In all my years as a barista who continues to learn and improve, I have never come across anyone who makes a macchiato by adding hot water to it. I have always made a mac (short or long) with one (or two) shots of espresso, and a stain of milk. The head barista from our coffee supplier has told me I should be adding extra hot water to the shot as well as the stain of milk. At the moment, I do not agree with her and seek your counsel to decide whether or not I have a fair argument.

Traditional, historical and modern methods are all welcome!

 

Views: 3358

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Teenoweenoccino or moocchiato:)

Jason Haeger said:

On another note, we need another name for free-poured macchiatos.. because a free pour is a whole heck of a lot more dairy than a "dollop". It's not even remotely the same consumption experience, even if the cup is the same size. 

I don't like either.  Come on, I know you can come up with the right name. ;)

Mike McGinness said:
Teenoweenoccino or moocchiato:)

Jason Haeger said:

On another note, we need another name for free-poured macchiatos.. because a free pour is a whole heck of a lot more dairy than a "dollop". It's not even remotely the same consumption experience, even if the cup is the same size. 

haha... awesome!

Mike McGinness said:
Teenoweenoccino or moocchiato:)

Jason Haeger said:

On another note, we need another name for free-poured macchiatos.. because a free pour is a whole heck of a lot more dairy than a "dollop". It's not even remotely the same consumption experience, even if the cup is the same size. 

Victoria, I see you're in Melbourne- where I have recently relocated to after the Christchurch earthquake! I've just picked up some casual work at Toby's Espresso Bar in the City, and it seems that their long macs are the same as in NZ- a long black with textured milk on the top. Not sure whether this is uniform across Australia- your comment would seem to suggest it's not...maybe it varies by coffee supplier, who supplies your beans?

 

In response to all the criticism of long macs, as I said earlier I am a long mac drinker...I'm not a huge fan of black coffee, I prefer to add milk to it. Personal preference I suppose. However, I'm mildly lactose intolerant so I can't go drinking flat whites and lattes all day, so I tend to switch to long macs to lessen the amount of milk in my coffee. The upside of a long mac to a short mac or a piccolo is that it's a larger drink because of the water, which takes longer to drink, although it has the same amount of espresso in it. As a barista I drink plenty of short macs and piccolos at work while I'm on the go, but if I'm a customer at a cafe, or grabbing a coffee to take to Uni I prefer to have a long mac, which lasts longer and is less of a "gulp-and-go" kind of drink. 

 

I would have to disagree with the "adding water is a crutch" sort of mentality, as I find that it's a lot harder to mask any bad notes or poor extractions in the coffee when it's had water added, especially seeings they have a longer drinking time. If I get a long mac, it's only from a known and trusted barista/cafe as it can so easily be muffed- the small amount of milk means that the milk aspect is much less prominent. With a flat white, latte or cappa type drink it's much easier to hide bad coffee with the sweetness of the milk. 

 

Each to their own, I suppose, but that's just my 2 cents :) I do now understand why I had so much trouble in the UK trying to articulate what a long mac was- and I shouldn't have bothered because it was totally crap coffee. I got a takeaway cup of hot water, a short black, and half a TA cup of steamed milk! Hilarious.


Victoria Stubbs said:

Laura - I am interested in the difference between the NZ and Aussie long macs! For us, a short mac is a single shot of coffee stained with milk, and a long mac is a double shot stained with milk (a good spoon of nice smooth foam and a little of the thinner stuff to give three nice layers of crema+foam, coffee+milk, and coffee at the bottom.). You can kind of see this in my picture. I will try it your way today!

Thanks again =)

Reply to Discussion

RSS

Barista Exchange Partners

Barista Exchange Friends

Keep Barista Exchange Free

Are you enjoying Barista Exchange? Is it helping you promote your business and helping you network in this great industry? Donate today to keep it free to all members. Supporters can join the "Supporters Group" with a donation. Thanks!

Clicky Web Analytics

© 2024   Created by Matt Milletto.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service