There is hope yet for the Cortado

The Italians pretty much invented coffee. Ok, so they can't grow it, they don't own any notable chains, and it's their fault that we all have to embarrass ourselves pronouncing the drinks, but they have successfully taught us all how to 'do' coffee.

A while back, the Aussies joined in and invented the microfoamed, argument-provoking little beauty known as the Flat White. Now Spain wants in.

Ever heard of the Cortado? Don't worry - you're not alone and you're not the weird one. It's Spain's interpretation of a pretentious coffee. It's somewhere in between a Latte and a Macchiato and it's been around for a while now - we've been pretending to know what it is for about a year.

The mindless torture of bulls never quite made it big over here, and we'll never grasp the pronunciation of 'paella', but huge, deep fried, doughy sticks rolled around in sugar and dunked in chocolate was a winner, and Javier Bardem is really hot, so there's hope yet for the Cortado. Available from all mediocre coffee shops today. You know the ones - they'll probably have cupcakes. If you're coming to ours, have a Latte, Amigo.

[box type="info"] Find The Little Coffee Company opposite Brighton Town Hall at 4 Bartholomews, Brighton, BN1 1HG