Meaning & use
macchiatos
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“macchiatos” is a form of “macchiato”.
Meanings
nounplural
More than one macchiato: espresso drinks marked with just a small spoonful of foamed or steamed milk on top.
Grammar: Plural of a countable noun: two macchiatos, please; one macchiato is enough.
Patterns
- order macchiatos
- macchiatos with something
We ordered two macchiatos and shared a slice of lemon cake.
The café is famous for its macchiatos, which come in tiny glasses.
Both macchiatos arrived with a perfect dot of foam.
nounpluralinformal
Sweet, tall drinks sold by coffee chains, made with plenty of milk and flavored syrup, sometimes with a caramel topping.
Grammar: Used for the chain-store version: caramel macchiatos are much milkier than the Italian original.
Patterns
- caramel macchiatos
- iced macchiatos
She buys iced caramel macchiatos on her way to the office.
The new menu has pumpkin macchiatos for the autumn season.
Those macchiatos are really more like milky desserts than coffee.
Word forms
| singular | macchiato |
|---|
Common combinations
- order two macchiatos
- Let's order two macchiatos before the meeting starts.
- caramel macchiatos
- Caramel macchiatos are the bestsellers on weekends.
- iced macchiatos
- He prefers iced macchiatos in the summer heat.
- make macchiatos
- The barista learned to make macchiatos in her first week.
- espresso macchiatos
- Espresso macchiatos are served in small cups in Italy.
Synonyms and how they differ
- espressos
- Espressos are plain shots without any milk, whereas macchiatos have a small milk topping.
- cortados
- Cortados contain roughly equal parts espresso and warm milk, so they are milder than a traditional macchiato.
- lattes
- Lattes are mostly milk with a little espresso, so they taste much less strong than macchiatos.
Word family
- macchiato noun
- a single espresso drink topped with a little milk foam
- espresso noun
- strong coffee brewed under pressure, the base of the drink
- barista noun
- a person who makes coffee drinks professionally
Commonly confused: macchiatos or mochas? macchiatos or matchas?
macchiatos vs mochas
Mochas are coffee drinks with chocolate in them, which a macchiato does not contain.
macchiatos vs matchas
Matchas are green tea drinks and have no connection to coffee, despite sounding similar.
Practice
Which drink is traditionally closest to an espresso with only a spot of foam on top?
Choose one answer.
A macchiato is espresso with a small dollop of milk foam. Lattes and cappuccinos contain much more milk, and mochas include chocolate.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “macchiatos”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.