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Coffee can be confusing: How come when you order a macchiato at a shop adorned with that ubiquitous green mermaid, the drink comes out as a tall, steaming cup of foamed, caramel-latticed milk kissed with just a hint of espresso and vanilla -- while at some other boutique cafes it arrives in a doll-house-sized demitasse?
It's all about vocabulary.
Didn't think you'd actually have to learn Italian in order to order a coffee? Well don't worry -- just one word can unravel the macchiato mystery once and for all.
Read on after the jump to find out more about macchiatos.
Technically, there are a couple of ways to interpret the word "macchiato," which literally means "marked" or "stained" in Italian. A hearty mug of frothy, steamed milk is "marked" when a shot of espresso is dumped into it, creating a latte macchiato (or "stained milk" -- to which one might add caramel sauce and vanilla syrup, creating that popular drink you may have heard of). This is something relatively akin to the American idea of a regular caffè latte, though you might be surprised at how different the beverage can taste depending on what gets added to what: milk to coffee, or vice versa. (Milk plus coffee does taste vastly milkier than when it's constructed the other way around.)
On the other hand, a caffè macchiato or espresso macchiato is born when a short-but-stout shot of espresso is marked with a bit of textured steamed milk. This is the more traditional version, which uses the sweetness from the hint of milk to cut through the coffee's natural bitterness. Like an espresso, it is typically drunk in two or three sips, and is meant to be a potent little pick-me-up, not a guzzle-on-my-commute-to-work cup of instant energy.
Have you ever had a macchiato, and if so, was it an espresso macchiato or a latte macchiato? Which do you prefer? Tell us in the comments!
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4-28-2010 @3:30PM Aaron said... I used to work at the green mermaid, nearly a decade ago, and we always asked whether someone meant a caramel macchiato or an espresso macchiato when someone asked for a macchiato. Saved time and a wasted drink.
Reply
4-29-2010 @1:27AM Keith said... I worked there as well, and also asked. One time the lady was presumably ordering for someone else and became really frustrated at the question and asked what my "qualm" was. I ended up making a caramel macchiato... it was just WAY more commonly ordered there.
4-28-2010 @10:49PM johnshine shine said... these look fabulous! i will definitely be making these to put in my coffee, hot chocolate, and anything else really! yum!.....
http://www.articlesbase.com/relationships-articles/best-man-speeches-how-to-prepare-hilarious-amp-funny-best-man-wedding-speech-2129722.html
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5-01-2010 @11:13PM Dhira said... As an owner/operator of a coffee house, I've always assumed that people meant the caffé macchiato and have never had a complaint. I guess that's because the sheeple who go to the green mermaid (love that!) probably don't ever go to a real coffee house. We call what that drink sounds like a "milk steamer" and it's usually ordered by kids who are with their parents. What a strange society it is that has adults who want to "suck a teat" of sweet, warm milk; and look "grown-up" doing it!
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5-01-2010 @11:30PM Bananas said... I currently work at the green siren not mermaid (she has two tail fins). A macchiato is a shot of espresso with a dollop of foam. A Caramel Macchiato is pretty much a souped up latte. Also I've been to various coffee shops in a few italian neighborhoods in NYC. Besides my grandmothers version my green corporate giant's macchiato is far superior.
5-02-2010 @2:19AM Rick Titshaw said... Hardy???????????????????? Don't you mean 'hearty'? Does internet journalism even
require any journalistic credentials anymore? Please go to school before you
decide to become a journalist. Who's hiring these people anyway?
Reply
5-02-2010 @4:26AM kvravit said... "Hardy" (strong, sturdy) could be referring to the mug, as opposed to "hearty" referring to the drink.
Please go to dictionary before you become a critic. heh heh heh.