How A Cortado Differs From A Macchiato In Terms Of Milk And Flavor

Macchiato coffees and cortados are both smaller sized, espresso-based drinks and can be easy to mix up. If you've ever asked the barista for a macchiato when you really wanted to try a cortado on your coffee run – something I, a former barista, have done myself — you'll notice a taste difference. That's because these drinks contain different ratios of espresso to milk that make them taste much more different than they look.

On the scale of espresso-based drinks, macchiatos sit one position smaller than cortados — right there between them and the smallest espresso based drink, which is just a single espresso. At just three ounces compared to the cortado's four to five, the two actually contain the same amount of espresso: One to two shots, or the equivalent of one to two fluid ounces. The difference in size comes from the amount of warm milk added, with the macchiato getting a small dollop (it's literally "marked" with milk, which is what the Italian word macchiato means) and the cortado getting an equivalent amount of milk to espresso. Cortado is a Spanish word derived from the word meaning "to cut," so the milk cuts through the espresso.

Having said that, not only do these two drinks vary slightly in size, they also vary in taste. Given that the macchiato is less diluted than the cortado, it has a much more pronounced coffee flavor. The cortado, with its 1:1 ratio of espresso to milk, on the other hand, has a slightly creamier texture that cuts through and mellows the flavor of the espresso.

During my time as a barista, I remade a lot of iced macchiato orders. Knowing that coffee chains like Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts, and even some newer drive-thru only coffee chains like 7 Brew, offer taller, iced, and flavored variations of the drink available on their menus, I understand that the gulf between expectation and reality is no fault of the customer. The popularity of these beverages have made the macchiato in particular almost unrecognizable to its traditional form.

The purpose of drinking traditional macchiatos and cortados is to enjoy the true flavor of the espresso. As mentioned before, each of these espresso drinks use a minimal amount of milk at various ratios — with the macchiato letting more of the espresso shine through than the cortado. In turn, both of these drinks taste slightly different, but they don't taste as different as the many versions you'll find on some coffee chain menus. While people can order whatever coffee drink they like, a lot of confusion stems from the blurred lines of what each drink is supposed to be and what some coffee shops make.

The truth is that much of the flavored, shaken cortados and macchiatos served on ice are actually latte macchiatos, not traditional espresso macchiatos or cortados at all; in short, they tend to have a lot more milk. Knowing the difference between all of these drinks — the cortado, the macchiato, and the latte macchiato — is just the first step to unblurring those lines so you can feel more confident about what you're ordering.