Caffè macchiato — Recipes

Name: Caffè macchiato
Cook time: 25 s
Yield: 1
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 7 g Ground coffee; Steamed or cold milk

Parameters

Ground coffee: 7 g
Yield in cup: 0.8 fl oz
Water temperature: 190 °F
Pressure: 131 psi
Extraction time: 25 s

Grind: The same as for espresso.

Served in: Espresso cup, preheated

The extraction time does not change: for two macchiatos you use the double basket.

Ingredients

7 g Ground coffee
Steamed or cold milk — No source declares a quantity

Method

Pull the espresso

25 ml into a warm cup, to the parameters of Certified Italian Espresso.
Stain it

Add the milk at the centre, a little and from close up, so it stays as a mark on the crema.

Common mistakes

It turns into a mini cappuccino → too much milk: the stain has to stay readable as a stain.
The milk punches through the crema → poured from too high, or too fast.
Cold macchiato: cold milk drops the cup temperature sharply, so warm the cup first.

The macchiato is the most widespread and least defined Italian preparation: an espresso with a stain of milk, hot or cold depending on what was asked for.

We looked for a quantity declared by a source and there is none. The difference between a macchiato and a small cappuccino is therefore one of gesture, not of measurement: the milk should mark the coffee, not sit in a layer on top of it.