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The Macchiato can be prepared either with steamed hot milk or cold milk. If hot, the espresso's name would become macchiato caldo (marked hot); if cold, macchiato freddo (marked cold). The choice between "caldo" and "freddo" is usually a matter of personal tastes.
Some newer cafes tend to add steamed milk to the espresso in a 1:1 ratio (or more), as well as mixing the milk into the espresso, making it more like a miniature caffè latte or cortado. Some people call this piccolo latte, particularly in Australia.
The other variant of the term, latte macchiato, conversely means "milk stained/marked (with espresso)", and indicates milk with just a little espresso in it (always less than in a caffè latte). However, in certain preparations (which differ from place to place), latte macchiato has not much difference in milk-to-espresso ratio when compared to the caffè latte; caffè lattes are normally around one-eighth espresso to seven-eighths steamed milk.
