Starbucks maple macchiato

December 21 2005

I'm not a huge Starbucks guy, but when I'm traveling, I do often find myself in queue for a caramel macchiato.  Here in Cambridge, though, the menu board also features a maple macchiato (and latte).  I tried it yesterday, and it was OK but not a repeater IMHO.  So why the blog?  Well, I learned yesterday that the maple macchiato is a New England (and, accoring to some blogs, Canadian) thing only.  A query to a barista at a Chicago Starbucks yesterday resulted in rolled eyes and a "we have some maple cookies" response.  It's not even mentioned anywhere on starbucks.com.  The first bunch of google hits are bloggers who have tried the drink.  Strange marketing.

Ed Brill Cambridge, MA USA Category:  Travel  Add/View Comments [23]

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  1. 1  Karen  | 12/21/2005 8:13:05 AM

    So, let me get this right - you live in the Midwest and didn't really like the maple macchiato. But you're wondering why they don't sell it in the Midwest?

    I'm rather attracted to the idea that it's only a "local" thing, and not on the menu. Gives it that hometown, just for you feel. And it's just coffee. I live in the Midwest, and I'm not worked up because out East they're drinking maple macchiatos and I'm not.

    I dunno'... maybe I'm missing something... (but it's not the maple macchiato. ba dum bump!)

  1. 2  Ed Brill www.edbrill.com | 12/21/2005 8:15:59 AM

    maybe i need to go get another coffee ;)

  1. 3  Simon Barratt http://apps.fmc.com/blog.nsf | 12/21/2005 9:14:38 AM

    Call me old fashioned, but just give me a piping hot cup of plain and simple coffee any day.

    If it needs spicing up, then throw in a Baileys!

  1. 4  norm van bergen  | 12/21/2005 9:31:30 AM

    @3: Mmmmm - Baileys. Now you're talking Simon. Always make that a part of my Christmas morning coffee ritual (and the day before, and the day before that....).

    ;-)

  1. 5  norm van bergen  | 12/21/2005 9:34:59 AM

    Being from Canada, we get a lot of maple this and maple that, especially for the tourists who find the idea of condensed tree sap a real novelty (or bizarre, or both). I can say with some authority on the maple subject, that most maple flavoured drinks/foods are not often done well. They're often too sweet and/or use an inferior grade of syrup. Perhaps I'll bring a bottle of the good stuff to Lotusphere with me and pass it around at coffee break time, eh? <--- couldn't resist...

  1. 6  Ben Rose http://www.jaffacake.net | 12/21/2005 11:48:05 AM

    They're almost giving away Baileys here this xmas.

    Less than £10 for 1litre of the stuff and with added mint and caramel flavours too.

    I've got a few litres in stock ;O)

  1. 7  Libby http://www.notesgirl.com | 12/21/2005 11:52:27 AM

    in SF, I found green tea chai lattes, which is what I drink at home -- but only in SF -- not any other Starbucks, either in Houston, Portland, or Boston, have I found them.

    I think they like having something local.

    I still wish they'd spread the green tea chai around a bit more, though.

    ;-)

  1. 8  Bill Geimer  | 12/21/2005 12:01:27 PM

    In New Hampshire, they have crab rolls at McDonalds. Its not surprising to see maple latte's in the NorthEast or Canada. With every town looking more and more like the same set of chain hotels, restaurants, and bars, I would think this would be the last bastion of sampling local color and one of the big reasons for travel.

  1. 9  Bill Geimer  | 12/21/2005 12:58:04 PM

    @7 - I checked with the barista in the Starbucks in the building here in Chicago (one bank, one coffee shop or something). They told me they only get the supplies to make Green Chai Tea Latte's in the summer. But she also said I was not the first one to ask about it this week; they had folks from Las Vegas looking for it too, so perhaps there.

    @6, £10 per litre; not bad. Its $18.99 per 0.75 litre when its not on sale here.

  1. 10  Darren http://www.dadams.co.uk | 12/21/2005 4:56:15 PM

    While I was in New York at the weekend, I was reminded of the gag in Shrek 2 when the giant gingerbread man went on the rampage - the occupants of 'Farbucks' ran out and headed directly for the one across the road (I was the only person in the cinema who laughed). There seemed to be a Starbucks every 50 yards. Anyway, the wife had a hot chocolate, the kid was having warm milk, and I was having a caramel macchiato - and one of the staff brought round a tray of small measures of pumpkin-spiced latte. The wife (not a coffee lover) took one sip and handed it to me, and I downed both of them. Very nice.

    Also on offer was egg-nog latte, but I didn't get the chance to try it... not because I couldn't find a Starbucks ;o)

    @6 - Ben, mint Baileys is so wrong. But not as wrong as lemon After Eight mints. That's a step too far.

  1. 11  Brian Benz http://www.softwaresoapbox.com | 12/21/2005 5:04:42 PM

    I can confirm sightings of the Green Tea Chai Lattes here in Vegas.

    On the subject of Maple Syrup - Aside from the Maple drinks in the Starbucks in Montreal and elsewhere, in the fall and winter during the "sugaring season" you can visit a "Cabane A Sucre" (Sugar Cabin) in the Quebecios countryside.

    Featured is a communal meal served family-style at big long tables. Maple on and in everything, and after you can have a horse-drawn slegh ride though the nearby snow-covered woods. The capper is the "Maple taffy on snow" - Semi-Frozen Maple poured onto snowballs that you pick off with a popsicle stick.

    Example:

    { Link }

  1. 12  Ed Brill www.edbrill.com | 12/21/2005 5:58:55 PM

    I almost blogged about said Baileys -- for some reason, it's not on -their- website, either. We picked up the caramel Baileys for 9 quid a bottle at Heathrow duty-free... marketed as a "world exclusive" which obviously wasn't. The caramel is much more interesting than the mint, imho.

  1. 13  Darren http://www.dadams.co.uk | 12/21/2005 6:57:04 PM

    @13 - it was a world exclusive in Dublin too. Funny that...

  1. 14  Ben Rose http://www.jaffacake.net | 12/22/2005 1:52:32 AM

    @13 - Sounds like I should get in some stock of these 'world exclusive' Baileys mixes. Maybe I could eBay them :O)

  1. 15  steven  | 12/22/2005 7:36:30 AM

    I used to be a Starbuck's junkie, but gave it up to help save for my son's college tuition (he's 2 so I've decided to start early). When you have one in your workplace, it makes it hard if you are a coffee addict. $10 a day and more sometimes..... I also used to be part owner in a coffee house in Michigan (pre-Starbucks evil empire days) , but I just drink coffee for the taste!

    So to the point....out here in D.C., many of baristas are pretty good about making you anything you can come up with as long as they have the goods. My fav was a triple grande mocha eggnog latte (egnoog only around the Nov-Jan holiday season). Could not get the cashier to ring it up the same way twice, but it is quite good if not pricy.

    At our old place (Shauman's Bluff in Big Rapids, MI), one of our popular items was called the Nancy Sinatra. Technically, it was called a Nancy and made with coffee, not espresso, but it was named after one of our best customers and it was so good that it made our permanent menu. A Nancy Sinatra is 3 shots of espresso (a bit more "kick" than a straight Nancy), 12 oz of steamed chocolate milk, a shot of Irish Cream and a shot of cream deMenth (we used the flavored syrups of course, but the hard staff would be good too.) In Michigan circa 1992 that came to $2.95. Or in 2006 Starbucks funds, I think it would pay for the first semester books.

  1. 16  Brian Benz http://www.softwaresoapbox.com | 12/22/2005 11:13:34 AM

    @13-15 - Perhaps they meant that it's not sold on any other world? ;)

  1. 17  Julia http://kajule.blog.de | 7/20/2006 3:28:25 AM

    The Starbucks Maple Macchiato is one of the best coffees I ever tried. In my holidays in 2005 I was in Canada to visit my uncle and every time I saw a Starbucks Café I trunk a maple macchiato because where I live there is no Starbucks and I love Starbucks. Well here in Germany there exists Starbucks but far away an only in big cities. So enjoy your coffee ;)

  1. 18  Susan  | 10/11/2006 9:40:36 PM

    They just started serving the Maple Macchiato at the Starbucks here in Fairbanks, Alaska. I guess it takes a while to get to the Last Frontier. I haven't tried it yet, but I just adore the Pumpkin Spice Latte.

  1. 19  Miche  | 10/21/2006 10:05:12 PM

    They sell it in the San Francisco Bay Area. I've seen in many locations.

  1. 20  martola  | 10/25/2006 9:02:14 PM

    I had a Green Tea Chai Latte today... I live in Westchester, NY! There is a Starbucks right in Mount Kisco, NY (approx. 40 north of Manhattan!!!!)

  1. 21  Madseason  | 11/11/2006 10:55:36 PM

    Here in Missouri, we have carmel and maple macchiatos. But I hadn't seen them before this November.

  1. 22  Greg http://www.competitornw.com | 12/29/2006 1:16:51 AM

    Maple macchiato: Understand that I'm a hardcore grande house (i.e. drip) coffee kinda' guy, but on advice from a friend, gave the maple macc a shot. Wow. It's extremely sweet, but if you have them do HALF of the pumps of maple, you're in the money.

  1. 23  Katherine   | 2/5/2007 11:38:55 PM

    hey, i'm from the midwest and i order a maple macchiato everyday. its not on the menus here but you can still get it. they are my favorite