What is a Macchiato? Not What Starbucks Told You

A traditional macchiato is a single shot of espresso with a small spoonful of foamed milk on top. Total volume: about 1.5 to 2 oz. The word macchiato means "stained" in Italian. The foam stains the espresso.

What Starbucks calls a macchiato is a 12 to 16 oz drink with vanilla syrup, milk, and espresso poured on top with caramel drizzle. It is a flavored latte with a borrowed name.

In Italy, a macchiato is 2 ounces. The Starbucks Caramel Macchiato is 16. One of these is a macchiato.

An espresso macchiato is mostly espresso with a little milk. A latte macchiato is mostly milk with espresso poured through it. Both are technically macchiatos because something is being stained. Walk into a specialty shop in Rome and order a macchiato and you get a tiny cup. No syrup.

"In Italy, macchiato is 2 ounces. The Starbucks version is 16. One of these is a macchiato."

Where to order a real macchiato in the US

Order by saying "espresso macchiato" to be specific. Portland has 55 specialty shops out of 529 total, 10.4% specialty, well above the US average of 6.9%. Counter Culture Coffee and Stumptown make excellent versions.

A macchiato is more intense than a cortado because the foam barely dilutes the espresso. It is the espresso drinker's version of "I just want a tiny bit of milk to take the edge off."

Related: What is a cortado?, What is a flat white?, Best espresso drinks ranked.