An Open Letter to the Starbucks Macchiato

By Sarah Wagner, Editor-in-Chief

May 1, 2014

Dear Starbucks Macchiato,

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I have to tell you something you may not want to hear. You are not a macchiato.

I know, I know. It’s a lot to take in. You are delicious and your flavor is unparalleled, but you are not a macchiato. You may be confused. “If I’m not a macchiato then who is?” you may have thought to yourself. Well my dear friend, I’m so glad you asked. A macchiato is defined as espresso with a dash of frothy steamed milk. Now, when I look at you I see milk, I see a little espresso, I definitely see some delicious flavored syrup—but I do not see this:

A true macchiato. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, a freely licensed media file repository — A “true” macchiato. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, a freely licensed media file repository

Don’t look so sad, Starbucks Macchiato, I’m not asking you to change! I’m not saying you should taste or look like a true macchiato. I just don’t see why you feel the need to call yourself something you’re not. You are original, my friend. You are your own drink, and you deserve a name that fits who you are.

Again I apologize for having to be the one to tell you this, but I think it will benefit you to know the truth.

Sincerely,
Any coffee connoisseur

About the Contributor

Sarah Wagner, Editor-in-Chief

Sarah Wagner graduated in 2016. She was the Co-Editor-In-Chief of the Oracle in 2015-2016 along with Syd Stone. In her sophomore and junior years, she served as the News and Features editor. In 2014, she worked as an intern at the local paper The Brentwood News. Outside of the Oracle, she was a volunteer at the teen hotline Teenline, Co-President of the Student store, a member of the debate team and a PAWS peer tutor.

Comments (4)

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Kris • Jul 19, 2021 at 6:21 am

The Starbucks macchiato is a caramel macchiato. The other macchiato you show is an espresso macchiato which Starbucks also has. One is their own invention and one is the standard macchiato you are accustomed to. So if you want a macchiato from Starbucks, order an espresso macchiato and you shall receive what you wish for.

Sincerely,

A Starbucks Partner


https://archeroracle.org/10686/voices/humor-an-open-letter-to-the-starbucks-macchiato/#comment-19189
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Olga • Aug 9, 2019 at 9:43 am

Basic research of coffee types before writing this article would have been a must 🙂


https://archeroracle.org/10686/voices/humor-an-open-letter-to-the-starbucks-macchiato/#comment-18756
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Olga • Aug 9, 2019 at 9:40 am

Picture on the right is latte macchiato, on the left is espresso macchiato. It’s two very different things


https://archeroracle.org/10686/voices/humor-an-open-letter-to-the-starbucks-macchiato/#comment-18755
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  Georgina • Mar 4, 2022 at 4:26 am
  
  Agreed. But the Starbucks macchiato calls itself a caramel macchiato. It should be called a caramel latte macchiato. If I ordered this I would be expecting the espresso version as it’s not clear in the name that it is actually the latte version of this drink.
  
  
  https://archeroracle.org/10686/voices/humor-an-open-letter-to-the-starbucks-macchiato/#comment-19314