Espresso Macchiato with a Spoon of Foam
Inspired by techniques from Serious Eats.
A double espresso in a demitasse, marked with a spoonful of stiff, sweet milk foam in the centre of the crema.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Make the foam. Aerate the milk generously, keeping the wand tip high until it roughly doubles, then heat it to 60-65 °C. Tap the jug and leave it for 30 s so the foam rises and firms up.
- 2
Pull the shot. Meanwhile, pull a double espresso, 18 g in and about 40 ml out, into the warm demitasse.
- 3
Mark the crema. Spoon 1-2 tbsp of the stiff foam onto the centre of the espresso, leaving a ring of brown crema around it. Just a spot of milk is the whole idea.
Storage
Serve immediately. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
EU nutrition claims
- Source of protein: 3.8 g protein per 100 kcal, about 15% of energy (needs ≥ 12%)
- Low energy: 12 kcal per 100 ml (limit ≤ 20 kcal)
- Low fat: 0.5 g fat per 100 ml (limit ≤ 1.5 g)
- Low sugars: 0.7 g sugars per 100 ml (limit ≤ 2.5 g)
- Low salt: 0.03 g salt per 100 ml (limit ≤ 0.3 g)
Per 100 ml of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 111 ml a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Caffeine · Free sugars
- Per serving: about 85 mg caffeine (serving: 1 macchiato (double espresso, 40 ml)). Source: 40 ml espresso × USDA FDC SR Legacy #171891 (espresso, 212 mg/100 g).
- Scaling: making more servings does not change the caffeine in each serving; what counts is how many servings you drink in a day. 1 serving: 85 mg · 2 servings: 170 mg · 3 servings: 255 mg (above EFSA 200 mg at once) · 4 servings: 340 mg (above EFSA 200 mg at once).
- General guideline: EFSA Scientific Opinion on the safety of caffeine (2015): for healthy adults, up to 200 mg in a single dose and up to 400 mg per day do not raise safety concerns. 1 serving = 21 % of 400 mg. EFSA
0 g per serving
0 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 0 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- espresso machine with steam wand
- burr grinder
- digital scale
- tamper
- timer
- small milk jug (350 ml)
- teaspoon
- preheated demitasse cup (about 90 ml)
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 13 kcal |
| Protein | 0.5 g |
| Carbohydrate | 1.4 g |
| of which sugars | 0.8 g |
| of which free sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 0.6 g |
| of which saturates | 0.3 g |
| Fibre | 0 g |
| Salt | 0.03 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
3.8 g High Protein needs ≥ 5 g (20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
