Love the boldness of espresso but want something smoother with a hint of sweetness?
A homemade cinnamon brown sugar cortado offers the perfect balance—rich espresso, steamed milk, and a touch of warm cinnamon and brown sugar.
Unlike lattes or cappuccinos, a cortado has a higher coffee-to-milk ratio, giving it a bold flavor while remaining smooth and easy to sip.
The homemade cinnamon brown sugar syrup enhances the coffee’s natural richness, making it a perfect drink for any time of day.
Why you will love this recipe:
- Rich & smooth – A perfect balance of bold espresso and creamy milk.
- Less sweet than a latte – Just the right touch of cinnamon and brown sugar.
- Easy to make – Requires only a few ingredients and a couple of minutes.
- Perfect for any season – Cozy for fall, refreshing over ice in summer.
I’ve carefully crafted this recipe to achieve the perfect balance of bold espresso, warm spices, and creamy sweetness—I hope you love it.
Feel free to save this recipe for later so you can enjoy a homemade cinnamon brown sugar cortado anytime.
Ready to make this cortado at home?
Let’s get started!
What is a cinnamon brown sugar cortado?
A cinnamon brown sugar cortado is a drink made from espresso and steamed milk. It has homemade cinnamon brown sugar syrup stirred in, giving it a sweet flavor with an added kick of cinnamon.
This drink is great all around. It’s great for most people because of its complex flavor notes.
If you love espresso with a bit of milk and some sweetness, then this drink is perfect for you! Have a look below for the taste notes of this drink:
What does a cinnamon brown sugar cortado taste like?
The indulgently creamy taste of a cortado is the ultimate pick-me-up morning beverage.
In particular, a cinnamon brown sugar cortado hits the spot, warming the body from the inside out.
It has a robust taste to it from the espresso while still having a smooth note of the steamed milk. Then, there’s the homemade cinnamon brown sugar syrup for a spicy and sweet sensation.
If you love espresso coffee as much as I do, this is the perfect drink for you.
If you’re not a fan, you can add a bit more homemade syrup or milk to your cortado to make it taste more milk-forward.
Which ingredients are used in this recipe?
This cinnamon brown sugar cortado is easy to make at home and uses just three ingredients:
- Espresso coffee
- Whole milk
- Cinnamon brown sugar syrup
The milk used in the beverage needs to be top quality, so it’s usually made using whole milk to give it the fullest flavor possible.
However, if you prefer using a different kind of milk, feel free to do so. You can choose to use low-fat milk or even your favorite dairy-free alternative for this recipe.
It’s all up to you and the flavor you like the most.
Below, you’ll find my tips on making the best espresso at home and the recipe for the homemade cinnamon brown sugar syrup.
How do you make the best espresso at home?
To make good espresso at home, you need a coffee grinder, an espresso machine, and good espresso beans.
With that setup, you can make high-quality espresso shots that will make this cinnamon brown sugar cortado taste the best.
However, espresso machines can be quite expensive, and if you don’t have one at home, you can also use the following coffee brewers:
Both coffee brewers can achieve a similar strength and taste as an espresso machine, but they are much more affordable and also don’t require much space in your kitchen cabinets.
If you want to learn how to make great coffee with these brewers, check out my beginner’s guide to brewing coffee.
As for the coffee beans, you can try different coffee roasts and coffee from different coffee roasters.
Every coffee bean has a unique set of flavors, so it’s best to try a few until you’ve found a favorite coffee bean!
If you’d rather make a drink that is more milk-based than espresso-forward, check out this great recipe for a cinnamon brown sugar latte.
It’s just like a regular latte, but adding cinnamon brown sugar syrup makes it a bit more interesting!
“I already love the cinnamon syrup. Anxious to try the cinnamon mocha.”
How to make a cinnamon brown sugar cortado at home
Here’s the recipe!
Don’t forget to save this recipe for later so you can enjoy this homemade coffee anytime:
Cinnamon Brown Sugar Cortado
A cortado is already a great drink, but you can make it even more interested by adding homemade cinnamon brown sugar syrup to it!
Ingredients
- Two espresso shots (2 oz or 60 ml)
- Whole milk (2 oz or 60 ml)
- 1 tbsp (15 grams) of cinnamon brown sugar syrup
Instructions
It's best to make the cinnamon brown sugar syrup in advance, so you can easily make this recipe in just a few minutes. Let's get started:
- Begin brewing your espresso coffee. I'm using an espresso machine today, but you can also use a Moka pot or AeroPress for some fantastic results.
- While the espresso is brewing, start steaming your milk.
- Pour the cinnamon brown sugar syrup into a glass of choice.
- Then, pour the espresso shots into the glass and optionally give it a good stir.
- Finish the drink with steamed milk.
Now, all there's left to do is enjoy your homemade cinnamon brown sugar cortado. You can best serve the cortado with a small spoon, so you and your guest can stir the cinnamon brown sugar syrup through the drink!
Notes
You can start with the cinnamon brown sugar syrup in your coffee cup and let the espresso coffee pour into it for ease of use.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 76Total Fat: 1.8gSaturated Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 26.1mgCarbohydrates: 2.5gSugar: 14gProtein: 1.8g
Homemade cinnamon brown sugar syrup recipe
I love sugar syrups. They taste great with every coffee and will sweeten it just right.
The best part is that you can flavor it however you want! For this recipe, cinnamon is added.
Sugar syrups are also easy to make and use a 1:1 ratio of sugar to water. You can even choose the sugar to use, which will change the flavor of your syrup.
For this cinnamon brown sugar syrup, the following ingredients are used:
- Brown sugar
- Cold tap water
- Cinnamon sticks
That’s all there is to it. Once you’ve finished making it, the coffee syrup will look like this:
Now that you know about the small list of ingredients used, you can find the complete step-by-step recipe here.
Over there, I’ll guide you through this delicious recipe, and you can then use it for this cortado recipe and so much more!
How much caffeine is in a cinnamon brown sugar cortado?
Because a cortado is made using two espresso shots, it has a total of 136 mg of caffeine. (Source)
This drink is perfect for the early morning, so you have enough energy to get through the first part of the day.
If you’d rather make this drink with one espresso shot, you can use the same amount of milk and coffee syrup or use half the amount of everything, resulting in a smaller drink.
Conclusion
Making a cinnamon brown sugar cortado at home is quick and easy. It’s the perfect way to enjoy a balanced coffee with a hint of warm spice.
Whether you love espresso-based drinks or want to try something new, this recipe is a must-try!
Have you made this cortado? Let me know in the comments how you liked it, or share your own twist on the recipe!
More coffee recipes
Ready to try different kinds of coffee? Check out my other recipes below:
