If you often browse major coffee forums, then Front Street believes you've surely come across claims like this about cappuccino: "Nearly 90% of the cappuccinos on the market are made incorrectly."Many friends, upon seeing this, express confusion: "Isn't a cappuccino just a milk coffee with milk foam? Isn't it just pouring milk foam into coffee?"That's true in a sense, but there are still many nuances in making it! As everyone knows, cappuccino is composed of espresso, milk, and milk foam, and in the Italian coffee system, there are many such combinations. Besides cappuccino, there are also latte, flat white, piccolos,cortado, and so on...What sets cappuccino apart from these other milk coffees is that it has unique characteristics that others don't. But if a cappuccino loses these characteristics, then it's no different from other milk coffees, and naturally, such a "cappuccino" can be said to be made incorrectly.But obviously, 90% is an exaggeration. The vast majority of cappuccinos produced by businesses on the market are fine; you could say their taste isn't authentic enough(after all, they don't use as much robusta beans as they do in Italy), but the characteristics of cappuccino are well presented. So the question arises: what characteristics does a cappuccino have?"Velvety texture," "strong coffee flavor," "filled to 11 out of 10" — these are the three major characteristics that distinguish cappuccino from other milk coffees! Compared to other milk coffees, cappuccino has a more intense coffee flavor and an extremely velvety texture because its milk foam is thicker. Such thick milk foam gives the coffee greater "volume," and since the top layer is all milk foam, even when filled to 11 out of 10, no coffee will spill out of the cup.And the cappuccinos that Front Street has seen online being criticized and shamed all, without exception, precisely hit these pitfalls: milk foam thickness similar to a latte, cup size the same as a latte, with very exquisite and complex latte art, and no obvious coffee flavor when drinking — as if the shop served a latte.So if we want to make a relatively standard cappuccino, there are the following aspects to pay attention to during preparation. First is the ratio between milk and coffee! Because cappuccino is a milk coffee that highlights the coffee flavor, we can neither let the milk overpower the coffee flavor nor let the two reach a balance. For this, we need to precisely control the ratio of coffee to milk.In addition, we need to extend the frothing time to create a thick milk foam. Because, as Front Street mentioned earlier, the velvety texture and filling to 11 out of 10 are signature characteristics of cappuccino. Generally, the milk foam thickness of a cappuccino is between 2cm and 2.5cm, about double that of a latte's milk foam, with the specific thickness depending on requirements.If you want to make a cappuccino with simple latte art, then the milk foam shouldn't be too thick — about 2cm. Because the thicker the milk foam, the lower the fluidity, and the lower the fluidity, the harder it is to pour latte art. So if you want to pour latte art, the milk foam can't be too thick(but even the thinnest cappuccino milk foam can only produce simple latte art, like a solid heart. If you see very complex, very exquisite latte art, then it means the cappuccino's milk foam isn't thick enough, isn't standard);And if you want to make a cappuccino with a "coffee golden ring," then the milk foam can be slightly thicker, around 2.5cm. Because making a coffee golden ring doesn't emphasize fluidity, so even if the milk foam is a bit thicker, it won't have much impact — instead, it will make the cappuccino appear more authentic.Taking Front Street as an example, when making cappuccino, the ratio of coffee to milk is 1:4. Because the coffee beans used by Front Street are the medium-dark roastedFront Street Classic Blend, the resulting coffee has a relatively rich aroma of caramel, chocolate, and butter cookies, so there's no need to worry too much about it being masked by the milk flavor. The espresso extraction parameters are as follows:Since the espresso yield is 40ml, following a 1:4 coffee-to-milk ratio, the milk would be 160ml. Then, because Front Street wants to make a cappuccino with a coffee golden ring, the frothed milk foam will be relatively thick, about 2.5cm. As for temperature, it's also around 65°C, which can activate the sweetness of lactose and give the coffee a more outstanding performance.Once frothing is complete, we can begin making the coffee golden ring. First, pour the coffee into the prepared cup.(Note here that the cup we prepare should preferably not have too wide a rim, because an overly wide rim will reduce the thickness of the milk foam in the cup.)Then take a spoon and scoop a spoonful of milk foam, placing it right in the center of the coffee.Then we shake the milk pitcher to reincorporate the milk foam in the pitcher, which can improve fluidity to some extent. Then we immediately pour the milk foam toward the center.As long as your milk foam is thick enough, you can pour directly to 11 out of 10. Once the milk foam reaches 11 out of 10, we've completed making a cappuccino with a coffee golden ring! If you feel the golden ring alone is too plain, you can also sprinkle chocolate powder on the surface for decoration.When tasting, we need to take a big sip, because the milk foam is too thick — if you only take a small sip, you'll only taste the milk foam and not the coffee.The cappuccino made this way has very obvious characteristics! From the first sip, you experience the cloud-like velvety texture brought by the thick milk foam, with the rich aroma of coffee attached. Then you encounter the milk coffee. The coffee is very smooth when it enters the mouth. Unlike a latte, the cappuccino's coffee flavor is very intense, but because the milk balances the bitterness, the coffee tastes strong yet not bitter, with distinct flavors accompanied by a hint of sweetness.The cappuccino made with Front Street's ratio has a perfectly balanced, strong yet not bitter coffee flavor. But if the coffee beans you use aren't roasted as dark, you can reduce the amount of milk slightly from the original ratio. For example, when using medium-light roasted coffee beans, you can use a 1:3.5 ratio. Because the lighter the roast, the easier the coffee flavor is masked by the milk flavor.So, that's the making of a relatively standard cappuccino. Strong coffee flavor, velvety texture, filled to 11 out of 10 — just pay attention to these three points when making a cappuccino~ The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
