Tbh you’re ordering it right, baristas just tend to get yelled at when they make it correctly. I had the one guy I ever made this for tell me I was “fucking braindead” because I didn’t fill his cup with milk… like, you know… a latte…

So, it’s probably overcautious baristas or baristas who were simply never taught how to make an espresso macchiato because it is an EXTREMELY rare order.

One time I had a guy order an espresso macchiato in the cafe in a venti cup. I called him over to the bar and confirmed that an espresso macchiato was espresso and foam, and asked if he wanted the entire cup filled with foam? He told me yes, fill the entire cup.

Okay…

Turns out he wanted a caramel macchiato and didn’t know what he was ordering EVEN AFTER I talked to him.

Confirm with whoever is taking your order that you want espresso with a dollop of foam and ask them to confirm with the barista on bar

Maybe order a short cappuccino extra dry? I don't know but it is a very uncommon order. But maybe if you say "that's the drink with only foam and espresso, right?" That may kinda point the barista in the right direction on how to make it

youre probably ordering it right, and the baristas are just not trained well. maybe specify that you want extra foam and less milk? but again, there is probably not much that you can do about this

You are ordering it correctly. Unfortunately due to the popularity of the caramel macchiato it confuses new baristas and customers as to what IS a macchiato. The blame goes to Starbucks on this one. They should not have two drinks using the same name but are made completely differently.

You might be okay to explain you want just the espresso in the short cup with the dollop of foam on top? Depending on when the barista trained, “macchiato” can mean about 5 different things at Starbucks. My trainer told me it’s just a latte made upside down with whole milk… which is of course absolutely wrong.

They’re getting confused with the “Latte Macchiato”.

Latte Macchiato: Steamed Milk, Foam, Shots on Top

Espresso Macchiato: Shots, Dollop of Foam on Top

I remember my espresso macchiato customers would specify at the register how they wanted their drink, they'd say (politely) "Just two scoops of foam please".

It doesn't help you mobile ordering, but it definitely avoided issues in the cafe. Everyone expects it to be a little different, even though the recipe card (back when I worked there) called for 1 large dollop of foam on top of the shots.

The right verbiage can help! Try ordering it as “a traditional macchiato and not a Starbucks macchiato” that could prompt a conversation about how to make it instead of them assuming you just want a Carmel Macchiato without the syrups. I honestly didn’t know what the difference was between the Starbucks and traditional versions for the longest time!

Thanks to everyone for their input. So it seems I’m ordering correctly and unfortunately there’s no way to guarantee a good result. It’s also made even worse by the fact that I usually order ahead through mobile and don’t have the option to specify a short cup either. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t doing something wildly incorrect but I understand the general situation and where the general confusion may come from.

Unfortunately returning it and explaining why it’s wrong is the only solution. That will help the barista learn. Starbucks does not train enough for new Baristas to understand what a Macchiato actually is.

Don’t feel bad. Macchiato’s are so easy to make.

Multiple issues here
Training sucks now.
Even with training and experience, the menu is a complete mess because there’s a standard way to make every drink, but nearly every customer customizes their order.
Compounding on customizations, customers are generally unforgiving and just plain unkind when their customizations don’t come out as expected.

all this together and bar partners are constantly interpreting the meaning of stickers and guessing on actual standard, all while they know they need to hurry because there’s literally hundreds of customers a day.

Been at Starbucks for about 3 months now, yet to see any Macchiato except the Caramel Macchiato and the Apple Spice Macchiato ordered. So I’m not really any help, but just thought it was funny that’s all I’ve seen lol

An EM is supposed to be only 2 spoonfuls of foam so maybe if you clarify that you want 2 scoops then maybe they’ll actually do it how you want

yea they might not have been trained on it. it’s not commonly ordered at my store. and half the time they order it they meant something else

I have a regular at my store that orders this every single morning and he always specifies that he just wants a dollop of foam. You can always tell the baristas that’s how you want it done!

Any time I get an espresso macchiato while on bar I call the customer over and ask if they want one scoop of foam or two or any other specifics they want because those are such tailored drinks

Someone correct me if I’m wrong but I thought the standard was however many shots they say with three scoops of foam in a short cup, whenever somebody orders an espresso macchiato I ask if they want just a few scoops of foam or if they want scoops of foam all the way to the top of the short cup

i have a regular who orders an espresso macchiato two scoops of foam. and every day i check with him before i put the lid on to make sure it looks right. it’s because people like to order espresso macchiatos with extra milk... essentially a short latte. confuses everyone involved.

Espresso macchiatto is made with a dollop so idk why they're putting all milk

I’ve been working at Starbucks for around 8 months and I just learned how to make an espresso macchiato from this thread here. I thought it was like a caramel macchiato minus the vanilla and caramel drizzle. Learn new things from this page daily!

we have a regular who orders this every morning for her boss, she always specifies “just espresso and foam on top” if you even sound unsure. at first i thought she was just being pretentious, but seeing as this isn’t a common order and often made incorrectly at other locations, it’s more than warranted. if you’re not mobile ordering specify how you’d like the drink made and hopefully your store will learn 🙏 or complain the next time they mess it up lol

Espresso macchiato- 2 shots standard with foam on top
Macchiato- essentially a latte made with whole milk with an extra shot (S/T: 2 shots G/V: 3 shots)

You are ordering it correctly, I guess specify you only want the shots and a dollop of foam.

I've only ever had like maybe 2 people ever order it in my 3 years working, so baristas either don't know how to make it correctly, or they're used to customers insisting it has more milk on it

It's a surprisingly common order at my store, and most people who do order it specify how many scoops of foam they want, so maybe try that?

I say traditional macchiato, it tends to work

My first store was horrendous because of customer reactions to espresso macchiatos. I wasn’t even sure how to make it properly because everyone expected different things and got very angry when it wasn’t what they specifically wanted.

It’s not your fault. You could try ordering it dry with light foam? That’s what one of my regulars does. I’m not sure if that’ll result in too little foam but that’s my best guess.

i don’t think starbucks baristas know how to make espresso macchiatos honestly especially if they are knew they most likely haven’t heard of it.

It’s no fault of yours, some baristas are probably thinking of a latte macchiato instead. Just specify that it’s espresso with milk foam, not a latte.

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So… Starbucks has its weird way of drinks, I don’t think we have The Macchiato your looking for in our recipe book, however to make easy for you and the barista order Double or single Expresso with a dot/splash of foam on top, but if your talking to a Coffee Master (Black Apron) or a well Knowledgeable Barista ask for a Traditional Macchiato; Expresso Macchiato is a bit confusing because we have no way of telling if your asking Expresso Latte Macchiato or Traditional Macchiato, it’s like when some Barista’s get Confused by the Traditional Coffee terminology “Café au lait” other wise known as the “Misto” under Starbucks Terminology