Do you know the difference?
When you order a latté or a latté macchiato, do you know what you’re actually ordering? To be honest, I feel like most people don’t. For example, it’s happened on multiple occasions when I hand a customer their cappuccinos, and they ask me why it’s so light. We’ll get into why I was asked this later.
Latté – “milk coffee”
The basis of most drinks is milk and espresso. In a latté, they go in a specific order: espresso, and then steamed milk. The skinny vanilla latté is one of the Starbucks’ customer’s most popular drink. When you order a latté, it stays true to its definition. It’s espresso with lots of milk.
Macchiatos – “espresso with a dash of milk”
A macchiato also involves milk and espresso. In a caramel macchiato for example, the order is steamed milk and then an espresso shot. But take a guess as to what happens when someone orders a latté macchiato? I kid you not, when I say that a latté macchiato is exactly the same as a latté. If you ordered the caramel macchiato as a caramel latté macchiato, then you have caramel syrup, espresso, and then milk in your drink. This is not what the definition of a macchiato is. Technically, a macchiato should be an espresso heavy drink, with a literal dot/mark of milk. There is an espresso macchiato, which is espresso heavy with a dot of milk. This is confusing thought, because the other drinks referred to as “macchiatos” don’t fit the definition. I may work at Starbucks, but that doesn’t mean I agree with the perception of their coffee making techniques.
Cappuccinos – “espresso with frothy milk (foam)”
The customer I spoke of earlier, questioned me about their drink, because they truly didn’t know what they were ordering. A cappuccino has espresso about the bottom, with a heavy amount of FOAM above it. When the drink is completed, it feels very light in comparison to other drinks.
The Same, but Different.
Now you probably think it would make sense for these drinks to be priced about the same. That’s partially the case and we can see that with this comparison:
Grande Latté: $3.85
Grande Caramel Macchiato: $4.75
Grande Latté Macchiato: $4.75
Grande Cappuccino: $3.85
After looking at the prices, I have questions. Why is a cappuccino the same price as the latté when it’s made of literal foam? Why is a latté macchiato more expensive than a latté when it’s literally the same drink? To be honest, I wanted to talk about this for a couple reasons:
- People don’t know the difference, and I think it’s important if you’re ordering it all the time.
- I was thoroughly confused when I was learning to make drinks in the beginning.
- On the daily, I have to tell people the differences because they ask.
- You should know what you’re paying for.
You could say I’m a hypocrite, because I continue to drink the coffee anyway. Don’t tell me you’ve never been confused about why you’re still doing something and didn’t continue doing it.