The Correct Way to Make Cappuccino: Coffee to Milk Foam Ratio and How to Drink Cappuccino

The Evolving Classic: Understanding Cappuccino Through the Ages

Cappuccino, a milk coffee beverage that has been included on countless café menus. With the development of coffee culture and trends around the world, the definition of cappuccino has continuously evolved, and the appearance of this classic coffee has undergone intuitive changes.

The Origins of Early Cappuccino

In reality, it's now difficult to determine exactly who invented the cappuccino beverage, but research shows that the word "Cappuccino" originates from "Kapuziner," which means "monk" in German and also refers to an old-style coffee.

Legend has it that this beverage originated in 18th-century Viennese coffee houses. At that time, coffee was consumed along with the grounds. To make it more palatable, a Polish man named Kulczycki used a cloth bag to filter out the coffee grounds, then served it in a glass glass, adding honey, spices, and cream. This not only made the coffee taste better but also presented a special reddish-brown color that visually resembled the color of the robes worn by Capuchin friars, so the Viennese called it "Kapuziner."

As it spread to Italy and with the development of pressure-driven espresso machine technology, Italians began to use espresso instead, replacing cream with milk that had been frothed into dense foam, then using a spoon to shape the milk foam on the coffee surface into a peaked hat shape. Gradually, it acquired its Italian name, which is what we know today as Cappuccino. Additionally, some theories suggest it actually derives from the word "Capuchin," referring to the religious garment. As for its predecessor "Kapuziner," people prefer to call it Viennese Coffee.

The Appearance of Traditional Cappuccino

Regarding cappuccino preparation, the most widely accepted formula states that the ratio of coffee, milk, and foam should be 1:1:1 respectively. Taking a 6-ounce (approximately 177ml) coffee cup as an example, this means double Espresso (60ml), 1/3 hot milk (60ml), and the remaining 1/3 foam. The foam thickness created this way is about 2.5cm, with the first few sips being almost entirely foam, while the coffee flavor at the bottom remains very intense.

In the era before steam wands appeared, creating milk foam could only be done manually, and the resulting foam was relatively coarse. When making cappuccino back then, the thick, shaped foam would first be scooped into the cup with a spoon until it filled to 11/10ths full, and the foam layer脱离 the spoon would form a small white peaked hat. The foam at this time had a meringue-like consistency, very stable, but it didn't integrate well with the coffee.

The "Golden Circle" of Cappuccino

With the emergence of more powerful Italian espresso machines, the method of using steam to froth milk was also derived. Steam wands not only create dense, rich milk foam, greatly improving efficiency for service, but also eliminated the step of scraping foam with a spoon. This is why later cappuccinos no longer had the "small peaked hat," replaced instead by a smooth, raised rounded "dome."

From then on, small cup size, raised foam, intense coffee flavor, and the thick, dense sensation brought by thick foam became the characteristics of cappuccino in everyone's mind. However, precisely because this thick foam layer reduced the fluidity of the steamed milk, making it difficult to create gorgeous latte art patterns like those in lattes, some baristas adopted a central pouring method, gently letting the foam fall into the Espresso, thereby forming the iconic "golden circle."

Latte Art: Making Cappuccino Foam Thinner

Today, with the prevalence of latte art, baristas can't wait to create beautiful flower patterns on every milk coffee, and cappuccino is no exception. To present simple decorative patterns, baristas consciously introduce less air when frothing milk, making the foam thinner to improve its fluidity. Additionally, considering that overly full cups can easily spill, some coffee shops offering takeout will deliberately reduce the effect of foam filling the cup to a raised dome, thus eliminating the shape that stands up to 11/10ths full.

Of course, FrontStreet Coffee believes that the so-called classic cappuccino doesn't mean unconditionally restoring ancient recipes. In fact, with changes in factors such as coffee bean quality, roast degree, extraction equipment, and public taste, cappuccino has continuously evolved with trends. However, if these changes deviate from the characteristics of "small cup size, 11/10ths full, intense coffee flavor, and the full, dense texture brought by thick foam," then it may no longer be a "cappuccino."

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