this post was submitted on 14 Feb 2026
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Macchiato is a special case though. A traditional Italian macchiato is a very specific thing. It looks like this:
It’s a shot of espresso with a little bit of steamed milk added.
On the other hand, Starbucks has popularized a completely different drink that they call a macchiato:
Which is basically a large cup of frothy steamed milk with a shot of espresso poured into it.
Depending on what they’re used to, people will vastly prefer one over the other. This is usually determined by where they’re from (America or Europe). “The customer is always right in matters of taste” should definitely apply to which one they prefer!
Even Starbucks doesn't really call that just a macchiato. It's a latte macchiato. If it had Carmel on top and vanilla in the milk it would be a caramel macchiato. It both cases, to any fool that cared to pay attention, macchiato simply means marked. If you point that out to someone and you that rather than being right about what it's called, it quickly becomes clear if they are just rightly confused and ignorant or looking to start some drama. Some people get VERY aggressive when they sense any slight on their pride. Some people have some very outsized feelings about how Starbucks makes and names their products.
Same deal with the short, tall, grande, venti, trente vs. small, medium, large, 20oz, 30oz. confusion. That one was tricky because Karen's would misinterpret the calling of the drinks to the bar as a correction. Those people were generally miserable and hopeless.
Diplomatically negotiating these kinds of conversations is a special kind of hell, but the lessons can be valuable. Unfortunately, it's a skill that most people don't get paid enough for.
On the one hand, you have a multi billion dollar Seattle-based coffee corporation that uses Italian sounding names on many of its products as part of a deliberate marketing strategy to seem refined, sophisticated, and upper-class (relative to “working class” coffee from Dunkin Donuts or McDonald’s).
On the other hand you have Italian culture and cuisine, with a lot of very strong reactions to these sorts of marketing strategies and appropriations.
No need to be a troll
Get over yourself. Starbucks makes billions selling sugary milk and ice with a splash of coffee. They don’t need you to defend them!