What are the differences in flavor and taste characteristics between Piccolo, Flat White, Latte, Mocha, and Cappuccino? Where did Piccolo coffee originate?

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FrontStreet Coffee shares several espresso coffee recipes. Besides the more common coffees, many coffee enthusiasts have asked about some less common varieties like piccolo coffee and piccolo latte. So today, let's share how to make a "viral" piccolo latte.

What is a Piccolo Latte?

Piccolo latte, where "piccolo" means "small" in Italian and "latte" means milk. Additionally, because "piccolo" also means "short flute" in English, this coffee drink got its name as piccolo latte. Traditional piccolo coffee is made with 15-20 milliliters of espresso combined with steamed milk. Nowadays, people generally prefer to pour the coffee into a 100-milliliter specialty glass for serving.

Piccolo Coffee's Origin Wasn't for Store Production

While there's significant debate about the origins of flat white, the piccolo was unquestionably born in Australia. According to stories, it was invented by baristas who were considering how to reduce ingredient waste.

When testing coffee beans, the process is generally divided into two parts: espresso and milk coffee. The former is to experience the bean's own aroma, while the latter tests whether the flavor is masked when paired with milk. If each test were made in full serving sizes, it would lead to excessive caffeine intake and waste from unfinished portions. So they began using a split portafilter to divide one espresso into two shots—one for direct tasting and another mixed with a small amount of steamed milk to make a mini latte. Additionally, when introducing new beans, baristas would sometimes make this mini milk coffee with espresso for regular customers to sample. Over time, this small latte began to join the menu and was named "Piccolo Latte" by Australian baristas.

How to Make a Piccolo Latte?

The piccolo latte is quite similar to a mini version of latte coffee—with a smaller cup, smaller capacity, and less coffee and milk than typical espresso drinks. You need to extract 15 to 20 grams of premium espresso and pair it with four times the amount of milk.

Because FrontStreet Coffee doesn't currently offer piccolo lattes, we don't have dedicated 100-milliliter glasses. For today's demonstration, we'll use a 150-milliliter cup, extracting 30 grams of premium espresso paired with 120 grams of milk, maintaining a coffee-to-milk ratio of 1:4.

Today's piccolo latte demonstration will use FrontStreet Coffee's classic Italian blend coffee beans. The coffee bean information is as follows:

Coffee Bean Name
FrontStreet Coffee Classic Italian Blend

Blend Bean Sources
Brazil Semi-Cerrado, Indonesia Mandheling, Vietnam Washed

Blend Ratio
6:3:1

Flavor Description
Dark chocolate, roasted bread, nuts, caramel

Espresso Extraction Recipe:

Coffee Grounds
: 18 grams

Espresso Yield
: 30 grams

Extraction Time
: 27 seconds

How Does Piccolo Latte Taste?

Because the piccolo latte has a coffee-to-milk ratio of 1:4, the espresso flavor is very pronounced, better highlighting the classic caramelized aroma. It tastes significantly richer than regular latte coffee but isn't as overwhelming as straight espresso. The milk foam is as smooth as latte coffee—neither as thin as flat white nor as dense as cappuccino. The entire cup of coffee has a milkshake-like texture, with distinct dark chocolate and rich nutty aromas, moderate sweetness, and a balanced aftertaste.

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

First, they differ in cup sizes—typically piccolo coffee is 90ml, flat white is 150ml, and latte coffee is 250ml.

Among them, piccolo contains only the front-middle segment of a single shot (single ristretto), flat white has double ristretto, and latte uses double espresso. Secondly, their milk foam differs—the foam in piccolo (small latte) and latte is slightly thicker than flat white's (but thinner than cappuccino), while flat white has thinner foam.

Why Isn't Piccolo as Popular as Flat White Though Both Are from the Oceanian Milk Coffee Family?

In the 1980s, Australians began writing Flat White on their regular menus, and it soon spread to cafés in European and American countries. In China, the key reason flat white became a popular product was that Starbucks introduced it in 2015, naming it "Fu Rui Bai" (馥芮白) as a flagship drink, which meant flat white had already become a mainstream global beverage at that time.

In contrast, piccolo coffee's biggest advantage is that locals can enjoy a smooth, rich milk coffee for less money without worrying about the fullness that comes with larger portions, fitting the "quick and decisive" coffee culture (in Australia, piccolo is cheaper than other milk coffees). This obviously differs from our coffee drinking habits.

Besides differences in coffee consumption habits, the difficulty of preparation is also a key reason why piccolo is rare in China. Making each piccolo requires steaming just 60ml of milk in the pitcher into smooth, dense foam—a true test of a barista's skills. Some baristas who haven't mastered this technique try to lower the difficulty by adding more milk, but this violates the original intention behind this drink's creation.

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Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

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