Popular among both casual coffee drinkers and the fanatical coffee aficionados, cappuccinos are one of the most loved coffee drinks in the world. They are usually made of equal parts espresso, steamed milk, and milk foam.
Cappuccinos are relatively easier to make than other coffee beverages like lattes or macchiatos. If you’re looking for a guide to help you masterfully create cappuccinos like a trained barista, then you’re at the right place.
What Is A Cappuccino?
But first, you should understand exactly what a cappuccino is. Some people think that cappuccinos and lattes are the same things. Even though they are quite similar, there are subtle ratio differences.
Cappuccinos are composed of ⅓ espresso, ⅓ steamed milk, and ⅓ milk foam. On the other hand, lattes are made of ⅓ espresso, ⅔ steamed milk, and a thin layer of foam on top. Cappuccinos also tend to retain that coffee flavour and characteristic better, while lattes have creamier textures and taste sweet.
Ingredients And Equipment
- Freshly ground coffee
- Water
- Fresh Milk
- Espresso machine
- Metal pitcher
Steps To Make A Delicious Cup Of Cappuccino
- Start by preparing your ground coffee. You can make this yourself by grinding roasted coffee beans using a grinder or you can buy ground coffee from local coffee shops.
- Place your ground coffee along with water in the espresso machine and follow the instructions to brew a shot of espresso.
- Pour fresh milk into a metal pitcher.
- Place the espresso machine’s steam wand into the pitcher, just underneath the surface
- Turn on the steam wand (each steam wand is different so again, make sure to follow machine instructions).
- Make sure the steam wand enters at an angle towards the walls of the pitcher in order to create a vortex.
- Move the pitcher up and down to let air enter the milk (bubbles should get smaller the more you do this).
- Turn the steam wand off after the milk has doubled in size.
- Pour your espresso shot into a cup.
- Pour the steamed milk on top of your espresso, the liquid milk should quickly separate from the foam to create a roughly equal espresso, liquid milk, and steamed milk blend.
What Is The Best Milk For A Cappuccino?
Since a cappuccino is largely made up of milk, choosing the best milk is critical for a perfect tasting cappuccino. Here are a few tips:
- Use the freshest milk you have. Milk that is close to expiring does not foam as well.
- Use full / whole milk. This milk creates the richest foam and texture due to its high fat content.
- You can use skim milk, but the drink will be less creamy and velvety.
- For those who are vegan, we recommend using oat milk since they have the best flavour and smoothest texture after steaming among non – dairy milk.
What If I Don’t Have An Espresso Machine?
Most people don’t have a big fancy espresso machine since it takes up a lot of space and tends to be expensive. No worries! Here are some alternatives:
- To brew your espresso without an automatic espresso machine, you can use a manual coffee maker, an Aeropress, or a humble French Press to do the job.
- You can use that same French Press to create foamy textured milk. Other alternatives include using a handheld milk frother or stirring a pan of milk over a stove with a whisk.
