Today, when we walk into a café, we can see all kinds of drinks. Just the combinations of milk and coffee alone offer many options: latte, cappuccino, flat white, dirty, piccolo... You're probably already familiar with the first four, so what exactly is this piccolo that sounds so "niche"?

Piccolo coffee is also called a "small latte"

Australians are deeply influenced by Italian coffee culture. Baristas, combining local taste preferences, have innovated all kinds of unparalleled coffee drinks based on traditional Italian coffee, such as the Flat White that Starbucks helped make popular. Unlike the Flat White, the piccolo is more compact and mini, with a cup size only 1/2 that of a half latte, so it can be finished in two or three sips.

Piccolo latte is translated from "piccolo latte." In English, "piccolo" refers to the piccolo instrument, while in Italian it means "small." The piccolo came about because when roasters and baristas were doing tastings, they would taste coffee by drinking espresso alone and by adding milk to judge whether it passed. Since a regular latte comes in a large cup, it would basically be poured out after just two sips. Baristas didn't want to waste it, so they reduced the proportion of milk. Later, it gradually evolved into a mini version of latte coffee, a good choice for people who don't want to take in too much caffeine or feel noticeably full.

What are the finer points of making an Australian-style piccolo?

Baristas have some disagreements about the recipe for making a piccolo. Some believe it consists of espresso and a small amount of steamed milk, while others insist it should be made with ristretto and a small amount of steamed milk foam. Even today, there is no fixed ratio in the industry, so serving a piccolo is derived based on the flavor profile of the coffee beans used and the barista's understanding of piccolo coffee.

The flavor of coffee comes from the coffee beans used. The espresso drinks served at Front Street Coffee locations are all extracted from Front Street's own roasted "Sunflower Warm Sun Blend Coffee Beans," a combination of 70% Honduras Sherry coffee and 30% Yirgacheffe sun-dried Red Cherry coffee. Sherry's whiskey, vanilla, and cream flavors pair with Red Cherry's tropical fruit and fermented notes, making the coffee in the cup rich yet gentle.

Front Street uses a small cup of about 90–100ml to make a piccolo, with a coffee-to-milk ratio of 1:5, preheating it in advance to preserve the drinking experience as much as possible. A single shot of ristretto is used as the base here. Ristretto means "restricted" in Italian, also called extra-concentrated espresso, and usually only the front and middle portions of an Espresso are taken, so it tastes stronger and has a more concentrated flavor. Front Street uses 20 grams of coffee powder, extracting 28 grams of coffee liquid in 20–25 seconds. A single ristretto is 14 grams, poured into the cup first.

The milk steaming part requires more attention—you should know that the less milk there is, the harder it is to steam. Front Street chooses a 350ml milk pitcher and pours in 100ml of milk. A piccolo latte doesn't need the level-with-the-cup-rim effect of a flat white, so it retains a milk foam layer similar to a latte, about 0.3–0.5cm thick. The milk steaming temperature is controlled between 55°C and 60°C, ensuring it won't burn your mouth when you drink it. Blend it as evenly as possible with the ristretto, begin pouring latte art patterns when the cup is seven-tenths full, and a freshly made piccolo tastes best when drunk right away.

How do you drink a piccolo?

The piccolo made by Front Street presents aromas of vanilla, cream, chocolate milk, and whiskey cordial chocolate, along with the sweet-tart notes of berries. The coffee flavor is full, the milk is creamy and fragrant, and the aftertaste is very long-lasting.

As Front Street mentioned, the piccolo comes in a very small cup, mainly to highlight the flavor characteristics of the coffee beans, and is suitable for slowly savoring the charm within the coffee. When tasting it, Front Street first takes a gentle sniff of the faint aroma given off by the espresso liquid supported by the milk. From the first sip, let the coffee liquid fill the mouth and feel the texture of the milk foam and the thickness of the coffee. After finishing, feel the aftertaste lingering in the mouth, and finally take a sip of water as the sweet finish gradually becomes clearer.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Review (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat of Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: qjcoffeex

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.