Espresso macchiato, or just macchiato, is an Italian staple espresso-based coffee drink. It has been around since espresso itself has been. It is common for espresso drinkers sometimes to tone down their espresso's intensity by adding a little splash of milk and making an espresso macchiato.
In its essence, a macchiato is an espresso with a bit of milk added to it. We can make a macchiato by brewing a single espresso, about 1oz (28g), and adding very little steamed milk to it, about 0.3oz (10g).
Macchiato is the least milky of all espresso-based milk drinks, allowing the espresso flavor to dominate our palate when drinking it, and it is only slightly mellowed down and sweetened by the steamed milk. We would use an espresso brewed from a medium or dark-roasted coffee for a macchiato. Please read our article to learn more about brewing espresso with darker and lighter roasts. Espresso made from darker roasts is less acidic, and it has a more developed body with nutty and sweet chocolaty notes that will benefit from a bit of milk.
Adding that little amount of milk to our espresso will not make the drink visually any different from a regular espresso. So often, baristas will put a spoonful or two of steamed milk's foam on top of the macchiato to tell them apart from traditional espresso.
By doing that, they effectively stain the crema of the macchiato with a white foamy dot. Because of that white foamy mark on top, macchiato got its name—a macchiato in Italian means stained or marked. And in the world of coffee, an espresso marked with a foamy dot on top means that it has a small amount of steamed milk inside.
Today, a macchiato is part of the menus of all coffee shops where espresso is served and is present in all corners of the world. By being present everywhere and prepared by so many people, it is natural for macchiato to have quite a few variations.
With latte art becoming more popular, baristas started replacing the white stain of a macchiato with a latte art design. More than 0.3oz (10ml) of steamed milk is needed to pour a little latte art, so baristas worldwide have started to use slightly more steamed milk and changing the recipe ever so slightly. That leads to using different amounts of milk when preparing a macchiato.
Varying milk amounts will produce different-looking macchiato drinks, so various kinds of macchiato drinks started to appear everywhere. Some of those variations resemble a classical macchiato closely, while others are nothing like a traditional macchiato.
A few macchiato variations that closely resemble traditional macchiato are a double macchiato and a long macchiato.
Double macchiato, just like the name suggests, we made it like a regular macchiato but with double the ingredients. Instead of a single espresso, we'll use a double espresso, about 1.5oz (45g), adding 0.5 to 0.7oz (15 to 20g) of steamed milk.
Long macchiato, originating in Australia, is a cross between a traditional macchiato and an americano. We would prepare a long macchiato in a 6oz (180ml) cup filled with about 3oz hot water, adding double espresso, and top with 1oz of steamed milk by staining the crema with white froth.
And some modern macchiatos are prepared with a 1:1 espresso-to-milk ratio, and baristas typically pour them with an intricate latte art design. When we make modern macchiato with a 1:1 espresso to steamed milk ratio and serve it in a 3oz (90ml) glass, macchiato resembles a cortado or a piccolo latte, or a Cuban cortadito and is often confused with those beverages. The ratio of 1:1 makes a macchiato taste slightly smoother and sweeter than traditional macchiato.
Also, there are bigger and milkier types of macchiato that do not compare to a traditional macchiato. Their names contain the word macchiato because often, in preparing those drinks, we would use a shot of espresso to stain steamed milk; drinks like latte macchiato, caramel macchiato, etc.
Latte macchiato is a larger espresso-based milk drink. We typically prepare a latte macchiato in a 6 to 8oz (180 to 240ml) glass filled almost to the top with steamed milk made with more significant and thicker foam. Onto which we pour a double shot, about 1.5oz (45g) of espresso, effectively staining marking the steamed milk with espresso. Latte macchiato looks like an inverted latte, and if not stirred, the first sip will leave a mouthful of solid espresso taste, and as we sip further, the flavor will be milky and mellower. Follow the steps in our guided recipe to make a Latte Macchiato at home.
Caramel macchiato is another coffee beverage made with espresso and milk. Caramel macchiato we would typically prepare in a larger cup or glass that is 8oz (240ml) or larger. To make a caramel macchiato, firstly, we fill the glass almost to the top with steamed milk made with a thicker layer of microfoam. Next, we stir in about 10g of vanilla syrup into a double shot of espresso, about 1.5oz (45g), pour the espresso to stain the milk, and finally, we garnish the milk foam on top of the beverage with caramel sauce. If we make it in a glass or another transparent cup, a caramel macchiato is visually as pleasing as it is delicious.
