Just what is a Macchiato to you?
I was recently reading different peoples takes on what a macchiato is. Am i wrong or does no one know what it is? i thought it was a shot of espresso with a dollop of foam on top. 'Mark' in Italian = mark the espresso with the foam?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jasmine Arielle Grantham on
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I couldn't have said it any better!
-Jaz
Greg Hill said:hamburger::triple bacon cheddar shroom burger
as
espresso macchiato::caramel macchiato
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Permalink Reply by Joshua Hutcheson on
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I think I'm sorry for keeping this alive but my understanding is that you can call shots with a dollop of foam a traditional macchiato, small capp a modern macchiato, and Starbuck's version a latte macchiato. Different and distinct terms. I think that confusion arises when a barista unwittingly doesn't separate the three.
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Permalink Reply by Jason Haeger on
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That doesn't sound right. A small capp is a small capp (by any other name, but it's never referred to as a macchiato).
the latte macchiato <i>is</i> a real drink and is not strictly a Starbucks invention. What Starbucks serves as a "Caramel Macchiato" is a vanilla latte macchiato topped with caramel sauce. They also serve an "Espresso Macchiato", and it is exactly as you've described the "traditional macchiato".
The debate is really about a macchiato served in a demitasse that is free-poured to a full or nearly full 3oz. final volume or a macchiato served in a demitasse that is topped with a dollop of silky milk foam.
Like all things in language, "caramel macchiato" is shortened to "macchiato" by a lot of fans, though that doesn't mean that Starbucks as an entity refers to the cocktail as simply a "Macchiato", and the fact that there is an "espresso macchiato" in their recipe book implies to me that they are not ignorant of what a macchiato is.
Joshua Hutcheson said:I think I'm sorry for keeping this alive but my understanding is that you can call shots with a dollop of foam a traditional macchiato, small capp a modern macchiato, and Starbuck's version a latte macchiato. Different and distinct terms. I think that confusion arises when a barista unwittingly doesn't separate the three.
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True. I guess I could have clarified what I said better, though, too. I meant that a free-poured macchiato could be referred to as modern, traditional as it is, and a latte stained with espresso as a latte macchiato. It was my mistake to say "small capp" instead of "free-poured." I was just trying to use language that had been used earlier in this thread both in that case and in the use of the "Starbucks" reference.
Jason Haeger said:
That doesn't sound right. A small capp is a small capp (by any other name, but it's never referred to as a macchiato).
the latte macchiato <i>is</i> a real drink and is not strictly a Starbucks invention. What Starbucks serves as a "Caramel Macchiato" is a vanilla latte macchiato topped with caramel sauce. They also serve an "Espresso Macchiato", and it is exactly as you've described the "traditional macchiato".
The debate is really about a macchiato served in a demitasse that is free-poured to a full or nearly full 3oz. final volume or a macchiato served in a demitasse that is topped with a dollop of silky milk foam.
Like all things in language, "caramel macchiato" is shortened to "macchiato" by a lot of fans, though that doesn't mean that Starbucks as an entity refers to the cocktail as simply a "Macchiato", and the fact that there is an "espresso macchiato" in their recipe book implies to me that they are not ignorant of what a macchiato is.
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Permalink Reply by Tiffany Rivera on
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My shop has this argument alllll the time. To end it we decided that we would put macchiato on the board (starbucks version) and espresso macchiato (italian version). That way if people ask us the difference, we can explain to them the two and they decide how they want it.
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Permalink Reply by Brady on
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Okaaaaay... but what is your other macchiato? A caramel macchiato? A latte macchiato? Is it labeled as such, or just called a macchiato?
Tiffany Rivera said:
My shop has this argument alllll the time. To end it we decided that we would put macchiato on the board (starbucks version) and espresso macchiato (italian version). That way if people ask us the difference, we can explain to them the two and they decide how they want it.
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Permalink Reply by Paul G on
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In the cafe I work in, we like to differentiate between a macchiato and cortado by using 3oz espresso cup for macchiato. A double with a tiny splash of steamed milk and dollop of foam on top which almost fills the espresso cup (no latte art)For the cortado, we use our 6oz cup, pour a double shot with equal part steamed milk, small little art design on top. Drink's around 4oz. No confusion between the two drinks coz they're in diffent cups
We make sure we don't go over 4oz otherwise it'd be too similar to a flat white tho.
Love cortados, they're barely even heard of where I live, no idea why they're not more popular, they've the perfect balance of strong espresso flavour with the sweetness of milk..... yum!
Dewi Hughes said:I understand a macchiato as an espresso marked with foam. One of my preferred styles of coffee is the cortado, or piccolo, but unless I'm in a knowledgeable cafe, most places in London haven't heard of either of these. Usually when I describe either of these two drinks the response is "Oh! A macchiato!".
Just to check: are "cortado" and "piccolo" names that people here use? They seem to be interchangeable in my favourite coffee shops here in London.
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Permalink Reply by Dennis McQuoid on
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I pull a double shot into a 2.5 oz cup, pour a very small amount (~ .25 oz) of steamed milk in the center, then mark the top with foam.
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Permalink Reply by Shayna Pysk on
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it depends on which macchiato. macchiato literally means "marked" so when you have an espresso macchiato, its espresso with a dollop of foam, literally marking your espresso with foam but a latte macchiato (or more commonly ordered your caramel macchiato) a latte, with the espresso poured over-top, thus the espresso marking the foam. its almost like macchiato is an adjective to whichever drink you're making..
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Permalink Reply by Deferio on
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but what if we discover what the true definition of Macchiato is...and don't like it?
Are you then obligated to hold to tradition? Not really.
A macchiato may have some lines that define it which when crossed make it a cappuccino...but it truly is relative. The same way as many different styles of BBQ exist but each kind is an interpretation with a following. So if my Macchiato is 1.5 ounce shot with 1.5 ounces of textured milk...I am just as correct as the dogmatic Italian who insists that it is only a scoop of stiff foam. Only when they trademark the term "macchiato" and have worldwide exclusive rights to it will we then be constrained to follow the legalism that we are kind of trying to submit to now...but to what end? Nobody really cares about authenticity as much as they care about it being tasty.
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No, but people do care to know what they will be served when they order a common drink. If the line is blurred too much, I will be served something other than what I ordered, even if it is an "interpretation" of it.
It's less about legalism and more about communication and standardization of just what a drink actually is.
My $.02.
Deferio said:but what if we discover what the true definition of Macchiato is...and don't like it?
Are you then obligated to hold to tradition? Not really.
A macchiato may have some lines that define it which when crossed make it a cappuccino...but it truly is relative. The same way as many different styles of BBQ exist but each kind is an interpretation with a following. So if my Macchiato is 1.5 ounce shot with 1.5 ounces of textured milk...I am just as correct as the dogmatic Italian who insists that it is only a scoop of stiff foam. Only when they trademark the term "macchiato" and have worldwide exclusive rights to it will we then be constrained to follow the legalism that we are kind of trying to submit to now...but to what end? Nobody really cares about authenticity as much as they care about it being tasty.
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The name is more common that the drink itself. If we were wanting what a "common" understanding of the drink is in our American context then we would have a latte. You should have a reasonable expectation of the drinks size and intensity give or take an ounce...but you will never, not even in Italy, get from one shop what you got at the last to a "t".
Given the moving target that espresso is, it would seem pretty futile to establish a universal milk ratio that is too constrictive. Instead perhaps there should just be concession given for variations in the ratio as are appropriate for that baristas, and more importantly, that coffee's, context.
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