Macchiato

Macchiato comes from the Italian word that means "stained". Quite literally it is a short espresso with a dollop of steamed milk foam added to it, one to two teaspoons max.

In this Starbucks-obsessed world there is some confusion as to what a macchiato is because Starbucks sells a long coffee drink with caramel flavor added to it that it calls a macchiato.

To distinguish the true macchiato from the one on offer at Starbucks, you will find many coffee shops refer to a true machiatto as an "espresso macchiato".

Many that I have ordered here in the U.S. have been presented me in a full-sized (12oz) paper cup, drowned in milk-foam. That's what I call a cappuccino, or bad training.

A real macchiato