Video: How To Make Macchiato-Style Cappuccinos

How to make macchiato-style cappuccinos may be my most favorite how-to ever posted on AOC! Every morning we’re home I’m greeted with a delicious way to start the day – I know I’m one lucky girl.

When I posted the recipe for homemade chocolate sauce more than a year ago, I mentioned that my husband, Brian, has drizzled it on the cappuccinos he has made almost every morning since our daughter was born – fourteen years ago.

I kid you not. (Update: 18 years and counting…)

Here’s the story: we received a new cappuccino maker for Christmas in 1995. We were polite, but each of us wondered if we’d ever use it. I mean, it just seemed like it would be hard and we liked regular coffee. So we put it aside and just kept making our coffee the regular way.

Little did we know that the cappuccinos that machine would eventually make would become like lifeblood to us.

When our daughter was born three months later, we were not only sleep deprived, but also sort of shell-shocked from having to entertain our 3-year old during the day even though we had been awake most of the night. I know, I know…duh. None of this is news to anyone with more than one child. But what it did was spur Brian to figure out this new machine. A cappuccino just sounded so good.

And it wasn’t hard – it was actually easy once he got the hang of it. And they were really good…soon we didn’t want to go without our morning capp – we became slightly addicted.

So after fourteen+ years of using the machine almost every day, Brian has developed a system to make the easiest (and tastiest) cappuccinos at home, which he found out are actually a macchiato-style where you pour the espresso through the foamy milk. We love them so much we want to share what Brian’s learned and make sure everyone can have the tools to use their machine to make wonderful macchiato-style cappuccinos, too. So Brian created a step-by-step video with everything you need to know – you really can do it, too. Honest.

Wondering if it’s worth it? Just for fun (because we wouldn’t actually have bought cappuccinos everyday…) we did a little math on the approximate amount it would’ve cost us over the years buying a daily $2.50 drink at a coffee shop:

• Two double cappuccinos @ $2.50 each for one year = $1,820 (We’re going to round it down to $1,500 to account for time on vacations, etc., though we’ve been known to take the machine with us to hotels!)
• $1,500 x 14 years = $21,000!
• our approximate cost (though we’re using today’s prices, so it may be less…) using 3 lb. bags of Costco coffee we buy for $12.00 and milk= $137 a year
• $137 x 14 years = $1,918 for a savings of: $19,082!!!!

Wow, it’s sorta shocking to see the amount that can be spent buying a couple of innocent cups of coffee each day, isn’t it? So now that I’ve really got your attention, watch Brian’s tutorial to learn how to treat yourself at home to wonderful macchiato-style cappuccinos – and save a bundle. Brian also provides tips on the best machine to buy – where to buy it (hint: we find a lot at thrift stores!) and how to get perfect foam.

Instructional Video

When I showed the calculations of our savings to Brian, he immediately asked, “And what do we have to show for all that savings?”

To which I answered, “The kids teeth.”