Piccolo Latte
A single shot under a small glass of steamed milk. More milk than a cortado, far less than a latte, and originally a drink baristas made for themselves between orders.
At a glance
- Espresso : milk
- 1:3
- Active time
- 3 min
- Total time
- 4 min
- Makes
- 1 glass
- Serve
- In a 100 ml glass
- Kit
- Espresso machine
Ingredients
Note: A piccolo glass is 90 to 100 ml. Fill it and the ratio takes care of itself.
Method
-
Pull a ristretto
A single ristretto, around 9 g in and 20 g out, or a short double split if your machine does singles badly.
The shot needs to be concentrated. At this milk ratio a long shot vanishes.
-
Texture the milk
Steam 100 ml with a brief burst of air then roll it smooth to 60°C. A piccolo wants genuine microfoam, but only a thin layer of it.
-
Pour to the rim
Pour from low into the centre, lift and finish. There is just enough surface for a small heart.
Fill the glass. The drink is defined by the glass, like most of its neighbours.
Why this works
The piccolo exists because of how Australian cafes work. Baristas tasting a new espresso through the day cannot drink ten flat whites, so they pull a short shot into a small glass, top it with milk, and taste the coffee the way most customers will actually drink it. Customers noticed and started ordering them.
That origin explains the proportions. It is built to show what an espresso does in milk, so the shot has to be concentrated and the milk volume has to be small enough that the coffee is still the loudest thing in the glass. A single ristretto under 70 ml of milk does that; a full double under 150 ml does not.
It sits in a crowded part of the menu and the differences are real but narrow. A cortado is one to one and has almost no foam. A piccolo is about one to three with a thin layer of microfoam. A flat white is about one to four at twice the volume. In order of how much coffee you taste: macchiato, cortado, piccolo, flat white, latte.
The word is simply Italian for small, applied by Australians to a drink Italy does not make, which is also true of the flat white.
Variations
- Double piccolo: a short double in a 150 ml glass, which is drifting towards a flat white.
- Piccolo in a cup: works fine, though the glass is traditional.
- Iced: over two cubes, which dilutes it fast at this size.
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Questions
Piccolo vs cortado?
A cortado is equal parts espresso and milk with essentially no foam. A piccolo has roughly three parts milk to one of coffee and a thin layer of microfoam, so it is milkier and softer. Both are small.
Piccolo vs flat white?
Size, mostly. A piccolo is about 90 ml on a single ristretto; a flat white is about 160 ml on a double. The coffee-to-milk ratio is similar, so the piccolo is the same idea in a smaller glass.
What size is a piccolo glass?
Ninety to 100 ml. Fill it to the rim and the ratio comes out right.
Can I use a double shot?
In a 100 ml glass a double leaves too little room for milk and the drink becomes a cortado. If you want a double, use a 150 ml glass and you have made a small flat white.