Starbucks is adding a brand-new espresso drink to its permanent menu.
I Tried the New Starbucks Cortado—Here’s My Honest Review
Published on Jan. 02, 2025
In December, we’re all drinking peppermint mochas and sugar cookie lattes. But after Christmas, it’s back to business as usual in most coffee shops. In truth, even the holidays seemed pretty laid-back at Starbucks this year, with only one new drink—the Cran-Merry Orange Refresher—and not even a warm one at that. Now, though, Starbucks is releasing a new, highly requested drink to give people some excitement heading into the new year.
Enter: the cortado. Not quite a macchiato and not quite a flat white, the cortado is a type of espresso drink with its own special makeup of steamed milk and espresso. Starting January 3, you’ll finally be able to order a Starbucks cortado.
What is a cortado?
A cortado is an espresso drink that consists of equal parts espresso and steamed milk. When you order one at Starbucks, you’ll be getting three espresso shots cut with an equal amount of whole milk. In fact, that’s how the cortado got its name: Cortar is the Spanish verb that means “to cut.” The mild, sweet flavor of milk cuts the acidic bitterness of espresso.
This cozy drink is popular in Spain, Portugal and across Latin America. Knowing this, Starbucks initially tested the cortado in Miami, where there is a large Cuban population. There, insight from cortado connoisseurs helped baristas perfect the drink.
Starbucks’ specific brew is sweet even without added sugar. This is due to the type of espresso shot used. Instead of regular espresso, Starbucks brews ristretto shots to use in its cortados. A ristretto shot is espresso extracted with less water. Less water results in a sweeter taste since there is less time for bitterness to be pulled in at the end.
The ristretto really made a difference for me. I tend to prefer ordering lattes and cappuccinos with no added flavor pumps or sugar. That being the case, I’m used to more bitter espresso. I loved the sweetness of the Starbucks cortado!
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Can I customize a Starbucks cortado?
You can customize the cortado at Starbucks to an extent. You’ll have an option to add pumps of flavor and use an alternative milk at no cost. However, this drink is only available hot and short. It wouldn’t be considered a cortado anymore if you asked for an iced version, and a venti-sized cortado would require far too many espresso shots. There are already three shots in the short cortado!
Fans of the brown sugar shaken espresso are in luck, too. Joining the permanent menu next to the classic cortado is a Brown Sugar Cinnamon Cortado. This drink had me addicted from the first sip. If I’m not drinking a plain latte, I usually opt for a pistachio latte or something else with nutty undertones. I’d order the Brown Sugar Cinnamon Cortado over a latte any day, though, because it felt less like I was drinking a cup of flavored milk and more like an actual espresso drink. Looks like I found my new treat-yourself coffee order for 2025.
