Silky, Rich, and Small: Learn the Art of the Piccolo Latte

 When people mention a latte, most imagine a large, comforting cup filled with warm, milky coffee. But the Piccolo Latte takes the opposite approach—packing concentrated espresso flavor and creamy milk into just 100 ml. It has become a “one sip and you’re hooked” favorite among coffee lovers.

1. What Is a Piccolo Latte? A Small Cup With a Big Story

The name comes from Italian: “Piccolo” means small, and “Latte” means milk. “Piccolo” also translates to short flute in English, which is how it earned its charming Chinese name, “short flute latte.”

A Piccolo Latte is basically a “mini, concentrated version of a latte.”
The classic recipe uses 15–20 ml of espresso mixed with four times the amount of milk. Today, it's commonly served in a 100 ml glass. Despite its small volume, the flavor is more concentrated. Compared to the usual 300–400 ml latte (espresso-to-milk ratio of 1:6 to 1:8), the Piccolo has a much higher coffee concentration, delivering a richer taste that balances the intensity of espresso with the softness of steamed milk.

2. Make It at Home! Complete Piccolo Latte Tutorial (With Ratios & Parameters)

A Piccolo Latte is easy to make—the key is maintaining the 1:4 espresso-to-milk ratio. Even beginners can get it right on the first try.

Using the Sunflower Warm Sunshine Blend from Qianjie Coffee as an example, here’s the step-by-step process:

Ingredients

  • Coffee Beans: Sunflower Warm Sunshine Blend
    (Honduras Sherry Barrel + Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Red Cherry Project, 6:4 ratio; flavor notes include vanilla, cream, fermented wine aroma, chocolate)

  • Equipment: espresso machine, milk frother, scale, espresso glass (classic 100 ml; I used a 150 ml cup for this demo)

  • Other: fresh whole milk (smoother texture; ideal for microfoam)

Core Parameters (adjusted for a 150 ml cup)

  • Espresso: 18 g coffee → 30 g espresso → 27 seconds extraction
    (Watch the flow—steady and even is best; avoid over-extraction that leads to bitterness)

  • Milk: 120 g fresh milk (1:4 ratio, same as the traditional Piccolo standard)

  • Milk Temperature: 60–65°C, with silky, thin microfoam
    (Too much foam will overwhelm the coffee)

How to Make It

  1. Grind & Tamp:
    Grind the beans to a medium-fine size (slightly finer than pour-over, close to table salt). Fill the portafilter and tamp evenly to avoid channeling.

  2. Pull the Espresso:
    Extract 30 g of espresso. It should appear deep amber with a rich crema—this crema locks in aroma.

  3. Steam the Milk:
    Heat milk to 60–65°C and create fine microfoam. Let it sit for 10 seconds so the milk and foam blend well.

  4. Combine (Latte Art Optional):
    Pour espresso into the cup, then gently add milk from the center. You can attempt simple latte art, but the priority is even mixing.

3. What Does a Piccolo Latte Taste Like? Rich, Silky, and Layered

The magic of a Piccolo Latte lies in its balance: rich but not bitter, smooth but not diluted.

  • Coffee-forward flavor:
    With the 1:4 ratio, the espresso’s character stays clear and vibrant. With the Sunflower blend, you get deep chocolate notes, vanilla sweetness, a creamy mouthfeel, and hints of fermented wine aroma.

  • Smooth and silky texture:
    Milk softens the acidity and bitterness without overpowering. The microfoam is lighter than a cappuccino but fuller than a flat white—like a creamy milkshake with a lingering sweet finish.

  • Perfect for any moment:
    Small in size, it satisfies caffeine cravings without heaviness. Great for breakfast, afternoon pick-me-ups, or tasting new coffee beans with a touch of milk.

Piccolo Latte vs. Flat White vs. Regular Latte — Don’t Mix Them Up!

Piccolo Latte:

  • 100 ml

  • Coffee:milk = 1:4

  • Most intense coffee flavor, thinnest milk foam

Flat White:

  • 150–200 ml

  • Coffee:milk = 1:5–1:6

  • Lighter taste, slightly thicker foam

Regular Latte:

  • 300–400 ml

  • Coffee:milk = 1:6–1:8

  • Milk-dominant, mild coffee flavor

If you love bold coffee flavor but still want creamy milk—the Piccolo Latte is absolutely worth trying.

评论

发表评论

此博客中的热门博文

Guangxi Coffee Explained: China’s Emerging High-Altitude Coffee Origin Beyond Yunnan

图片
 Not long ago, while scrolling through Weibo, I came across a post saying that Guangxi has started growing its own coffee . That immediately caught my attention and genuinely surprised me. Curious, I decided to dig deeper and share what I found with you. From a coffee perspective, China is actually a rather unique country. It has a complete coffee supply chain —from cultivation and roasting to distribution and consumption. China is both a coffee-producing nation and a coffee-consuming one. When people talk about Chinese coffee, Yunnan naturally comes to mind as the most well-known producing region. Over the past few years, we’ve all witnessed the remarkable transformation of Yunnan coffee. It has moved from being primarily bulk-purchased for instant coffee to embracing a mature specialty coffee path. Today, even traditionally processed Yunnan Catimor can offer a clean and pleasant cup profile, and varieties like Yunnan Geisha have also emerged, bringing greater diversity. These...
阅读全文

Why Water Quality Matters in Pour-Over Coffee (Alkalinity, Hardness & Flavor Explained)

图片
 The coffee we drink is, at its core, water that has dissolved the flavorful compounds inside coffee grounds. In fact, more than 98% of a cup of pour-over coffee is water. We spend so much time chasing the best origins and growing regions, the most suitable processing methods, the perfect roast profiles, and the most precise brewing techniques—yet all of these efforts ultimately rely on water to carry the coffee’s flavor. If we overlook the foundational role of water, everything else can easily fall apart. **No.1 Water Plays Two Core Roles in Coffee Brewing: Extraction and Flavor** Water is responsible for extracting soluble flavor compounds from coffee grounds, and it also makes up the body of the final beverage itself. The chemical composition of the water directly influences what ends up in your cup. **No.2 The Soluble Compounds in Water: Alkalinity and Hardness** Water contains both negatively charged ions and positively charged ions. The concentration of negatively ...
阅读全文

Would You Drink Coffee Made from Food Waste? The Rise of Beanless Coffee Explained

图片
 Every single second, the world consumes about 26,000 cups of coffee . On Shanghai’s Huaihai Road alone—less than two kilometers long—you can find nearly 50 cafés , each with its own style. Coffee has long since become a nationwide obsession. Enthusiasts eagerly debate bean origins, processing methods, and flavor notes, yet few stop to ask a deeper question: What hidden burden does this beloved drink place on the planet? From a food-industry carbon-emissions perspective, coffee ranks just behind beef, lamb, cheese, and chocolate . Data shows that producing a single cup of coffee consumes roughly 140 liters of water , while growing and processing one kilogram of coffee beans generates about 17 kilograms of CO₂ . Viewed through the lens of Western environmental narratives, this kind of data practically screams: ban it . How could such an “unethical” product escape scrutiny in one of the world’s environmental flag-bearers—the UK? British research has already sounded the alarm: by 20...
阅读全文