Espresso Macchiato
An espresso with a spoon of foam dropped on it. Macchiato means stained, and that is the entire brief: enough milk to mark the surface, not enough to make it a milk drink.
At a glance
- Espresso : milk
- 4:1
- Active time
- 3 min
- Total time
- 4 min
- Makes
- 1 small cup
- Serve
- Immediately
- Kit
- Espresso machine
Ingredients
Note: You cannot steam 10 ml of milk. Texture 100 ml, use a spoonful, and either make a second drink with the rest or accept the waste.
Method
-
Texture a small amount of milk
Put about 100 ml in the smallest jug you have and steam it as you would for any milk drink: aerate briefly, then roll it smooth to around 60°C.
You want proper microfoam here, not stiff bubbles. The spoonful should be glossy.
-
Pull the shot
A double into a small cup. The crema should be whole when the milk goes on.
25 to 30 seconds -
Spoon the foam on
One dessert spoon of foam, placed in the middle. It should sit on the crema as a white island rather than sinking in and disappearing.
That mark is the drink. If the surface has gone uniformly beige, you used too much.
Why this works
The macchiato exists to solve a specific problem in an Italian bar. When several drinks are lined up on a counter, an espresso and an espresso with a drop of milk look identical, so the milk one gets marked. Macchiato is the past participle of macchiare, to stain, and the name is a description of the mark rather than of the drink.
The point of so little milk is that it softens the edge of the shot without changing what it is. Ten millilitres is not enough to make the drink taste of milk; it takes the sharpest corner off the acidity and adds a touch of sweetness, and everything else stays espresso.
The foam matters more than the liquid milk underneath it. A spoonful of properly textured microfoam sits on the crema and holds, which is both how it looks right and how it tastes right, because it dissolves gradually across the drink rather than all at once in the first sip.
The confusion with the caramel macchiato is worth naming. That drink is a tall glass of steamed milk with vanilla syrup, espresso poured through it and caramel on top, which is structurally a latte macchiato with syrup and shares almost nothing with this one but the word. If you order a macchiato in Italy you get the small one.
Variations
- Macchiato freddo: the same shot marked with a spoon of cold milk instead.
- Single: a single shot with half the foam, which is the Italian default.
- Cortado: if you want more milk than a mark, this is the drink to move to.
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Questions
Is a macchiato the same as a caramel macchiato?
No, and they are barely related. A caramel macchiato is a tall milk drink with syrup, closer to a latte macchiato. A real espresso macchiato is a shot with a spoonful of foam.
How much milk goes in a macchiato?
About 10 ml, a dessert spoon of foam. Enough to mark the surface. If the crema has turned uniformly pale, it is too much and you have made a very small cortado.
Macchiato vs cortado?
Volume. A macchiato is a shot with a spoonful of foam; a cortado is equal parts espresso and steamed milk. The cortado is a milk drink, the macchiato is an espresso with a mark on it.
Can I use cold milk?
Yes, and that version has its own name, macchiato freddo. It is common in Italy and perfectly good. It just will not sit on the crema the way foam does.