Caffé macchiato in Italian or cortado in Spanish is an espresso smoothened by adding right enough microfoam milk to fit into a small cup.
To smoothen the taste of espresso, Spanish added a little amount of microfoam milk. It also took root in Italy, where they call it caffé macchiato. It fits right into a small espresso cup.
The base of Cortado is a good quality espresso and proper microfoam milk.
So, how do we make espresso?
- the ideal machine to use is a pump espresso, pre-heated and rinsed
- the coffee is finely ground
- then you tamp it down properly with a tamper
- when coffee starts coming out of the portafilter, we measure time for about 30 seconds
- The coffee should be coming out in so called “mice tails”, as it binds to water and forms the right emulsion
- A good extraction can also be told by the crema on top, but crema does not influence the taste of coffee
The only thing you need to do next is to change milk into microfoam.
- to froth and steam milk right we ideally use whole milk (if you use fresh farm or organic milk, remember that it should be homogenized)
- you froth and steam milk using a steam wand, which is a part of any proper coffee machine
- the desired result is microfoam milk with no visible bubbles
- milk must not get burnt; you should stop steaming it when the pitcher gets too hot to hold in your hands
- finally, you should clean the steam wand