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Difference Between Piccolo Latte and Latte, Why is Piccolo Coffee More Expensive? What is the Piccolo Espresso to Milk Ratio?

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Espresso coffee is a vast system. Different ratios of milk to coffee distinguish various types such as latte, cappuccino, flat white, and more. Among them, there is one coffee that, like the flat white, originated in Australia but is not commonly found on domestic coffee menus. It is

The World of Espresso Coffee: Discovering Piccolo Latte

Espresso coffee represents an extensive system where different ratios of milk to coffee create distinct beverages such as latte, cappuccino, and flat white. Among these, there's one particular coffee that, like the flat white, originated in Australia but remains uncommon on domestic coffee menus—the Piccolo Latte.

The term "Piccolo Latte" translates directly from Italian, where "Piccolo" means "small" in English, which is why this beverage is also called "small latte" or "mini latte." However, if you simply view Piccolo Latte as a miniature version of regular latte, you're greatly underestimating its true value.

From Behind the Scenes to Center Stage

The birth of Piccolo wasn't initially intended for market production. Instead, it was created by baristas (or roasters) to test coffee beans or adjust daily espresso extraction parameters. When adjusting a particular bean, baristas need to taste both the espresso flavor and its harmony with milk separately. If they made full-sized drinks each time, they would risk excessive caffeine intake ("coffee intoxication") and waste coffee when discarding unfinished samples—after all, achieving perfect extraction often requires multiple attempts.

Therefore, they began using spouted portafilters to split one espresso shot into two portions: one for direct tasting, and another made into a small latte for evaluation.

Afterward, some coffee shop owners began using this method to make small lattes for their regular customers to taste new coffee beans, gathering market feedback and demand. Over time, this small latte (Piccolo Latte) officially appeared on café menus.

The advantage of Piccolo Latte lies in being able to taste a latte for less money and in less time. This not only suits the foreign coffee culture of drinking quickly and leaving but also avoids feeling too full from large portions, leading to its rapid popularization in the market.

What Makes Piccolo "Short"?

According to traditional Piccolo Latte preparation, it's made using a 3-ounce (90ml) glass with a single espresso shot (20g/30ml) combined with 60ml of steamed milk foam. While a regular latte typically contains 180-250ml, Piccolo only contains about 90ml. Although smaller in volume, crafting a perfect Piccolo requires considerable barista expertise.

The first challenge lies in frothing 60ml of milk—such a small quantity makes it difficult to create proper foam and requires skilled technique. Some less experienced baristas might add more milk to make frothing easier, while others might use smaller milk pitchers. Following this is the integration of espresso with milk foam and latte art. Because the cup is so small, achieving even mixing and creating latte art equally tests the barista's skills.

As Piccolo entered the market, some coffee shops began experimenting to give it more distinctive flavor characteristics—replacing single espresso shots with Ristretto (simply understood as extracting only the front and middle portions of espresso), switching from blended beans to single-origin beans, and changing from transparent glass cups to various exquisite small cups.

Why Such a Small Cup Commands a Higher Price?

Beyond its small size, Piccolo Latte offers another advantage: it's easier to taste the inherent flavors of the coffee beans—highlighting coffee characteristics while experiencing the fresh sweetness brought by milk. Some coffee beans need to be paired with a certain amount of milk to fully showcase their charm, which is why some cafés create Piccolo Lattes specifically tailored to certain beans.

From a raw materials perspective, although the amounts of espresso and milk are reduced, the base espresso still requires a full dose of coffee grounds for extraction. Even when using a spouted portafilter to split into two shots, the other shot must be "internally consumed" when production volume is small. If using a single-shot portafilter, additional extraction parameters need to be specifically adjusted, which seems even more counterproductive.

As mentioned earlier, Piccolo Latte preparation demands considerable skill in milk frothing and latte art. Independent cafés that dare to list Piccolo separately on their menus typically have high standards for coffee quality and consistency. Such establishments usually don't price their products low (after all, they depend on craftsmanship for their livelihood), so they don't typically create separate pricing for milk-based drinks like Piccolo, latte, and flat white.