How We Make a Cortadito (Brown Sugar Espuma + Half-and-Half)

The cortadito is a small Cuban-style espresso drink: a sweetened shot cut with warm milk. The magic is the espuma, the creamy tan foam you get when brown sugar is whipped together with the first drops of espresso. It's rich, sweet, and one of the most satisfying little drinks you can make. Here's how we pull ours.

Espresso is measured by weight because its margins are too tight for volume.

Ingredients

• 18.5 grams of coffee, ground for espresso
• 10 grams of brown sugar
• 6 ounces of half-and-half, warmed or steamed

How to Make It

• Put the 10 grams of brown sugar in your cup.
• Pull your espresso shot (18.5 grams in) directly over the sugar.
• Stir briskly for a few seconds until the sugar and espresso whip into a smooth, glossy espuma.
• Warm or steam the half-and-half and pour it in, holding back the foam until the end.

Dial It Your Way

• To make it stronger: pull a tighter shot (stop the yield earlier), cut the half-and-half to 4 ounces, or go to a double dose. A bold bean like Resurrection Espresso keeps the coffee front and center under all that cream.
• To make it sweeter: increase the brown sugar to 12 to 15 grams, and whip it well so it dissolves fully into the espuma.
• To make it lighter: use whole or 2% milk instead of half-and-half, and drop the sugar to about 5 grams.
• To make it bigger: pull a double shot with a double dose of sugar and scale the half-and-half up to taste.

Why It Works

Whipping the sugar straight into the hot espresso does two things: it dissolves completely, so there's no gritty bottom, and it builds that signature creamy foam. Half-and-half makes it indulgent and smooth in a way milk alone can't. Use a fresh, sweet, chocolatey espresso and the whole thing tastes like dessert in a tiny cup. No espresso machine? A strong moka pot shot is the classic stand-in.