Does Authentic Cappuccino Need Latte Art? A Guide to Making Traditional Italian Cappuccino

Cappuccino, a milk coffee beverage that has been included on countless café menus. As coffee culture and trends have evolved across the world, the definition of cappuccino has continuously changed, and the appearance of this classic coffee has undergone noticeable transformations.

The Birth of the Original Cappuccino

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

According to legend, this drink 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 cup with honey, spices, and cream. This not only made the coffee taste better but also gave it a distinctive reddish-brown color that visually resembled the habit color of the Capuchin Friars Minor, so Viennese people called it "Kapuziner."

As it spread to Italy, along with the development of pressure-driven espresso machine technology, Italians began to replace cream with espresso and milk frothed into dense foam, then used a spoon to shape the milk foam on the coffee surface into a peaked cap shape. Gradually, it acquired its Italian name—the Cappuccino we know today. Additionally, some theories suggest it actually derives from the word "Capuchin," referring to the religious habit. As for its predecessor "Kapuziner," people came to prefer calling it Viennese Coffee.

The Appearance of Traditional Cappuccino

Regarding cappuccino preparation, the most widely accepted ratio is 1:1:1 for coffee, milk, and foam. 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. This creates foam thickness of about 2.5cm, where the first few sips are almost entirely foam, while the coffee underneath becomes very concentrated.

In the era before steam wands existed, creating foam could only be done manually, and the resulting foam was rather coarse. When making cappuccino back then, the thick foam was first scooped into the cup with a spoon until it reached 11/10 full, and the foam layer detaching from the spoon would form a small white peak. At this point, the foam took on a meringue-like consistency, very stable though not well integrated with the coffee.

The "Golden Ring" of Cappuccino

With the advent of more powerful Italian espresso machines, the method of using steam to froth milk emerged accordingly. Steam wands not only create dense, abundant milk foam, greatly improving preparation efficiency, but also eliminate the step of scraping foam with a spoon. This is why later cappuccinos no longer had the "little peak," replaced instead by a smooth, raised circular "dome."

From then on, small cup size, raised foam, rich coffee flavor, and the thick, creamy texture brought by the dense foam became the characteristic features of cappuccino in people's minds. However, precisely because this thick foam layer reduced the fluidity of the steamed milk, making it difficult to create the elaborate latte art patterns seen in lattes, some baristas adopted a central pouring method, gently letting the foam fall into the espresso, thus forming the iconic "golden ring."

Latte Art: Thinner Cappuccino Foam

Today, with the prevalence of latte art, baristas strive to create beautiful patterns on every milk coffee beverage, and cappuccino is no exception. To present simple decorative patterns, baristas consciously incorporate less air when frothing milk, making the foam thinner to improve its fluidity. Additionally, considering that overly full cups easily spill, some coffee shops offering takeout deliberately reduce the dome-shaped foam effect, thus also eliminating the 11/10 full appearance.

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

- END -

FrontStreet Coffee
10 Bao'an Qianjie, Yandun Road, Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473