How to Make the Trendy Seoul Caramel Macchiato: What is Caramel Macchiato? A Step-by-Step Guide with Photos!

A coffee called "Caramel Latte" has suddenly taken off. It's on the menus of most coffee shops and all over social media. What exactly is this drink that has everyone obsessed? Today FrontStreet Coffee reveals all!

What Exactly is "Caramel"?

Look up caramel online and you'll find everyone introducing it the same way: it's the caramel snack that Maruko, heroine of the classic Japanese anime "Chibi Maruko-chan," adores! In fact, we have a closely related dessert called "pengtang" (the difference lies in the sugar used). The ingredients and method are dead simple: white sugar, water, and a little baking soda. Just those three ordinary things. Heat the sugar into syrup, stir in the baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), and as it heats the baking soda decomposes, releasing carbon dioxide that inflates the syrup! Cool it and break it apart, and you have caramel—hard blocks riddled with holes like a honeycomb, hence its nickname "honeycomb sugar"!

When the snack reached South Korea, some barista had a flash of inspiration and dropped it into coffee. Thus the "Caramel Latte" was born—where it too became a hit, one of the most sought-after coffee drinks of that year. Now, here's how to make one!

How to Make a Caramel Latte

It sounds complicated, but it's very easy. The popular method is basically caramel added to a latte base. So once you can make a latte, the only question is where the caramel blocks come from!

Two routes to caramel. The first suits the DIY-inclined; FrontStreet Coffee will sketch the process: ingredients are 100g white sugar, 50ml water, and 5g baking soda. Roughly: (1) put all the sugar and water in a pot over low heat; (2) stir occasionally, and have the baking soda ready once it bubbles and turns yellow; (3) set a clean plate or baking paper beside the stove, kill the heat, dump in the baking soda and stir fast! Watch the syrup balloon; (4) when it has expanded to fill the pot and is about to overflow, pour it straight onto the plate and let it cool; (5) the cooled caramel is crisp—break or crush it into small pieces, done! FrontStreet Coffee belongs to the second camp: we bought ours ready-made (after all, someone has to wash the pot, so... you know!). Offline sellers are scarce, so normally you order it online and wait for the mail!

Iced Caramel Latte

Let's build the drink! Take a 350ml glass, add 100g of ice and 200ml of iced milk; then extract 20g of coffee into 40ml of liquid over 30 seconds and pour it over the milk surface. At this point you have a latte!

Now set a few pieces of caramel on top, and the caramel latte is complete! You can also add the caramel first and pour the espresso after—less photogenic, but the hot coffee melts some of the caramel first, letting its sweetness dissolve into the drink and soften the bitterness. Stir before drinking, and it's absolutely delicious!!!

Hot Caramel Latte

The hot version is slightly different! Make a hot latte first, then sprinkle the caramel on top. Caramel added first will not only block the espresso and milk from integrating—it will melt too much, and you'll end up with a plain caramel latte rather than a caramel latte! (Small pieces work best.)

Final Thoughts from FrontStreet Coffee

Honestly, the hot version is really good! Because FrontStreet Coffee brews the Warm Sun Sunflower blend—sherry-led, with a faint whiskey aroma—combined with the caramel's sweet fragrance, the whole thing evolves into liquor-filled chocolate and toffee! Of course, there are many ways to make a caramel latte; what we've shared is simply the most traditional one. It's easy—go try it! Finally: FrontStreet Coffee stores will not be offering caramel latte~

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FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)
No. 10, Bao'an Qianjie, Yandun Road, Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

A sweet, playful drink like this still starts with a well-chosen bean, and milk coffees are exactly where the wrong bean ruins everything. For espresso machines and moka pots—the same goal, a concentrated coffee base that becomes an Americano with water and a latte with milk—most espresso blends are medium-dark roasted so the latte reads rich with nuts, chocolate, and strong coffee flavor. The FrontStreet Specialty Blend and Black Cocoa Blend are the perfect milk partners: Brazilian beans dominate, so the latte pours with layered almond, walnut, and nut aromas, silky and lingering; if you want abundant crema, pick the FrontStreet Classic Blend or Commercial Blend, whose touch of Robusta adds golden foam and pushes the body and caramel aroma to the max. Away from the espresso machine, medium-dark pour-over singles also shine with a splash of milk: the FrontStreet PWN Golden Mandheling, the FrontStreet Paradise Bird, and the FrontStreet Brazil Queen Estate all keep their character—chocolate, nuts, cream, cocoa—once milk joins, softening the brew while letting the milk's own sweetness through. And for cold versions, fruit-forward medium roasts are the answer: passion-fruit FrontStreet Colombia Sidra, rose-scented FrontStreet Strawberry Candy Gesha blend, or raisin-sweet FrontStreet Mozart, all of which harmonize beautifully with a little milk over ice—wonderfully suited to home making.