Because I am just beginning to find out how to make coffee, I was checking different sites. Wikipedia says that a latte macchiato is frothed milk on the bottom and espresso on top. I put the frothed milk on the bottom but when I pour the espresso on top it just repositions itself to the bottom anyway. How do you get it on top? I am referring to the difference between having a caffe latte and a latte macchiato.

I don't believe you can get the espresso to sit on top of the frothed milk. This is all a function of density. Frothed milk is less dense than regular milk as you've mixed air into it. Espresso is a combination of extracted liquid coffee and crema. The amount of crema is determined by the amount of CO2 gas in the beans and is released under pressure. After the shot is finished the foamy crema will sit on top of the liquid coffee and will gradually separate out and become liquid coffee - the way the head on a beer does.

I believe what they are talking about in what you describe is that you can get the crema to sit on top of the poured frothed milk. The trick is to pour the milk from a sufficient height that the stream is thinner and is falling at a rate sufficient to penetrate to the bottom of the cup, leaving the crema essentially undisturbed at the top. This is a basic technique in pouring latte art. Pouring closer to the surface will layer the frothed milk on top of the crema. Hope this helps.

An alternative is to spoon the frothed milk on top.

That would put the froth milk on top.

I don't seem to be able to uncover much info about a latte macchiato. Even this poster doesn't have that included



I found this page on wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latte_macchiato

Youtube has a few videos showing how to make a latte macchiato.

Here is one from WLL that describes the differences between the two types.