Is a cortadito just a sweet cortado?

Essentially yes, with a Cuban accent. A cortado is espresso with a little steamed milk and no sugar. A cortadito uses sweet Cuban espresso (sugar whipped into espumita) cut with a little milk, so it's pre-sweetened and often uses evaporated milk.

What milk is in a cortadito?

Traditionally a small amount of steamed milk, and in many Cuban cafes evaporated milk, which makes it richer and creamier than a standard cortado.

Which is stronger, a cortado or a cortadito?

They're similar in strength since both are mostly espresso with a little milk. The cortadito just tastes sweeter because the sugar is built into the Cuban espresso.

☕ Coffee guide

Cortadito vs Cortado

Two small, milky espresso drinks separated by one big thing: sugar (and a little Cuban soul).

Order a "cortado" in Madrid and a "cortadito" in Miami and you'll get two drinks that look like twins and taste like cousins. Both are small, both are espresso-with-a-little-milk — but the difference is real, and it comes down to sugar and heritage.

The cortado — balanced and unsweetened

A cortado is espresso "cut" (cortado) with a roughly equal amount of steamed milk. No sugar, barely any foam. Its whole job is balance — mellowing espresso's edge while keeping it strong and letting the coffee show. It's Spanish and Latin American in origin, and the drink third-wave cafes reach for to prove they can pull a clean shot.

The cortadito — the sweet Cuban cousin

A cortadito starts with Cuban espresso, which is sweet by definition: sugar is whipped with the first drops of the shot into espumita, a caramel-colored foam, then cut with a little steamed (often evaporated) milk. So a cortadito is pre-sweetened, a touch creamier, and unmistakably Cuban — the everyday drink of Miami's ventanitas.

Side by side

Sugar: cortado has none; a cortadito is sweet from the start.
Milk: both use a little; the Cuban cortadito often uses evaporated milk.
Heritage: cortado = Spanish/third-wave; cortadito = Cuban/Miami.

Which should you order?

Want to taste the espresso itself? Get a cortado. Want the sweet, cozy, walk-up-window Cuban cup? Get a cortadito — ideally at a Little Havana ventanita. New to the words? Our coffee drinks glossary has you covered.

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