☕ Coffee guide

Colada vs Cortado

Both are small-ish espresso drinks — but one is communal and Cuban, the other solo and Spanish.

Colada and cortado get mixed up because both are compact, espresso-based, and share Miami menus. But they come from different worlds and do different jobs — one is coffee for the crew, the other a cup just for you.

The colada — Cuban coffee for sharing

A colada is a large serving of sweet Cuban espresso — essentially several cafecitos in one cup — that arrives with a stack of little plastic cups. That's the point: you pass it around. It's the office ritual and the ventanita run for the group. Sweet, strong, communal, no milk.

The cortado — a balanced solo cup

A cortado is espresso cut with a little steamed milk, unsweetened, made for one. It's Spanish and third-wave in spirit, and it's about balance. Nobody shares a cortado.

Side by side

• Size & purpose: colada is big and meant to share; a cortado is a single serving.
• Milk: a colada has none; a cortado has a little.
• Sugar: a colada is sweet; a cortado is unsweetened.
• Vibe: communal and Cuban vs. solo and balanced.

Which should you order?

Bringing coffee to friends or coworkers? Colada, and hand out the little cups. Want a balanced personal cup? Cortado. Want a single sweet Cuban cup with milk? That's a cortadito. Do it all at a Little Havana ventanita.