Latte Macchiato
The reverse of everything else on the menu: milk goes in first and the shot is poured through it. Done properly it sits in three distinct layers in the glass.
At a glance
- Espresso : milk
- 1:6
- Active time
- 3 min
- Total time
- 5 min
- Makes
- 1 tall glass
- Serve
- In a tall glass
- Kit
- Espresso machine
Ingredients
Note: A tall narrow glass is essential. The layers only read in something taller than it is wide.
Method
-
Steam the milk foamy
Aerate for four or five seconds, then spin it smooth to 60°C. You want a good centimetre or two of foam, more than a latte takes.
That foam layer is what catches the espresso and holds the middle band in place.
Aerate 4 to 5 seconds -
Fill the glass and let it settle
Pour the milk into the tall glass to about two thirds and leave it for thirty seconds.
The foam rises and separates from the liquid milk below it. That separation is what makes three layers possible instead of a muddle.
Settle 30 seconds -
Pour the espresso slowly through
Pull the shot into a small jug, then pour it in a thin steady stream into the centre of the glass.
It sinks through the foam and sits between the foam and the milk, because espresso is denser than foam and less dense than cold-ish liquid milk. Pour too fast and it punches straight to the bottom.
-
Serve with a long spoon
The layers hold for a few minutes before they merge. The spoon is there so the drinker can either admire them or stir them away.
Why this works
The name is the instruction. A macchiato is an espresso stained with milk; a latte macchiato is milk stained with espresso. The order of the words tells you which one is the base and which one is the mark, and the drink is built accordingly.
The layers are a density effect and they are more fragile than they look. Foam is mostly air and sits on top of everything. Steamed milk at 60°C is denser than espresso, which has been aerated by nine bar of pressure and carries a lot of dissolved gas. So a shot poured gently lands between them. Pour it quickly and the momentum carries it to the bottom, which is why the stream has to be thin and slow, and why some baristas pour it down the back of a spoon.
Letting the milk stand first is the step people skip. Freshly steamed milk is a suspension of foam and liquid that has not yet sorted itself out; thirty seconds of stillness lets the foam float clear, which gives the espresso something to rest on. Pour immediately and you get one beige glass.
This is also the structural parent of the caramel macchiato, which is a latte macchiato with vanilla syrup in the milk and caramel drizzled on the foam. That drink being so widely sold is the main reason the word macchiato now means something tall and sweet to most people.
Variations
- Caramel: vanilla syrup in the milk first, caramel sauce over the foam.
- Iced: cold milk, ice, then the shot poured slowly over the back of a spoon.
- Single shot: a lighter version, and more reliable layering.
Made it?
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Questions
Latte macchiato vs latte?
The build. A latte has espresso in the cup first and milk poured into it, so it mixes and takes latte art. A latte macchiato has milk first and the shot poured through, giving visible layers. The ingredients are nearly identical.
Why will my layers not separate?
Either the milk was not aerated enough to form a distinct foam layer, or you poured the espresso too fast. Let the milk stand for thirty seconds first, then pour the shot in a thin slow stream into the centre.
Is a caramel macchiato a latte macchiato?
Structurally, yes: milk first, espresso poured through, with vanilla syrup added and caramel on top. It is not related to the small Italian espresso macchiato beyond the word.
Does it taste different from a latte?
A little, at first. Unstirred, the early sips are foam and milk with the coffee arriving later, so it reads as milkier. Stirred, it is effectively a latte.