Caffè macchiato (IPA: [maʔˈkja(ː)to], sometimes called Espresso macchiato) a type of coffee, is espresso with a small amount of hot, foamed milk.
"Macchiato" simply means "marked" or "stained," and in the case of caffè macchiato, this means literally "espresso stained/marked with milk." Traditionally it is made with one shot of espresso, and the small amount of added milk was the "stain." However, later the "mark" or "stain" came to refer to the foamed milk that was put on top to indicate the beverage has a little milk in it (usually about a teaspoon [in fact, the Portuguese word for a macchiato is "pingo," which means "drop"]). The reason was for the baristas to show the serving waiters the difference between an espresso and an espresso with a little milk in it; the latter was marked. In the United States, "macchiato" is more likely to describe this variant (in contrast to latte macchiato), and thus arises the common confusion that "macchiato" literally means "foam," or that a macchiato must necessarily have foam. (As the term "macchiato" to describe this type of coffee predates the common usage of foam in coffee by centuries, the staining "agent," the additive that lightens the dark espresso, is traditionally the milk, not the foam.)
Trends
- See also: latte macchiato and caffè latte.
Some newer cafes tend to add steamed milk to the espresso in a 1:1 ratio, as well as mixing the milk into the espresso, making it more like a miniature caffè latte or Cortado. Some people call this piccolo latte.
Another variant of the drink, latte macchiato, conversely means "milk stained/marked (with espresso)", and indicates milk with just a little espresso in it (always less than in a caffè latte). However, in certain preparations (which differ from place to place), latte macchiato has not much difference in milk-to-espresso ratio when compared to the caffè latte; caffè lattes are normally one-third espresso to two-thirds steamed milk.
References
- Davids, Kenneth (2001). Coffee: A Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Enjoying, 5e, New York, NY, USA: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 031224665X.
External links
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