Ever wanted to create your favorite Starbucks drink at home? This is how to make an iced caramel macchiato.

I’ve been loving recreating Starbucks coffee drinks at home.

So here I’m bringing you the iced caramel macchiato. It’s very simple to make with just a few ingredients – espresso, milk, vanilla syrup and caramel sauce.

But before getting into how to make it, I’ll cover what exactly a macchiato is and why the Starbucks iced caramel macchiato should actually be called an iced caramel latte macchiato.

But really, whatever you call it, it’s worth making!

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What is a macchiato?

Macchiato translates to marked or stained. So a macchiato coffee drink is a shot of espresso that’s ‘stained’ with a little steamed milk. We call this the espresso macchiato.

Again, the shot of espresso with just a little milk is called an espresso macchiato and this is because there’s also another macchiato – the latte macchiato.

The latte macchiato is a coffee drink that is milk topped with a shot or two of espresso, resulting in a layered look. So if you want to avoid confusion at a cafe, verify whether it’s an espresso macchiato or a latte macchiato. Starbucks, for example, has both on their menu.

Because of that shot or two of espresso on the top, the first few sips of this coffee drink is mostly a bold coffee. Then as you take more sips, the coffee gets subtler as it starts to mix in with the milk.

The latte macchiato is what we’re making in this recipe.

There are a few macchiatos on the Starbucks menu. Here we’re going to make a Starbucks copycat of their iced caramel macchiato.

The Starbucks iced caramel macchiato is espresso with vanilla syrup over milk and ice and topped with a drizzle of caramel.

The caramel flavor is just on the top, so imagine the first sip tasting of really strong coffee and caramel, then a little vanilla and then a subtle coffee flavored milk. It’s a flavorful experience.

Whether you use caramel sauce like in a Starbucks drink, or put in a few drops of caramel syrup like in my recipe, here’s how to make an iced caramel macchiato.

Iced Caramel Macchiato Ingredients

¼ cup espresso (I used Illy Intenso)
1 tablespoon vanilla syrup (I used Monin Vanilla Syrup)
1 cup milk
8-10 ice cubes
Drizzle of caramel sauce/caramel syrup

Espresso

I used Illy Intenso Whole Beans and brewed it in a stovetop moka pot. I use a Hario Skerton grinder to grind the beans before brewing.

You can use any of your favorite coffee beans. If you wanted to make this as close to the Starbucks drink as possible, why not try one of the Starbucks espresso beans?

I make espresso using a moka pot. I find this to be the closest way to make a strong, concentrated coffee.

Vanilla syrup

I used Monin Vanilla Syrup.

You can use a store bought or homemade vanilla syrup. Monin’s vanilla syrup uses pure Madagascar vanilla and does not contain any artificial flavors or ingredients.

If you don’t have vanilla syrup on hand but still want to make this iced caramel macchiato right now, you can make your own vanilla syrup at home as long as you have sugar, water and vanilla extract.

Put equal amounts of sugar and water on the stovetop over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then add in vanilla extract. It’s simple and tastes almost as good as a store bought one.

Milk

I used almond milk. You can use any milk of your preference – whole milk, skim milk or any milk alternative.

Ice cubes

I used regular water based ice cubes, but sometimes for my iced coffees, I like using coffee ice cubes.

It’s a simple coffee ‘hack’ so you’ll never have diluted coffee again. Simply pour coffee (this can even be leftover coffee from your morning pot) into ice cube trays, freeze it and use it in your iced coffee drink creations.

I prefer making the ice cubes with the coffee that I know I’m going to be using to make whatever coffee drink I’m crafting to keep it consistent.

Caramel syrup/sauce

I used Monin Caramel Syrup.

The fun part about macchiatos is the layers. The first sip is just the strong coffee before it mixes in with the milk. The iced caramel macchiato adds in an extra flavor of caramel along with the strong coffee.

If you get the drink at Starbucks, they use a caramel sauce. You can also use a caramel sauce, like one from Ghiradelli. Or you can also use caramel syrup. I used Monin caramel syrup, which I already had on hand.