Myth: Is the Cappuccino's Milk, Coffee, and Foam Ratio 1:1:1?

According to WBC competition rules: Cappuccino consists of one serving of espresso, textured milk, and at least one centimeter of milk foam. Cappuccino must be served in a 150-180ml handled coffee cup, and the cappuccino volume must match the cup capacity (a 180ml cup must be filled with 180ml of beverage).

The cappuccino that beginners know, with a 1:1:1 ratio of espresso, milk, and foam at 60ml each, while frequently appearing in various textbooks, has been replicated by FrontStreet Coffee. The taste is actually not good because the coffee proportion is too high, and the fusion effect between milk and coffee is average, resulting in a strong and bitter taste when consumed.

As everyone becomes more fascinated with coffee latte art, many baristas showcase their latte art skills when preparing drinks, whether it's latte, flat white, or even cappuccino. This has left many friends confused about one question: "So is there really a difference between cappuccino and latte?"

Origin of Cappuccino

Cappuccino is a transliteration of "Cappuccino," a word derived from the Italian term "Cappuccio" meaning hood. As a coffee, however, it is related to a local Capuchin religious order.

When this order came to Italy for missionary work, they wore dark brown robes and small pointed hats made from folded hoods. At that time, Italians had a clever idea: after frothing milk into dense and stable foam and pouring it into espresso, the coffee in the cup showed a circle of brown color close to the robe color, then used a spoon to shape the milk foam on the coffee surface into a pointed hat shape. Since Capuchin and Cappucci have similar pronunciations, Italians incorporated the "n" into Cappuccio without changing the pronunciation rhythm, finally naming this milk coffee "Cappuccino."

Why Cappuccino Should Have a "Coffee Golden Circle"

With the emergence of cappuccino, many Italians gradually began to accept milk coffee. Since the small pointed foam hat required shaping, which increased preparation time, people gradually stopped making the "small pointed hat" on cappuccino. However, tradition couldn't be abandoned, so cappuccino still retained a circle of brown coffee while allowing the dense foam to rise above the cup rim in a "hat" state to commemorate the missionaries.

Thus emerged the tradition that cappuccino should have a "coffee golden circle." Everyone knows that when coffee and milk are mixed, the brown coffee turns light brown. To preserve the "coffee golden circle," milk must not disperse the coffee oils. Therefore, when frothing milk foam, it needs to be denser and thicker, allowing the foam to form a protective layer between the milk and the coffee oils.

Why Cappuccino Doesn't Have Latte Art

The foam thickness for making coffee latte art is 1cm. Foam of this thickness has strong fluidity and can evenly blend with espresso to create latte art patterns. However, making cappuccino requires not dispersing the coffee oils to preserve the "coffee golden circle," which also means the espresso cannot evenly blend with milk.

Meanwhile, to prevent the foam from collapsing when above the cup rim and to maintain sufficient surface tension to stay stable at the cup edge, the foam thickness needs to be frothed to 1.5cm thick. Foam of this thickness has poor fluidity and cannot create latte art patterns.

How to Make a Proper Cappuccino?

/ Coffee Cup Selection

FrontStreet Coffee uses 180ml tulip coffee cups when making cappuccino. Compared to round-bottomed cups, the tall, narrow-bottom, wide-top cups better highlight the "hat" shape of cappuccino.

/ Espresso Extraction

FrontStreet Coffee uses Sunflower Warm Sunshine coffee beans, a blend of sherry barrel and natural Yirgacheffe, for its espresso production. For making cappuccino, single-shot espresso uses an extraction plan of 20g coffee grounds to extract 35g coffee liquid divided into two portions, with an extraction time of 27 seconds. (You can also directly make single-shot espresso; FrontStreet Coffee's extraction parameters are 12g coffee grounds to extract 30g coffee liquid, extraction time 23 seconds)

/ Using Chilled Fresh Milk

Fresh milk can more completely preserve the proteins and milk fat in milk. Protein is key to forming milk foam, while milk fat can further stabilize the foam and slow down the collapse rate, while also adding a rich, mellow texture to the coffee.

/ Milk Frothing

Choose a small milk pitcher and pour in 150ml of chilled fresh milk. Before the steam wand enters the pitcher, first purge to remove condensed steam water from the steam holes. Place the steam wand 1cm below the milk surface and turn on the steam switch. When the steam contacts the milk surface, it will make a "sizzling" sound. This step is called aeration and is the process of forming milk foam.

The longer the aeration time, the thicker the foam! The foam thickness for making cappuccino is 1.5cm, so when frothing milk, after hearing 6-7 sizzling sounds, stop aeration and adjust the pitcher to a 45-degree angle to create a vortex that removes large bubbles (no more sizzling sounds at this point). Milk heating to about 55 degrees Celsius completes the milk frothing.

/ Shake the Pitcher Before Pouring to Avoid Foam and Milk Separation

After milk frothing stops, foam and milk will begin to separate. We need to find a pivot point on the tabletop and rotate our wrist clockwise at a steady speed to shake the pitcher, keeping the milk and foam in a fused state before pouring.

/ Pouring Milk Foam into Espresso

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, when pouring milk, you cannot disperse the espresso oils. If you pour milk directly, the coffee oils will definitely be dispersed. Therefore, what needs to be poured first is the milk foam, forming a protective layer between milk and oils before pouring the milk. However, milk is heavier than foam, so what will be poured first is definitely milk. How can we ensure the foam is poured first?

(Key point) Align the pitcher spout with the center of the espresso surface, then slightly tilt the pitcher to near pouring position but don't pour yet - pause!!! Let the foam accumulate at the pitcher spout position before slowly pouring into the center. This step of pouring foam doesn't require circular integration or wrist shaking - just maintain a stable posture and pour the foam into the center.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473