The Worst Paris Baguette Hot Drink We Tried Was Lackluster In More Ways Than One

First an idea that started in 1945 in South Korea, Paris Baguette set out to recenter the idea of a neighborhood café and bakery as the heart of a community. What began as a small bakery has now established itself as a recognizable brand that dishes out drinks and treats to those seeking comfort and French-inspired recipes. To assess some of these orders, one of our Tasting Table team writers sampled a dozen hot drinks from Paris Baguette and ranked them. While there were a few winners among the list, a surprising option fell to the bottom of the tasting endeavor. After sipping Paris Baguette's version of a caramel macchiato, it was decided that this was a drink that didn't need to be tried again.

At Paris Baguette, caramel macchiatos are poured with double espresso, steamed milk, vanilla syrup, and caramel sauce. Similar to a latte, macchiatos are supposed to offer a coffee drink that delivers creaminess from milk, flavor from coffee, and a texturally satisfying crown of milk that has been foamed to perfection. Unfortunately, our writer didn't detect much caramel in the drink, and the bit of vanilla inserted into the recipe required a keen palate to detect. In addition to an overall disappointing tasting experience, the texture of the drink was thin, if not watery. Despite the double shot claimed to be used to make this drink, the flavor of espresso was far too absent to be notable. 

Other Paris Baguette customers have also voiced their opinion about the caramel macchiato, commenting on the sweetness of the drink. "Their caramel macchiato was more caramel than macchiato but I still enjoyed it," noted one visitor on Instagram. Another reviewer on Eaten described the drink as "a tad sweet but eminently drinkable." And while we found that the beverage was thin, others haven't complained about their orders being watery or tasteless. Variations may be simply due to location or staff.

Paris Baguette offers a variety of other macchiato flavors that can be customized with options that customers have expressed appreciation for, like the Dubai macchiato and cookie butter macchiato. For those who have a caramel macchiato craving, the drink can be served iced, should you want to try your luck. If you find yourself standing in line deliberating your order, however, you may want to keep an eye open for some of the seasonal specialties and try a new kind of drink from the Paris Baguette menu.