Cryogenic techniques are used to protect small crystals from radiation damage in order to collect a full data set from a single specimen. This paper reports our experience of flash-cooling crystals of five different proteins, but mainly 14-3-3 τ protein crystals. The combination of the extremely intense brilliant synchrotron source at ESRF and low temperature procedures enabled us to determine the structure of 14-3-3 τ protein using needle-like crystals which are less than 10 μm in two dimensions. The stability of these “cryo-crystals” and some serendipitous advantages of the use of cryoprotectant will be discussed below.