acidity of the coffee leaving enough bite to make the coffee interesting and satisfying, but steering away from bitterness and allowing the milk fats to coat and round out some of the carbon notes in the (often over-roasted coffee) served in the region. The term is widely used in Spain, Portugal and Cuba and in the past year or two it has spread through the hippest coffee spots of Europe and the USA.

What is a lungo or café lungo?2022-12-03T17:33:10+00:00

Long-shot espresso, or lungo, is created by adding twice as much water to a typical espresso. As a result, it has a less robust coffee flavor but a more complex flavor profile with bitterer overtones. An Americano, which is an espresso topped with hot water, should not be mistaken with a lungo.

The Lungo, like many of the most well-known espresso beverages, has Italian roots. The word “lungo” (which means “long” in Italian) denotes the beverage’s larger volume than a typical espresso.

What is a ristretto coffee?2022-12-03T17:32:57+00:00

A ristretto coffee is a type of espresso that is made with half the amount of water, resulting in a more concentrated and intense flavor.

What is a flat white coffee?2022-12-03T17:33:26+00:00

A flat white is a type of coffee drink made with espresso and steamed milk. It is similar to a latte, but with less foam and a stronger espresso flavor.

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