What Does a Caramel Macchiato Taste Like? Here’s the Answer!

It’s not even a question of why a caramel macchiato is expensive. The caramel drink deserves to be treated above all. Let’s get to know more about its bold taste and why does it taste so.

What Does Caramel Macchiato Tastes Like?

Caramel Macchiato tastes like a nice sugary blend of cappuccino and espresso. The heavenly drink gives a milky tang in each sip. In simple words, it’s a creamy coffee that tastes like a fancy vanilla latte.

What Kind of Drink Is a Macchiato?

Macchiato is a caramel layered drink with more milk stained by fewer espresso shots. Mostly the ratio is 2:1 for espresso and milk.

Traditionally, it’s a hot Italian beverage (Macchiato Caldo). It is also served with ice during the summertime. The cold version of Macchiato (Macchiato Freddo) is an ultimate hit during summer.

The caramel macchiato tastes amazingly bracing for seven days if refrigerated.

Flavor Profile of Starbucks Caramel Macchiato

The drink is also served under the name of latte macchiato. It has a strong flavor that gives you a bitter and sweet taste at the same time. And, why is that so?

Well, the steamed milk stained by two espresso shots gives a subtle espresso taste. Whereas, the nice sugary blend is created by adding vanilla and caramel to it. The final outcome is the drink with a more bold taste and caffeinated than a latte. 

With that said, the drink can have a preferred strong coffee note depending upon the caffeine kick in it. The more caffeine, the stronger the flavor profile. 

The Starbucks Caramel Macchiato contains 19g of sugar and 75 mg of caffeine in 8 fl oz (0.24 l).

It tastes a lot like espresso, meaning the higher quality of beans used, the better flavor profile.

Why Should You Not Mix Your Caramel Macchiato?

Know that a three-layered drink is enjoyed without stirring. This is where the caramel macchiato got its purpose from. So, enjoy sipping it layer by layer.

The caramel macchiato tastes sweeter at the top due to caramel. However, you’ll experience the bitter taste as you’ll reach the bottom of it.

You are meant to experience the drink, not as one single flavor, but as multiple flavors experienced one at a time, starting with the foam on the top

How to Make Homemade Starbucks Caramel Macchiato?

You can enjoy the perfect homemade version of Starbucks caramel macchiato with this recipe. However, there are some ingredients’ specifications that can help you to make a sloppy joe of the day.

Ingredients

Steps to Make Caramel Macchiato

• Heat the milk and froth it using a whisker or milk frother.
• Alongside, prepare 2 oz (0.08 kg) espresso using an espresso machine or a French press.
• Pour 2tbsp of vanilla and milk foam into the cup containing espresso.
• Time to mark steamed milk with espresso. Pour the espresso at the top of the milk foam.
• Drizzle the caramel sauce, forming the uppermost layer of the drink.

How to Make Iced Caramel Macchiato?

This one is the iced version of caramel macchiato, with no milk foam. 

The recipe is as simple as pouring cold milk over the vanilla syrup and adding ice and espresso. Drip over some caramel, and it’s ready to be served.

What Is Iced Caramel Macchiato Upside Down?

As the name says, it’s prepared by reversing the recipe. The upside-down version tastes uniformly sweeter because of the caramel sitting at the bottom. Read more about this unique Macchiato here

The iced caramel macchiato tastes creamy and like a richly vanilla-flavored coffee.

Macchiato Vs. Latte: Which One Tastes Better?

Well, this truly depends on your preferred flavor profile and the place you are buying from. 

Talking about American latte and macchiato, they are served in the same cup size. So, you might experience less espresso flavor in a macchiato. Yet, it contains the same milk content as the latte, thus named latte macchiato.

An Italian latte is just a simple cup of milk, having no coffee notes. Whereas, Café latte contains coffee/espresso flavor in no-foam milk.

It seems macchiato is perfect for those who want to experience espresso flavor notes. However, a latte can satisfy a richly flavored (caramel, vanilla) drink lover.

Takeaway

The caramel macchiato tastes like milky coffee that can be enjoyed hot or cold, depending on your personal preferences. 

The macchiato has the intense coffee notes than the latte, which gives it a bitter taste. However, the vanilla syrup and caramel together reduce the bitter taste. Thus, it makes it taste like a sweet vanilla latte.