Latte and cappuccino are the two most common classic milk coffees in cafés, but many friends who are new to coffee don't clearly understand their real differences, often ordering based on whether the latte art looks good or whether the name sounds fancy, and ending up with a coffee that doesn't match their expectations. From Front Street's perspective, this article systematically sorts out the differences between these two drinks: they use the same ingredients—espresso, milk, and milk foam—but the ratios and foam thickness are completely different. A latte has a high proportion of milk and thin foam, tastes sweeter, and is suitable for complex latte art; a cappuccino has less milk and thicker foam, with a more prominent coffee flavor and a denser mouthfeel. The article also introduces the characteristics of two espresso beans, Front Street Classic Blend and Front Street Commercial Blend, which are suitable for enthusiasts who want to make lattes and cappuccinos at home.

Latte and cappuccino can be called the "veteran-level" drinks of the coffee world, and almost every café serves them. However, as Front Street often mentions, for friends who haven't truly stepped into the world of coffee, it isn't easy to tell these two apart.

As a result, many beginners often don't know how to choose between these two coffees on the menu, and in the end they simply order in a very intuitive way—ordering by "coffee" appearance. For example, if they think a latte's latte art looks good, they order a latte; or if they think the name cappuccino sounds more classy, they order a cappuccino.

To be honest, Front Street ordered this way in its early years too. But the result of doing so was often that the coffee served was not the same cup they had in mind. So today, Front Street will re-sort things out with everyone: what exactly is the difference between these two classic milk coffees, latte and cappuccino?

If you want to make lattes and cappuccinos yourself and pursue a rich crema, you can choose Front Street Classic Blend and Front Street Commercial Blend. Both espresso beans contain a small amount of Robusta. Among them, Front Street Classic Blend is composed of Brazil, Mandheling, and Robusta, using a medium-dark roast. During extraction, it releases obvious aromas of butter, toasted bread, and caramel biscuits, with a strong flavor, a solid body, fine crema, and stable extraction performance. It is an essential home coffee for beginners.

Latte and Cappuccino

Latte is a transliteration of "Latte," and it is also the most widely enjoyed milk coffee. With the rise of latte art, latte sparked an unprecedented craze in the late 1920s, and countless people were drawn by the latte art patterns on the surface of the coffee, ordering a cup and from then on embarking on a path of never being happy without coffee.

Although cappuccino does not have as large an audience as latte, it is likewise a favorite of many coffee connoisseurs. The name cappuccino comes from the religious robe "Capuchin," because the color of milk mixed with coffee is very close to the color of the robe, and in addition, early cappuccinos had a "small pointed tip" on the surface resembling the hood of the robe, so people named it "Cappuccino."

The ingredients used in latte and cappuccino are completely identical: espresso, milk, and milk foam. Although the materials are the same, the amounts are not. And it is precisely the difference in amounts that gives latte and cappuccino completely different states. For example, in taste, latte is sweeter and cappuccino is more bitter, which is caused by more or less milk.

Differences in Taste

As mentioned earlier, latte appears sweeter than other milk coffees for a very direct reason: this cup of coffee has a higher proportion of milk. Taking Front Street as an example, the latte produced by Front Street has a coffee-to-milk ratio of 1:5, that is, 40 ml of espresso paired with about 200 ml of milk.

A large amount of milk dilutes the bitterness of the coffee, reducing the burden brought by the strong bitterness of espresso, and bringing the flavors of milk and coffee into balance. Therefore, people often say that the taste of latte is suitable for all ages, precisely because it is not that bitter.

Cappuccino is exactly the opposite. It uses relatively less milk, with the purpose of using a small amount of milk to enhance the overall texture and make the coffee flavor more prominent.

The cappuccino produced by Front Street has a coffee-to-milk ratio of 1:4, that is, 40 ml of espresso paired with 160 ml of milk, a full 40 ml less than a latte. Therefore, in a cappuccino, the milk cannot compete with the coffee flavor, and the coffee taste is more prominent. Drinking it allows one to feel a stronger coffee flavor, that is, it is relatively bitter.

Differences in Milk Foam

Besides cup size, the two also have another obvious characteristic difference, namely the thickness of the milk foam. Cappuccino's milk foam is thicker than latte's and rises above the rim of the cup, with a thickness of about 2–3 cm; while latte's milk foam thickness is only between 0.5–1 cm.

The influence of milk foam on coffee is mainly reflected in two aspects. The first is mouthfeel. The thicker the milk foam in the cup, the more foam has been formed by steaming, and naturally the denser the mouthfeel when drinking the coffee. Cappuccino is a typical example: take a gentle sip, and you may not even reach the coffee below, allowing you to fully enjoy the denseness of the milk foam; while the thinner the milk foam, the sooner we come into contact with the coffee beneath the foam. So compared with thick foam, although a thin-foam latte is less dense, it is smoother.

The second influence is in latte art. The varied and highly difficult latte art patterns we commonly see mostly come from lattes. Why? Because the thickness of the milk foam affects the fluidity of the overall milk and milk foam.

The thinner the milk foam, the higher the fluidity, and the easier it is for us to sway out fine lines and create more complex patterns; while the thicker the milk foam, the lower the fluidity. With milk foam as thick as cappuccino's, it is almost impossible to draw fine lines by swaying, so most of the time cappuccino only gets a simple large white heart, because it cannot be pushed, or simply no pattern is produced at all.

Overall, the main differences between latte and cappuccino lie in cup size and milk foam thickness. Latte has a larger cup size and more milk, tastes balanced between milk and coffee, and is sweeter; at the same time, because the milk foam is relatively thin, many complex latte art patterns can be made. Cappuccino, on the other hand, has a smaller cup size and less milk, with a more prominent coffee flavor; at the same time, because of the thick milk foam, it can bring a denser feeling.

If you want to remember it even more simply, then... latte sweet, cappuccino bitter! It's that simple~

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.