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.