Cappuccino vs Macchiato: Difference and Comparison

All around the world, coffee is the best commercially available beverage with the most consumers. Starting from waking people up for work or, giving a sudden boost of energy, coffee comes quite a hand.

Cappuccino and Macchiato are two types of coffee variants of many, both having their origin in Italy.

Key Takeaways

1. Cappuccino is made with equal parts of espresso, steamed milk, and milk foam, while Macchiato is made with espresso and a small amount of steamed milk.
2. Cappuccino is larger than Macchiato.
3. Cappuccino has a creamier texture, while Macchiato has a stronger coffee taste.

Cappuccino Vs Macchiato

Cappuccino is a popular coffee drink consisting of equal parts espresso, steamed milk, and milk foam. A macchiato is an espresso-based drink with a small amount of foamed milk on top, leading to a stronger and more robust coffee flavor.

Cappuccino is a coffee variant having 1 to 2 shots of espresso with half a portion of milk, foamed milk. Cappuccino can be varied with preference, instead of milk, cream can be used, and also for a non-diary cappuccino.

It can be topped with chocolate shavings, caramel, or even cinnamon.

Macchiato is a drink with shorts of expresso with a very small amount of milk on top. The term macchiato means stained expresso, which means that a small amount of milk is staining the expresso.

Macchiato is traditionally a stronger caffeine beverage as it has very little amount of milk.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Cappuccino	Macchiato
Terminology/ origin of the name	The term Cappuccino is an Italian term which means ‘Capuchin’, as it’s resemblance with that of a Capuchin’s habit.	The word Macchiato comes from Italy. It comes from the word macchiare meaning mark or stain and Macchiato meaning Stained coffee.
Time of consumption	Cappuccino is a morning drink.	Macchiato is consumed in the afternoon.
Calories(16 ounces of coffee)	Cappuccino contains approximately 130 calories.	Macchiato contains about 104calories.
Taste	Cappuccino has a creamier and richer taste due to the streamed milk.	Macchiato has a stronger and bitter taste as there is a very little amount of milk.
Serving quantity	The general serving quantity of cappuccino is almost 230ml.	The general serving quantity of macchiato is almost 30ml .

What is Cappuccino?

Cappuccino is a coffee drink with equal parts of expresso and streamed milk, also known as frothed milk, and then topped off with milk foam. Cappuccino is a blend of coffee with a creamy texture.

Foaming the milk for cappuccino is an important task as it brings creaminess. One cup of Cappuccino contains approximately 100 -130 calories.

The term Cappuccino is an Italian term which means ‘Capuchin,’ as it’s a resemblance with that of a Capuchin’s habit. Generally, preparing a cappuccino may take 10 to 15 minutes.

For making a cappuccino, approximately 2 shots of expresso are needed. For that, 4 ounces of water with 2 tablespoons of ground coffee will make the expresso.

Then an equal amount of milk goes into the cappuccino, and then for the foam, 4 ounces of milk is needed to make frothed milk blends with the espresso shot.

The frothed milk is creamy and is also known as streamed milk. As the third layer of the cappuccino, it is topped off with milk form and then decorated as per preference, and flavors like cinnamon or chocolate shavings are added at this point. ( 16 ounces).

What is Macchiato?

The word Macchiato comes from Italy. It comes from the word macchiare meaning mark or stain, and Macchiato meaning Stained coffee.

It is called stained coffee because there is very little milk used in the expresso, and thus the expresso looks stained with a little amount of milk. Macchiato is prepared by making 2 shots of espresso with 1-2 tablespoons of milk foam topped on the expresso shot.

Macchiato is a stronger variation of the coffee beverage and absolutely splendid for people who want to enjoy the taste of expresso, but a puro expresso shot might be quite stronger for them.

Macchiato lets the taste of expresso shine through in the taste buds. Macchiatos are made for consumption during the afternoons. A macchiato might contain about 104 calories( 16 ounces).

 Over the years, Macchiato has gone through a lot of variations. Today, Caramel Macchiato is a very popular version of macchiato. Since Macchiato is has a bold caffeine taste, its standard serving size is smaller than the rest ( Around 20-30 ml a cup).

A standard serving of macchiatos consists of around 80mg of caffeine consisting of double shots of espresso.

 Main Differences Between Cappuccino and Macchiato

Although both the drinks are made from coffee, cappuccino, and macchiato have some major differences between them.

1. Cappuccino is a morning drink, whereas Macchiato is an afternoon coffee beverage.
2. Cappuccino is made from equal parts of espresso, steamed milk, and milk froth. Macchiato is made with major expresso topped with a very little amount of foamed milk.
3. Cappuccino has a much creamier taste as there are equal parts of espresso and milk and froth. Macchiato is stronger and bitter. But both of them contain an equal amount of expresso.
4. The nutritional value of cappuccino is heavier than Macchiato. Since Cappuccino contains more amount of milk than Macchiato, Cappuccino is higher in calories, fat, and protein than compared to Macchiato.
5. Cappuccino was first discovered during the 1800s, while Macchiato was first discovered in the 1980s. Both of them originated in Italy.

References

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0023643820312470
2. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1706&context=ethos

Last Updated : 26 July, 2023