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Latte macchiato () is a

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

beverage. The name means stained or marked milk, which refers to the espresso stain on the milk used. It is a play on "Espresso macchiato". an espresso with a dollop or two of milk or cream.

Related drinks

Latte macchiato differs from

caffè latte Caffè latte (), often shortened to just latte () in English, is a coffee beverage of Italian origin made with espresso and steamed milk. Variants include the chocolate-flavored mocha or replacing the coffee with another beverage base such as m ...

in several ways. First, in a latte macchiato, espresso is added to milk, rather than milk to espresso as in a caffè latte. Second, a latte macchiato features more foam rather than simply hot milk. A latte macchiato often uses only half an espresso shot or less. Finally, a latte macchiato is often a 'layered' drink, rather than being mixed as in a caffè latte. In a caffè latte, the emphasis is on the coffee, while in a latte macchiato, the emphasis is on the milk. The ''macchia'' is the little "spot" of crèma left on top of the milk to clearly distinguish that the beverage is a latte macchiato and not a caffè latte, where the espresso traditionally has been added before the milk, hence having no "mark". Conversely,

caffè macchiato Caffè macchiato (), sometimes called espresso macchiato, is an espresso coffee drink with a small amount of milk, usually foamed. In Italian, '' macchiato'' means "stained" or "spotted", so the literal translation of ''caffè macchiato'' is "s ...

, another similarly named beverage, is actually espresso "stained" with a small amount of milk.

Preparation

A latte macchiato may be prepared simply by frothing milk, generally producing generous foam, pouring it into a glass, and adding espresso. The frothing is generally extensive, yielding significant light, "dry" foam, with a layer of liquid milk underneath, rather than the "wet"

microfoam Microfoam is finely textured milk used for making espresso-based coffee drinks, particularly those with latte art. It is typically made with the steam wand of an espresso machine, which pumps steam into a pitcher of milk. The opposite of microfo ...

used in

latte art Latte art is a method of preparing coffee created by pouring microfoam into a shot of espresso and resulting in a pattern or design on the surface of the latte. It can also be created or embellished by simply "drawing" in the top layer of foam. ...

. Alternatively, it may be prepared as a layered drink, with the espresso ''gently'' poured (most gently out of a small

espresso brew pitcher A creamer is a small pitcher or jug designed for holding cream or milk to be served with tea or coffee in the Western tradition. Creamers can be earthenware or porcelain, but also made of silver or other metals; a creamer is an obligatory par ...

, over the back of a spoon) so that it forms a layer between the denser liquid milk below and the lighter foam above. In this case a glass is essential for the layers to be visible. The espresso may be brewed into a standard espresso cup or

shot glass A shot glass is a glass originally designed to hold or measure spirits or liquor, which is either imbibed straight from the glass ("a shot") or poured into a cocktail ("a drink"). An alcoholic beverage served in a shot glass and typically con ...

and then swiftly dumped in, or may be brewed into a specialized espresso brew pitcher, which makes pouring easier, particularly for layering.

Related drinks

Preparation

See also

Further reading