How to Make a Macchiato (Real Espresso Macchiato)

A traditional macchiato is one of the simplest drinks on the espresso menu, and one of the most misunderstood. The word macchiatois Italian for "stained" or "marked," and that is exactly what the drink is: a shot of espresso stained with just a small dollop of milk foam. It is not a milky, syrupy drink — it is espresso with a whisper of milk on top to take the hardest edge off. If you have only ever had a chain "caramel macchiato," the real thing will surprise you.

The confusion is worth clearing up before you make one, because the two drinks that share the name could hardly be more different. Once you know what a real macchiato is, it is genuinely one of the quickest and easiest espresso drinks to make at home — it needs almost no milk and only the smallest amount of foam.

The real macchiato vs the caramel macchiato

A traditional Italian espresso macchiato(sometimes called a caffe macchiato) is a single or double shot of espresso with a small spoonful of steamed milk foam dropped on top. It is tiny — usually 2 to 3 ounces total — and overwhelmingly coffee. The milk exists only to "mark" the espresso and soften its bite.

A caramel macchiato, as popularized by coffee chains, is a completely different drink: a large cup of steamed milk and vanilla syrup with espresso poured through it and caramel drizzled on top. It is milk-forward, sweet, and closer to a flavored latte than to a real macchiato. Neither is wrong — they are just two very different things that ended up sharing a word. This guide is about the traditional espresso macchiato; if you want the milkier, sweeter style, you are really building a latte with syrup.

The ratio that makes a macchiato

There is not much to a macchiato, which is exactly why the ratio matters. Build it on a single or double espresso and add only a spoonful or two of milk foam — enough to leave a small pale "stain" on the crema, not enough to turn the drink milky. As a rule of thumb, the milk should be a fraction of the espresso volume, never equal to it. If the drink starts looking like a small latte, you have added too much. A macchiato should still read, first and foremost, as espresso.

The gear you need

• An espresso machine. The macchiato is almost pure espresso, so the shot is the entire drink. A machine that pulls a clean, sweet shot is essential.
• A burr grinder for the fine, even grind a good shot needs.
• A way to make a little foam. A steam wand is ideal, but because you need only a spoonful, a milk frother works perfectly well.
• A small demitasse cup. A macchiato is a 2-3 oz drink, so it belongs in an espresso cup, not a mug.

The routine, step by step

1. Pull your shot. Grind fresh and pull a single or double espresso into a small cup. Since the drink is mostly coffee, aim for a sweet, well-extracted shot — our how to make espresso at home guide covers dialing it in.
2. Foam a small amount of milk. You need only a spoonful or two. Steam or froth a little milk until it holds a light, airy foam. Our how to steam milk guide covers the technique if you are using a wand.
3. Spoon the foam onto the shot. Drop just a small dollop of the foam onto the center of the crema so it leaves a pale mark. That single stain is where the drink gets its name.
4. Drink it promptly. A macchiato is small and best enjoyed right away, while the espresso is hot and the crema intact. There is no need to stir it into a uniform drink; the contrast between the intense shot and the soft foam is the point.

A note on the latte macchiato

There is a third drink worth knowing: the latte macchiato, which inverts the espresso macchiato. Instead of staining espresso with milk, you stain milk with espresso — a tall glass of steamed milk with a shot poured through it, so the coffee "marks" the milk. It is milkier and closer to a latte, and it is the honest ancestor of the sweet chain drinks. If a full cup of milk is what you are after, that or a cappuccino is probably the drink you actually want. For where every one of these sits on the menu, see espresso drinks explained.