Coffee is a popular drink served in all catering establishments. A professional barista chooses different Arabica varieties and additives to get an original taste. This is often how new menu items appear on popular food chains. Latte macchiato, which is in great demand today, was invented in a similar way.
General information about latte macchiato
More than 50 years have passed since the appearance of a new type of latte macchiato coffee, combining its classic bitterness and the tenderness of milk. Today it can be seen in almost all establishments serving drinks.
Origin story
Previously, it was not customary to drink brewed grains of the madder family plant with milk or other “softeners” of taste. Society did not accept such experiments until Italian cuisine became fashionable throughout Europe.
In the 19th century The British began to actively visit the Apennine Peninsula, where they took a different look at the drink made from roasted and ground grains from trees of the Rubiaceae family. Here it was customary to consume it with a small addition of milk. But the cappuccino was still too strong for tea lovers. Then the innkeepers tried to increase revenue, for which they began to soften the invigorating drink by adding more cream or milk. This was the first step towards the emergence of latte macchiato.
Classic coffee with milk is the progenitor of latte macchiato.
The delicate cocktail familiar to our contemporaries was invented later. It is impossible to say exactly who first decided to add coffee to milk, and not vice versa. There is a theory that the new recipe appeared even before the invention of special machines with cappuccino makers and automatic grinding of grains. Even today, latte macchiatos are made by hand, and coffee machines are used exclusively to prepare the base.
The new type of coffee gained fame in 1989, when it appeared on the menu of the Starbucks food service chain. Representatives of this brand assured consumers that the drink was made according to the traditional recipe of Italian innkeepers. But residents of the cocktail’s homeland still preferred the classic cappuccino.
The popularity turned out to be temporary: by the beginning of 2000, the recipe was forgotten again. This menu item was absent from coffee shops until 2016, when Starbucks decided to revive the once popular cocktail. By this point, the name “latte macchiato” meant nothing to marketers. The management of the coffee shop chain had to re-teach its employees to reproduce the traditional recipe of Italian innkeepers. Today, there is no need to explain how the new drink differs from Arabica or Robusta with whipped milk, even to those who drink nothing but tea.
Features and Properties
Latte macchiato is often confused with other cocktails that are similar in taste or appearance.
Although it is not difficult to distinguish it:
- It is prepared from the same ingredients as latte, but using a different technology. Coffee is added to milk, not the other way around.
- When serving a drink in a thick glass glass, it is easy to see the 3 layers. The foam forms a clear line, and the transition from coffee to milk looks like a neat gradient. The heterogeneity of the structure distinguishes the drink prepared according to a traditional Italian recipe from a latte. The shades depend on the selected Arabica variety.
- There is more milk than in cappuccino, so the coffee taste is less pronounced.
- No alcohol or cream is added to it.
Latte macchiato coffee has three layers and a heterogeneous structure.
Composition and calorie content
Arabica beans are always used for preparation. The second required ingredient is milk. Thanks to it, the calorie content of a macchiato is higher than that of an Americano. After drinking 1 serving, a person receives from 110 to 130 kcal of energy.
Visual difference
In fact, a macchiato is a type of latte, despite the differences in preparation. The main difference is that the classic one is homogeneous in structure. Most of the glass is taken up by coffee with milk. The top is covered with airy white foam from the same milk. Visually, the drink consists of two layers, different in color and texture.
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Macchiato has more pronounced layers. There are three of them in total: the lower part of the glass is occupied by milk, then comes espresso and the top is covered with light and airy milk foam. The boundaries between layers are unclear. When the espresso is added they blur out a bit.
Although the proportions may differ in some countries, it is still a three-layer cocktail. Its characteristic feature and important difference is that very spot on the foam.
To prepare these two cocktails, it is not recommended to use expensive single-origin coffee, as their taste simply will not be felt. For macchiato, you should not use mixtures with a high content of robusta. It needs an emphasis on milky flavor rather than bitterness and strength.
Drink recipes
The base is always a classic latte macchiato. Once cooking is complete, you can add syrup or other ingredients to enhance the flavor.
Classical
Pour milk preheated to approximately 60°C into a glass for Irish coffee and whip up the foam using a cappuccino maker. Then pour in the espresso in a thin stream. If done correctly, there will be foam at the top and the coffee will form a middle layer. Beginners may not always be able to reproduce the recipe exactly the first time, but a couple of tries is enough to learn how to form neat layers of coffee, milk and foam.
Caramel
To make a sweet cocktail, you will need 2 tsp. vanilla syrup. It is added to heated milk before whipping. Further preparation is carried out according to the recipe for a classic latte macchiato. The finishing touch is to decorate the foam with liquid caramel (about 4 tsp).
Latte macchiato with caramel.
With added syrup
You can use special additives. Thanks to syrups, coffee prepared according to a traditional Italian recipe acquires a fruity or berry flavor. For example, an original improvement to the recipe would be to add notes of blueberries or strawberries. To do this, just add 50 ml of the appropriate syrup, half of which should be poured into a glass, and the rest - into 150 ml of milk before whipping.
Latte macchiato can be prepared with various syrups: berry, fruit, etc.
Espresso macchiato
Arabica is used for preparation. 30 ml of espresso is brewed from it. Then whipped cold milk is poured into the base. If desired, you can add syrup, sugar, caramel or chocolate chips. You can decorate the drink, emphasizing its taste, with cinnamon or almonds.
Differences between latte macchiato and latte, cappuccino, Irish coffee and macchiato
The closest relatives of the cocktail are latte, cappuccino, Irish coffee and macchiato. Latte macchiato differs from them in that:
- Latte macchiato is made with the same ingredients as a latte, but a little differently. When mixing latte and cappuccino, milk is poured into coffee, and to prepare latte macchiato, coffee is poured into milk;
- In a latte macchiato, all 3 layers are clearly visible. Until the drink cools down, they hardly mix;
- Latte macchiato contains much more milk than macchiato and even cappuccino;
- Latte macchiato is prepared only with milk and without alcohol, unlike Irish coffee, the recipe of which contains cream and Irish whiskey.
On the left is just a latte, on the right is a latte macchiato
Required ingredients for Latte Macchiato
Experienced baristas do not use Robusta beans to prepare latte macchiato - only 100% Arabica. Sometimes it is acceptable to make a mixture with excelsa to get a fruity flavor.
Arabica beans are used for latte macchiato coffee.
Professionals determine the degree of roasting by the color of the grain. When making a latte macchiato, it is important that the base is not strong. Therefore, it is recommended to choose a light roast - from cinnamon to Viennese.
If you need a big boost, you can make a strong base. City roasting is perfect for this. For a softer base, use light grains - cinnamon or New England. Grinding is chosen based on the method of preparing coffee. For example, espresso can be brewed in a Turk or any coffee maker.
The finished drink should not contain grounds. Therefore, when using a French press, filtering should not be neglected.
Milk selection
According to the traditional Italian recipe, the cocktail is never made using cream. But skim milk is not suitable either, because... You can’t get a fluffy foam from it. Therefore, the drink is prepared only using a cappuccino maker.
Sometimes it is acceptable to use a blender, but 3% or more fat milk must be heated (to no more than +65°C).
Home cooking technology
The mild taste is easy to obtain without using a professional coffee machine. Since the base for a latte macchiato can even be brewed in a Turkish oven, reproducing the Starbucks signature recipe is easy. The cappuccino maker can be easily replaced with a blender. The main thing is that the fat content of the milk is high (more than 3%), otherwise the foam will not be fluffy enough. It is unacceptable to use cream, because... The consistency of the drink will be too thick.
Milk for making latte macchiato must have a fat content of more than 3%.
Rules for serving and consumption
Since the cocktail appeared thanks to Italian innkeepers, it is customary to drink it according to their rules. You need to drink latte macchiato slowly, savoring the taste. It is unacceptable to swallow the entire glass in one gulp. Italians exclude added sugar, but are relaxed about chocolate chips. It is permissible to use syrup, but the drink should not become too sweet because of it.
Drinking latte macchiato is customary at the table. Drinking this cocktail at the bar is considered disrespectful to the work of the barista. Although the drink is usually served warm, you can get it hot. Just say “caffe bollente” to the waiter.
For serving, use a glass with a volume of 250-300 ml. The glass must be thick so that the latte macchiato remains warm.
Latte macchiato is consumed warm or hot while sitting at a table.
Sometimes the coffee cocktail is poured into cups. Experienced barista designers try to select dishes in warm pastel shades so that visitors can fully feel the comfort when drinking 3-layer Arabica coffee with milk. Less commonly, cups are replaced with mugs. The use of glasses is considered unacceptable.
Rules for serving latte and latte macchiato
For such a popular drink as latte, special glasses were created for serving. They are made of transparent glass and give the vessel a cone shape. The bottom is left thickened. However, lattes are now also served in opaque glasses. It is believed that this makes the drink look less formal. Because the macchiato is famous for its distinctive three-layer appearance, it is still served in clear glasses. It is when serving that the barista can show his imagination and individuality by decorating the drink and designing it to his liking.
Fundamental differences from latte coffee
Today, almost everyone can recognize the cocktail. It differs in taste and appearance.
Visual difference
If a latte macchiato is served in a glass cup or glass, the gradient from milk to coffee is clearly visible through the walls. There is lush foam on top, making the drink look especially “warm”.
Differences in the selection of ingredients
Only Arabica beans are used to prepare this cocktail. Excelsa is less often added to give the aroma fruity notes. At the same time, expensive varieties are almost never used, because the taste of milk always dominates.
By production
The main difference between latte macchiato and other types of coffee is the order in which the cup is filled. Warm frothed milk is always poured in first, followed by espresso in a thin stream.
Coffee latte macchiato: first milk, then espresso.
Taste
The cocktail is considered the least strong of all coffee variations. Thanks to the large amount of milk, even the most picky coffee lovers will enjoy it.
