Before Starbucks introduced its tall macchiato drink, there was a level of uniformity as to what macchiato is. However, with the ever-rising popularity of the Starbucks macchiato version, there has been confusion among coffee lovers, especially beginners as to what a macchiato really is.
Macchiato is an Italian word that implies stained or blotched. The traditional macchiato also known as espresso macchiato is espresso blotched with drops of steamed milk and foam.
Let’s discuss Starbucks macchiato and what is in it. We also look at all the mouthwatering Starbucks macchiato flavors.
What’s in a Starbucks Macchiato
A Starbucks macchiato has syrup (usually vanilla), steamed milk, foam, espresso, and flavored drizzle (usually caramel) in that order. Starbucks macchiato is a layered coffee drink with bittersweet caramel-y coffee flavors at the top and creamy, sweet flavors towards the bottom.
Although Starbucks macchiato is synonymous with a caramel macchiato, the coffee chain has numerous macchiato flavors including the classic espresso macchiato.
16 Mouthwatering Starbucks Macchiato Flavors to Try
Generally, Starbucks macchiato drinks get their names from the flavor of the drizzled sauce. Here is a list of all the flavors of Starbucks macchiato drinks.
- caramel macchiato
- coconut milk mocha macchiato
- mocha macchiato
- cinnamon almond milk macchiato
- caramel mocha macchiato
- toffee mocha macchiato
- toffee caramel macchiato
- apple crisp macchiato
- pumpkin spice mocha macchiato
- pumpkin caramel macchiato
- espresso macchiato
- latte macchiato
- chestnut macchiato
- brown sugar caramel macchiato
- chocolate mousse macchiato
- vanilla macchiato
All Starbucks macchiato drinks can be ordered hot or iced.
1. Caramel Macchiato
Grande nutrition
- Caffeine 150
- Calories 250
- Sugar 33 g
It’s the most popular macchiato flavor from Starbucks. It gets vanilla syrup at the bottom and caramel drizzle at the top.
Caramel macchiato debuted in 1996 as part of Starbucks’ 25-year anniversary celebrations.
2. Coconut Milk Mocha Macchiato
Grande nutrition
- Caffeine 150
- Calories 200
- Sugar 25 g
Starbucks coconut milk mocha macchiato starts with white mocha sauce and coconut milk at the bottom followed by milk foam. Espresso is poured over the foam. Finally, the drink gets caramel drizzle and mocha drizzle.
Coconut milk mocha macchiato is a delightful beverage for chocolate coffee lovers. See other mocha drinks from Starbucks.
3. Mocha Macchiato (Secret)
The mocha macchiato is similar to a caramel macchiato. The only difference is that it gets mocha drizzle instead of caramel.
Ask for a caramel macchiato and replace the caramel drizzle with mocha drizzle.
4. Cinnamon Almond Milk Macchiato
Cinnamon almond milk macchiato is made with cinnamon dolce syrup and is topped with caramel drizzle and cinnamon dolce sprinkles.
The drink is not dairy-free as both caramel syrup and cinnamon dolce sprinkles have dairy components.
5. Caramel Mocha Macchiato (Secret Drink)
This is what you get when you add chocolate to a caramel macchiato. Caramel mocha macchiato is a secret drink that you order by asking for a caramel macchiato with caramel and mocha drizzles.
Everything else remains the same including vanilla syrup at the bottom. It tastes like chocolate caramel candy with coffee.
6. Toffee Mocha Macchiato
Grande nutrition
- Caffeine 150
- Calories 240
- Sugar 31 g
This is a holiday macchiato that is served at Starbucks reinvention stores only. It gets full pumps of simple syrup and unsweetened caramel and toffee nut flavors at the bottom. The drizzle is the regular bittersweet mocha sauce.
To order toffee nut mocha macchiato at a regular store, ask for a grande caramel macchiato with two pumps of toffee and one pump of caramel syrup instead of vanilla, and replace caramel drizzle with mocha drizzle.
7. Toffee Caramel Macchiato (Secret)
Toffee has toasted caramel flavors that go so well with coffee and regular caramel. A toasted caramel macchiato has toffee nut syrup at the bottom and a caramel drizzle topping. It is essentially a caramel macchiato with toffee nut instead of vanilla.
8. Apple Crisp Macchiato
Grande nutrition
- Caffeine 150
- Calories 300
- Sugar 45 g
Starbucks apple crisp macchiato is a fall drink that uses seasonal apple brown sugar syrup and spicy apple drizzle.
It tastes much better with ristretto shots and oat milk. You may also like it mixed together instead of layered.
9. Pumpkin Spice Mocha Macchiato (Secret)
Pumpkin spice mocha macchiato starts with pumpkin spice sauce, steamed milk, and foam. Next, the foam is blotched with espresso and drizzled with mocha sauce. It also gets a pumpkin spice topping.
How to order. “Can I have a caramel macchiato with pumpkin sauce instead of vanilla and mocha instead of caramel? Please sprinkle pumpkin some pumpkin spice topping on it.”
For some more pumpkin flavor, here are more drink options with pumpkin spice.
10. Pumpkin Spice Caramel Macchiato
It is a caramel macchiato with pumpkin spice sauce substituted for vanilla syrup. You can choose to add pumpkin spice toppings to the drink or have it with drizzled caramel only.
How to order a pumpkin spice caramel macchiato. “Can I get a grande caramel macchiato with no vanilla, add pumpkin spice sauce instead?”
11. Espresso Macchiato
This is the traditional, European-style Caffe macchiato. It comes in a demitasse cup. Espresso macchiato is mostly espresso with a small amount of steamed milk and milk foam. The milk and foam appear to create white blotches to the brownish espresso crema hence the name espresso macchiato (stained espresso).
It can be one or two shots of espresso. Steamed milk and foam constitute about an ounce or less.
12. Latte Macchiato (Secret Menu)
A few years ago, latte macchiato was a permanent drink on the Starbucks drinks menu. It has since been removed from the revamped drinks menu. Nevertheless, you can still get a latte macchiato at Starbucks, you just have to order it correctly because the baristas may not be sure of how to make it.
In the old menu, latte macchiato was made with steamed whole milk, dense foam, and espresso shots poured through a single spot on the foam. It was made with an extra shot of espresso.
The most underrated trick to a latte macchiato is that espresso is delicately poured so as to suspend it between foam and milk.
Latte macchiato is not sweetened unless you want to add a sweetener to it. See all the flavored syrup options from Starbucks that you can add to a beverage.
Latte macchiato is more like a caramel macchiato with a denser foam and extra espresso and with no vanilla or caramel.
Since it’s no longer on the menu, order it as an upside-down latte with a denser foam and extra espresso or an upside-down cappuccino with an extra espresso shot.
How to order latte macchiato at Starbucks: “Can I get a grande upside-down cappuccino with an extra shot of espresso”
13. Chestnut Macchiato
It was launched as a Starbucks China drink but it’s easy to make in any Starbucks store that has the Chestnut flavor. Since chestnut is a holiday drink, you may have to wait until the festive season to enjoy this drink.
How to order chestnut macchiato. Ask for caramel macchiato with chestnut syrup instead of vanilla.
14. Brown Sugar Caramel Macchiato (Secret)
Brown sugar caramel macchiato tastes like the hazelnut macchiato which was discontinued a few years ago. It has a nutty, caramel-y flavor.
It is caramel macchiato with brown sugar syrup instead of vanilla.
The discontinued hazelnut macchiato was made with vanilla syrup and drizzled hazelnut on top. Sadly, Starbucks stopped offering hazelnut drizzle, so the drink had to go.
15. Chocolate Mousse Macchiato
Chocolate mousse macchiato is a secret macchiato drink that you can order for a loved one to show your feelings for them. Whether it’s on Valentine’s Day or on a cozy evening, you can not go wrong with this drink.
It has half-and-half, white chocolate sauce, ice, espresso, mocha drizzle, and cookie crumbles. Like all the other macchiato drinks, you can have it hot or iced.
See how to order an iced chocolate mousse macchiato.
16. Vanilla Macchiato
Unfortunately, as of now, the vanilla macchiato is discontinued. Starbucks discontinued vanilla drizzle which tasted like butterscotch. Vanilla macchiato had vanilla syrup in the drink and drizzled vanilla on top.
Hopefully, Starbucks brings back the vanilla sauce in the future.
Final Thoughts
Starbucks macchiato is a layered beverage that contains syrup, steamed milk, milk froth, espresso, and a flavored drizzle.
Starbucks has 15 different macchiato drinks with different flavors ranging from core flavors to seasonal options. Starbucks still offers the traditional European-style espresso macchiato that comes in tiny espresso cups.
