Espresso macchiato

Nearly all espresso

Typical range

What a spoonful of foam actually does

CoffeeHQ explanation

The foam does not dilute the espresso in any meaningful way. What it changes is the first contact: the lips meet something soft and slightly sweet before the coffee arrives, which takes the edge off a sharp or intense shot.

That is why a macchiato suits coffees that are a little too bright or too heavy to enjoy as a straight espresso. It is still an espresso in strength and in the time it takes to drink.

Making one without wasting a jug of milk

CoffeeHQ explanation

1. Steam a small amount of milk with plenty of air. You need foam, not liquid, so let air in for longer than you would for a latte. Use the smallest jug you have.
2. Pull the shot into a small cup. Brew the espresso while the milk rests for a few seconds; this lets the foam rise to the top of the jug.
3. Spoon, do not pour. Lift one or two teaspoons of foam from the surface of the jug and set them in the centre of the crema. Pouring will add liquid milk you do not want.

If you are already making a cappuccino or latte for someone else, the foam left in the jug is exactly what a macchiato needs.

Three drinks, one name

Tendency, not a guarantee

Espresso macchiato (caffè macchiato)

The drink on this page: a shot marked with foam, served in an espresso cup. This is what the word means in an Italian bar and in most specialty cafés.

Latte macchiato

Steamed milk and foam in a tall glass, with espresso poured through so that it settles in a layer. It is a milk drink that is larger and milder than a caffè latte.

Chain-style caramel macchiato

A sweetened, flavoured latte finished with caramel sauce. It shares only the name and the idea of marking the surface, and is many times the size.

Getting the one you meant

Tendency, not a guarantee

You were handed a tall, sweet, milky drink

Usually because: The café uses macchiato to mean a latte macchiato or a flavoured drink, as many chains do.

Change first: Ask for an espresso macchiato, or describe it as an espresso with a little foam on top.

How drinks are named in different countries

The foam sinks and disappears

Usually because: The foam was too wet, or was poured rather than spooned, so it was mostly liquid milk.

Change first: Add more air when steaming, and lift the foam from the top of the jug with a spoon.

Fix milk that will not foam

It is still too intense

Usually because: A macchiato barely changes the strength of the espresso; it was never going to.

Change first: Order a cortado, which has about as much steamed milk as it has coffee.

See the cortado

The next sizes up

Tendency, not a guarantee

• Cortado — About as much steamed milk as coffee, with almost no foam. Noticeably softer than a macchiato.
• Piccolo — A short shot in a small glass filled with textured milk: milkier still, and closer to a tiny latte.
• Espresso — The same shot with nothing on it. If the macchiato tastes right, the espresso underneath was good.

What to do next

• Café phrasebook — this drink changes meaning between countries more than any other, and the phrasebook covers how to ask for it.
• Espresso — a macchiato is an espresso first, so everything about judging a shot applies.
• Steaming milk — explains how to make foam on purpose rather than by accident.
• Become a barista — A structured programme from dose and grind through milk, drinks and maintenance.