How to Get More Espresso Crema: Are Cappuccinos and Lattes Considered Espresso Coffee?

Espresso coffee is the preferred starting point for many coffee enthusiasts, offering a rich, full-bodied texture that pairs beautifully with the smoothness of milk. Cappuccino and latte are essential espresso beverages at any coffee shop, and an Italian cappuccino begins with premium espresso followed by meticulously frothed milk.

What Coffee Beans Make a Perfect Cappuccino?

FrontStreet Coffee's preferred selections are its own house blends - such as the Warm Sun Sherry and Red Cherry blend, the specialty coffee blends, and FrontStreet Coffee's Commercial Blends - all highly suitable for espresso with excellent crema.

Coffee and Milk

When it comes to cappuccino, besides the coffee, milk is the primary ingredient of the beverage.

When determining the most suitable beans and the optimal roast, both elements must be kept in mind.

Milk is sweet, which significantly affects the taste of the drink. Simply using an ordinary blend - even an aromatic one with a good classic medium roast - cannot guarantee a good cappuccino.

Finally, to satisfy many palates and accommodate the preferences of consumers worldwide, you must find a symbiotic relationship between appropriate blending and an ideal cappuccino roast.

Different Consumer Groups

Northern European consumers prefer sour-sweet flavors, while Southern European and North American consumers favor richer, more balanced profiles. We Asians tend to prefer richer, even bitter caramel flavors.

An ideal cappuccino that appeals to all of these consumers can follow these principles:

Blended Coffee

The coffee must have enough acidity to cut through the alkalinity of milk, supported by mellow components in the blend that add intensity and overcome milk's muffling of typical coffee flavors.

Roasting

The roast must be strong enough to produce rich aroma and leave a clear imprint on the beverage, letting the coffee's flavor and aroma emerge from the milk and remain dominant and persistent.

"Latte Art"

In the late 1970s, an Italian barista's eclectic creativity produced clever decorations of hearts, leaves, and apples on cappuccinos.

This art form later became known as "latte art."

Italians immediately associated the term with everything related to cappuccino decoration, naturally assuming its literal meaning was "milk art" or "the art of milk."

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

A proper cappuccino is built from just three components: espresso, milk, and a thick, substantial layer of milk foam. FrontStreet pulls its cappuccino shots at 20g of coffee, a 1:2 ratio, and about 30 seconds of extraction - enough concentration with relatively full extraction for excellent flavor and texture. Unlike a flat white or latte, the cappuccino's signature is its thick, fluffy foam cap and rich, full-bodied coffee taste, so it is best made with FrontStreet's espresso-dedicated blends.

For beginners, FrontStreet recommends the crema-rich Classic Blend or the great-value Black Cocoa base blend. If you want a floral-and-fruit cappuccino, try the Strawberry Candy espresso blend, which brings berry, rose, raisin, and fruit-candy aromas; for something brighter and non-bitter, the Granana Gesha SOE - a natural-processed, medium-roast single origin with berry, orange, and persimmon notes - turns candy-sweet when paired with milk.

For the classic look at home: extract 40ml of espresso from 20g of coffee in about 32 seconds into your cup; while it runs, froth the milk thick and dense (no latte art needed); spoon a dollop of foam into the dead center of the cup to build the golden circle - espresso color on the rim, foam filling the middle - then swirl the pitcher to recombine foam and milk and pour into the center until the cup is filled to eleven-tenths.