What is Piccolo Coffee and How to Make It? What's the Difference Between Piccolo Latte and Flat White, and Which Tastes Better?

Introduction to Milk Coffee Varieties

When it comes to milk coffee, latte is likely a drink that everyone has been enjoying, while flat white has become quite popular in recent years. Unlike latte, flat white originated from the Oceania region. However, besides flat white, there's another milk coffee that also comes from Australia. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce this to everyone!

What is Piccolo Latte?

Piccolo latte originated in Australia and is said to have gained popularity in Melbourne. The English name "Piccolo" comes from Italian, meaning "small." It uses a single shot of espresso, topped with a thin layer of milk foam, and is served in a small transparent glass of about 100ml (a normal latte cup is 200-300ml). Although it's called a "small latte," making a perfect piccolo latte is no simpler than making a regular latte.

What's the Difference Between Piccolo Coffee and Latte?

Latte originated in Italy but gained popularity in Seattle, Washington in the 1980s, following the footsteps of an international brand that appeared and became popular worldwide. The word "Latte" comes from Italian, meaning milk.

The difference between piccolo coffee and latte lies in the ratio of espresso to milk. In piccolo coffee, the ratio is approximately 1:2, while in latte, it's about 1:6. Therefore, piccolo latte has a richer taste compared to regular latte, but it's less burdening in terms of capacity and calories. For those who don't want to consume too much caffeine and milk, this is simply a treasure.

What's the Difference Between Piccolo Coffee and Flat White?

Like piccolo coffee, flat white originated in Oceania. As for whether flat white specifically originated in Australia or New Zealand, although there are written records, both sides have their own claims.

So, what's the difference between piccolo coffee and flat white? For those who love milk coffee, the Australian method of making flat white allows people to taste the coffee flavor in the milk and find the silkiness of milk in the coffee. In a flat white, the ratio of milk to foam in the cup should maintain a foam thickness of 0.5cm after the milk settles.

FrontStreet Coffee has found that for Australians, latte is coffee for those who love milk. If you want to "truly taste" the aroma of coffee beans and their perfect pairing with milk, the ratio of flat white is closer to ideal. Besides the most common flat white, Australians also invented what's commonly known as "small latte" - Piccolo Latte - for serious coffee lovers. Piccolo is actually a miniature version of the complete latte, representing the same flavor and coffee concentration. This might cause some confusion when customers order in store.

The flavor differences in all milk coffees mostly depend on the extraction amount of espresso, meaning the espresso content is a crucial factor. In a latte, the espresso component accounts for about one-tenth of the entire drink, with about 30-40ml of espresso in a 300ml cup.

This means that if we use the same 30ml standard single shot of espresso to make a 100ml piccolo latte, the espresso flavor will be more pronounced and intense.

Therefore, Piccolo Latte makes it easier to taste the flavor of the coffee beans themselves, even amplifying their characteristics. If you find lattes contain too much milk but don't like the overly concentrated and bitter taste of espresso, piccolo coffee might be your preferred choice. It's smooth to drink, served at a moderate temperature of 55-60°C, which brings out the lactose sweetness in the milk. Additionally, because the milk content is not high, you can taste the sweetness, richness, and aftertaste of the coffee, and you won't feel stuffed even after finishing the entire cup.

FrontStreet Coffee Teaches You How to Make a Standard Piccolo Latte

To give piccolo latte a rich and solid taste, here we use FrontStreet Coffee's classic Italian blend coffee beans. It adopts the classic "Mamba formula," mainly featuring Brazilian and Mandheling, combined with a small amount of Robusta. The purpose is to let everyone extract rich, caramel-like coffee flavor and full-bodied coffee crema at home. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will make a latte and a piccolo latte respectively, letting everyone find the differences between them.

Latte

FrontStreet Coffee has determined through multiple adjustments to use 20g of coffee grounds to extract 40g of coffee liquid in 28 seconds. FrontStreet Coffee stores serve lattes in 300ml cups, so they add 220g of milk and steam it to 55-60°C with a steam wand. The foam thickness of latte is moderate, about 0.5cm. After steaming, the milk surface is glossy, bubble-free, and has certain fluidity. Finally, the steamed milk is mixed with the espresso for latte art.

Piccolo Latte

FrontStreet Coffee uses a small cup of about 90-100ml to make piccolo, preheating it to ensure the best drinking experience. It's made with a single shot of espresso (15-20ml) plus 60ml of steamed milk with thin foam (less than 0.5cm). Besides the mini cup size, piccolo coffee doesn't differ much from regular latte in structure. However, because the serving container is half the size, the difficulty of making it is undoubtedly much higher than for latte.

Since they're both called "small latte," the standard latte art naturally can't be missing. However, smaller cups mean less space for the barista to create art. Following the reduction of the entire coffee, the barista must steam only 60ml of milk from the milk pitcher into silky, dense foam and evenly mix it with the coffee liquid, while maintaining the exquisite appearance of regular hot milk coffee. This is also why the piccolo coffees we usually see in cafes almost always feature simple patterns like tulips, small leaves, or hearts.

Why is Latte More Famous Than Flat White and Piccolo Latte Among Milk Coffees?

FrontStreet Coffee speculates this is related to flavor and promotion efforts. Latte became widely known as Starbucks expanded its market globally. Secondly, compared to Australian milk coffees, latte has a higher proportion of milk in a cup of coffee, greatly diluting the overly concentrated and intense flavor of espresso, making it more acceptable to people. As flat white and piccolo latte appear on more and more café menus and more people drink them, these Australian-origin milk coffees are becoming known by more people.

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