The caramel macchiato is a riff on the latte macchiato, invented by a Starbucks coffee shop barista in the '90s, and it has thoroughly eclipsed the latte macchiato in popularity. More explicitly, it’s a cup or glass of steamed milk with a little milk poured on top of it. Instead of marking the espresso with milk foam, a latte macchiato marks the milk with a little espresso. The latte macchiato, is sort of the inverse of an espresso macchiato, which, when you consider that macchiato means “marked” or “stained” makes sense. However, the drinks most confused for an espresso macchiato (for obvious reasons), are the latte macchiato and the caramel macchiato. The former comes from Spanish coffee culture and the latter from Australian, but they are both basically slightly larger drinks than a macchiato, poured with gently textured milk and not a ton of foam.
The espresso coffee drinks most physically similar to a macchiato are the cortado and the piccolo. Either way, if you’re looking for a drink where the milk hides the espresso flavor (and no judgment if you are!), the macchiato definitely ain’t it. The poured version, on the other hand, will be a little more integrated. Therefore, it’s the milk coffee drink most likely to taste like the beans you used to brew your espresso shot, with a bit of the edge taken off by the milk and foam.Ī macchiato made with foam scooped on top of it will result in the milk foam and espresso flavors hitting your palate more separately. The macchiato uses less milk than any other espresso drink (aside, of course, from the straight shot of espresso). Unlike the first version, this allows for latte art, like a heart or a rosetta. The second, which has become popular in specialty coffee in the last decade, has foamed milk poured onto espresso. The first is the more old-fashioned way: with milk foam scooped onto an espresso shot. In specialty coffee shops, there are two main ways that a macchiato is presented. How it’s madeĪ traditional Macchiato is made with espresso and milk, steamed on an espresso machine steam wand. That "stain" was first used by baristas to indicate a plain shot of espresso from that with a small amount of milk, so servers could spot the difference.
History of the MacchiatoĪs this drink's name implies, it has a lot to do with its distinct marking. a 1.5 oz shot of espresso would yield a macchiato no larger than 3 oz). Macchiatos are usually no more than a few ounces, with a volume of milk and milk foam no more than that of espresso (eg. As the name suggests, it’s traditionally an espresso with a little bit of warm milk, marked on top with foam to indicate that it isn’t just a straight shot of espresso.
History and Etymology: Italian, short for caffè macchiato literally, coffee with a spot (of milk)įirst Known Usage: 1980 What is a Macchiato? This time out, we’re going in on a tasty and strong little treat that has become a source of great confusion: the espresso macchiato.ĭefinition: Espresso topped with a thin layer of foamed milk
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