Nobody governs these names

Espresso milk drink builder

So this compares the drinks by the only things that are measurable: cup size, and the espresso, milk and foam split.

Built to your cup, not a café's

Build a milk drink

Choose the drink and the cup you actually own; CupTune scales the proportions and derives the dose the espresso implies.

Proportions are CupTune-authored typical builds.

ml

Fill volume, not the rim-full capacity.

The whole family

Every drink, drawn to proportion

Ristretto

Cup
60 ml
Espresso
20 ml
Milk
0 ml
Foam
0 ml

A short beverage from the same dose: less water through the same coffee.

Espresso

Cup
60 ml
Espresso
36 ml
Milk
0 ml
Foam
0 ml

The 1:2 reference beverage the rest of this page is built from.

Espresso, step by step

Lungo

Cup
120 ml
Espresso
90 ml
Milk
0 ml
Foam
0 ml

More water through the same dose, so a longer ratio and a thinner beverage.

Lungo, step by step

Macchiato

Cup
90 ml
Espresso
36 ml
Milk
6 ml
Foam
14 ml

Espresso marked with a spoon of foam, rather than a milk drink.

Cortado

Cup
120 ml
Espresso
36 ml
Milk
36 ml
Foam
4 ml

Roughly equal espresso and warm milk, with almost no foam.

Cortado, step by step

Flat white

Cup
175 ml
Espresso
45 ml
Milk
118 ml
Foam
12 ml

A small milk drink with thin microfoam, so the coffee stays present.

Flat white, step by step

Cappuccino

Cup
180 ml
Espresso
36 ml
Milk
72 ml
Foam
72 ml

The foamy one: roughly a third espresso, a third milk and a third foam.

Cappuccino, step by step

Latte

Cup
300 ml
Espresso
36 ml
Milk
250 ml
Foam
14 ml

The milkiest of the family; at this volume the espresso is a seasoning.

Latte, step by step

Americano

Cup
240 ml
Espresso
60 ml
Hot water
180 ml
Milk
0 ml
Foam
0 ml

Espresso lengthened with hot water after brewing, not during it.

Americano, step by step

What these figures are

Authored typical builds for planning, not definitions. No standards body defines a flat white, a latte or a cappuccino, and cafés differ by country and by street. The comparison guide works through what actually separates them.

The part a calculator cannot do

Microfoam is a steaming technique, not a volume. CupTune can tell you that a flat white wants 12 ml of thin foam and cannot tell you how to make it. The espresso underneath, though, is ordinary arithmetic: see the espresso ratio guide.

Cup sizes, foam and the drink names

What is the difference between a flat white and a latte?

Mostly cup size and how much milk sits against the same espresso. CupTune's typical builds put a flat white near 175 ml and a latte near 300 ml, both with thin foam.

How much espresso goes in a cappuccino?

CupTune's typical build uses 36 ml of espresso in a 180 ml cup, with roughly equal parts steamed milk and foam above it.

Are these drink recipes official?

No. No standards body defines these drinks. The volumes here are CupTune-authored typical builds for planning, and cafés vary widely.

How do I adapt a recipe to my own cup?

Enter your cup volume and the builder scales espresso, milk and foam together, keeping the proportions rather than the absolute millilitres.