Secrets of the macchiato

Ah, the macchiato. One of my favorite espresso drinks. As good as it is, there is a lot of controversy over the macchiato.

A macchiato, by the standards of today's pros, is a small drink made with equal parts of espresso and velvety, textured milk. If you drink it with a great espresso, like our Meritage blend, it's really amazing.

Probably the most confusing element of the debate is the introduction of the Starbucks Caramel Macchiato. The Starbucks Caramel Macchiato is, in fact, a vanilla latte with caramel sauce on top. That's it. Nothing about it makes it a "traditional" macchiato. But it is a cool-sounding name, and Starbucks sells a lot of those drinks, so I guess it works for them.

The second issue that muddies the waters on the topic of the macchiato is the texture of the milk in the macchiato. Should it be a spoonful of large, frothy bubbles on top of the espresso? Should you pour the milk first and "mark" the milk with the espresso? What is the best way to make this drink? This debate still goes on in many coffee shops around the world, and intelligent people can disagree on what works best.

As for me, the espresso experts at Cuvee Coffee, and the baristas at Thunderbird, we've found that the best macchiato is one made with smooth, velvety, "microfoam" bubbles, with equal parts espresso and equal parts milk. It's basically a mini latte. And it's amazing.

July Music at Thunderbird

That's our music booker Savannah on the flier. Contact her for booking at savvysoundsbooking (at) gmail (dot) com.

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Meritage blend

Thunderbird uses Cuvee Coffee Roasting Company's Meritage blend. Here's the breakdown:

50% Brazil Ipanema Dulce Pulped Natural
20% Ethiopian Sidamo Special Prep Natural
10% Brazil Moreninha Formosa Pulped Natural
10% El Salvador Cerro Las Ranas Pulped Natural
10% El Salvador Matalapa Washed

I friggin' love it.

Holy cappuccino!

My favorite drink--at Thunderbird or any other coffee joint--is a traditional cappuccino. What is a cappuccino? What makes it different from a latte? These are reasonable questions for the average coffee drinker. Luckily for us, there are answers.

We've been trained by most American coffee retailers that a cappuccino is an espresso with a whole bunch of foamy milk, and a latte is espresso with a little bit of foamy milk. You can certainly order these drinks this way, and you very well may enjoy them. But the Specialty Coffee Association of America, judges of the US Barista Championship, and other specialty coffee aficionados see espresso-and-milk beverages in terms of their coffee-to-milk ratio rather than how the milk is steamed. In fact, the experts say that milk should be steamed exactly the same way in a macchiato, a cappuccino, and a latte.

What ratio of milk, foam, and espresso is appropriate for a traditional cappuccino? The Italians (and all the other folks I referred to in the previous paragraph) define a cappuccino--by law, no less--as one-third espresso and two-thirds textured milk. By contrast, lattes have more textured milk than a cappuccino, and macchiatos have about a one-to-one ratio of espresso to textured milk.

Why steam the milk the same way? In short, because it tastes better. A great barista will steam the milk with small, tight bubbles which creates a smooth, velvety texture which releases milk proteins in the most tasty way possible and highlights the taste of the espresso. It's also the ideal milk texture for creating latte art!

For me the most important thing is that the 8 oz. cappuccino at Thunderbird highlights the delicious flavor of our Meritage blend espresso. (As an aside, the blend breakdown of the Meritage espresso is here.) It's the perfect combination of coffee and milk.

So what about those who have gotten used to their drinks in a different way? Here's some terminology that might help:

- Dry: This is a beverage (usually a latte) that has milk steamed with more foam.
- Wet: This is a beverage (usually a latte) that has milk steamed with very little to no foam.

For example, if you want espresso, steamed milk, and a lot of foam, you might order a 12-oz latte, dry.

This is all important to you, the brilliant and attractive Thunderbird customer, because--technically speaking--Thunderbird only serves a cappuccino in our traditional 8-oz. size. If you order a 12-oz or 16-oz cappuccino, the barista will more than likely inquire as to whether you like your cappuccinos dry or wet, or suggest an 8-oz size.

So now you know! Feel free to discuss this and many other relevant and interesting questions with our baristas next time you're in the shop!

[For discussions of this topic in the zeitgeist, click here and here.]

Ryan Hall's latte art is featured on Austin Details. Check it out!

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