If you like a robust milk-based espresso coffee, your go-to drink of
choice is likely the good ol' cappuccino. A macchiato,
however, is even stronger. According to Roasty Coffee, while a
cappuccino was designed to be consumed as a morning coffee, a
macchiato is meant to help power through afternoon
slumps. Comparable only to straight-up espresso in its intensity,
macchiato gets its name from the Italian word for stained
or marked.True to its title, when making a macchiato,
just enough milk is added to a shot of espresso to effectively "stain"
it.
In simple terms, a macchiato is a shot of espresso
with just a dash of milk to mellow its intensity. In fact,
Cru Kafe claims that a macchiato has the highest
ratio of espresso to milk than any other coffee made from the two
ingredients, with only a tablespoon or two of foamed milk added to a shot
of espresso. Although Italy Explained writes that milky coffees
are usually not preferred for post-meal caffeinated digestifs in Italy,
Eataly clarifies that an exception is made for caffè macchiato
because it's considered to be mostly an espresso anyway. The drink is even
served in an espresso cup!
While this style of macchiato is often called an
espresso (or caffè) macchiato, there exists a version of
a latte macchiato too. This, however, is the complete
opposite of an espresso macchiato wherein steamed milk is
stained with a shot of espresso instead of the other way around, per
Eataly