The Menu Is Simpler Than It Looks
Nearly every drink on a café’s espresso board is the same two ingredients in different proportions: a shot of espresso and some milk. What changes is how much milk and how much air got whipped into it.
Once you know those two numbers, the whole menu makes sense, and you can make any of it at home with a machine, a pitcher and a steam wand. This guide covers the six drinks you’ll actually meet, what each one tastes like, and how to build them.
If you’re new to pulling shots at all, start with our espresso guide first. Everything below assumes you can already pull a drinkable double.
The Comparison Table
Volumes are for a double shot (about 2 oz / 50–60 g of espresso), which is the standard in US cafés. Café sizes vary, so treat these as the classic recipes rather than a rule.
| Drink | Espresso | Milk | Foam | Cup size | Tastes like |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Espresso | 2 oz (60 ml) | none | crema only | 2–3 oz | Pure, intense, syrupy |
| Macchiato | 2 oz (60 ml) | a spoonful | thin cap | 3 oz | Espresso with the edge taken off |
| Cortado | 2 oz (60 ml) | 2 oz (60 ml) | barely any | 4–5 oz | Strong but smooth; coffee still leads |
| Cappuccino | 2 oz (60 ml) | 2 oz (60 ml) | 2 oz foam | 6 oz | Airy, lighter in the mouth, foam-forward |
| Flat White | 2 oz (60 ml) | 4 oz (130 ml) | ~5 mm microfoam | 6 oz | Silky and rich; still clearly coffee |
| Latte | 2 oz (60 ml) | 8–10 oz (240–300 ml) | thin layer | 10–12 oz | Mild, milky, sweet |
Two things fall out of that table:
- Strength order, strongest to mildest: espresso → macchiato → cortado → cappuccino → flat white → latte.
- Cappuccino and cortado hold the same amount of liquid milk. The cappuccino just has a third of its volume whipped into foam, which is why it feels lighter despite being the same coffee-to-milk ratio.
Tip: An americano is the odd one out — it’s espresso plus 4–6 oz of hot water, no milk at all. It’s the drink to order when you want a black coffee from an espresso machine.
The Drinks, One at a Time
Macchiato
Italian for “stained” or “marked”: a shot of espresso marked with a spoonful of steamed milk and foam. It’s espresso for people who find straight espresso a touch sharp. Note that the big US chains sell a very different, much larger sweetened drink under the same name — if you order a macchiato at a specialty shop, expect the small one.
Cortado
Spanish, from cortar, “to cut”: the espresso is cut with an equal volume of steamed milk, with almost no foam. Usually served in a small glass. A cortado is the sweet spot if you want milk’s softness without losing the coffee — the roast character still comes through clearly, which makes it a good way to taste a new bag with milk.
Cappuccino
The traditional build is thirds: one third espresso, one third steamed milk, one third foam, in a 6 oz cup. The thick foam cap is the whole point — it makes the drink feel lighter and airier than a flat white of the same size, and it’s why a cappuccino cools faster.
Flat White
A double espresso with about 130 ml of steamed milk under a thin (roughly 5 mm) layer of microfoam — milk textured until it’s glossy and paint-like rather than bubbly. It emerged in Sydney and Auckland cafés in the 1980s; both countries claim it. Compared with a latte it has more espresso per ounce of drink, and compared with a cappuccino it has far less foam.
Latte
The mildest of the family: one shot to roughly five or six parts milk. The coffee is a background note, which is why cafés often pull a stronger or darker shot for lattes. If your latte tastes like warm milk, the fix is usually a second shot rather than a different bean.
Mocha
A latte with chocolate — typically a double shot, chocolate syrup or powder, and steamed milk, sometimes with whipped cream. Treat it as a dessert drink rather than a way to taste coffee.
Making Them at Home
The espresso is the same for all of them. The variable is the milk, and milk is mostly about two numbers: temperature and how long you let air in.
Steaming milk, step by step
- Fill the pitcher to just below the spout’s base — about halfway. Milk roughly doubles when you aerate it, so leave room.
- Purge the wand for a second to clear condensed water.
- Aerate. Put the tip just under the surface and turn the steam on full. You want a gentle hiss, not a screech. Hold it there for 2–5 seconds for a cappuccino, about 2 seconds for a flat white or latte, and barely a moment for a cortado.
- Texture. Sink the tip deeper and tilt the pitcher so the milk spins in a vortex. This breaks the big bubbles down into microfoam. No more hissing from here on.
- Stop at 130–150 °F (55–65 °C) — the range the Specialty Coffee Association recommends, where lactose tastes sweetest. Past 160 °F (70 °C) the proteins break down, the foam collapses and the milk takes on a scalded flavor. With no thermometer, stop when the pitcher is too hot to hold comfortably for more than a second or two.
- Swirl and tap the pitcher to knock out any remaining big bubbles, then pour within about 30 seconds, before the foam and liquid separate.
Matching the texture to the drink
| Drink | Aeration time | Target temp | Foam you want |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cortado | ~1 second | 130–140 °F (55–60 °C) | Almost none, just glossy |
| Flat White | ~2 seconds | 130–140 °F (55–60 °C) | Thin, paint-like |
| Latte | ~2 seconds | 140–150 °F (60–65 °C) | Thin, silky |
| Cappuccino | 4–5 seconds | 130–140 °F (55–60 °C) | Thick, mousse-like cap |
Tip: Whole milk is the easiest to texture — fat gives body and protein gives foam stability. Among non-dairy options, barista-formulated oat milk foams closest to whole milk; most standard almond milks don’t hold microfoam well.
What to Order, and What to Make
If you’re trying to taste a coffee and still want milk, order a cortado or a flat white. There’s enough milk to round off the acidity but not so much that the origin character disappears — a washed Ethiopian will still read as floral, a Brazil still as chocolatey.
If you want something comforting and long, order a latte. If you want the texture to be the event, order a cappuccino.
At home, start with the cortado. It needs the least milk skill — almost no aeration, just hot, glossy milk — so you can get a genuinely good one on your first week with a steam wand. Work up to the flat white, and leave latte art for after the drink itself tastes right.
Sources: Specialty Coffee Association milk temperature guidance via Barista Institute , Flat white composition and history , espresso drink ratios .