Am I wrong about my definition of a cappuccino?
A small spin-off from the multiple coffee posts that have appeared lately. I worked at a coffee shop in college and always considered myself pretty knowledgeable about my drinks, but since I moved away from that college town three years ago, I've been filled with doubt about the difference between a cappuccino and a latte.
My most basic definition - a cappuccino has foam, and a latte doesn't. Since I moved, however, I've received any number of very foamy lattes. Most of them are tasty, but in my mind, they're not lattes.
Please tell me that I'm correct, and the entire state that I live in is wrong! (I live in New Mexico. This is, admittedly, not a place where I'd expect a lot of espresso knowledge, but I've seen this problem statewide. SOMEONE has to get it right - right?)
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
11 Comments:
the coffee shop I work at calls a lattee, grande sized, to be 2 shots espresso, hot milk and a tiny bit of foam. a grande cap is 3 shots espresso hot milk, and lots of foam. I think most places come up with their own definations.
huneybumper at 11:08AM on 08/15/08
I'm not a barista (and I mostly used to buy coffee at coffee shops when I lived in Europe, not so much here in the States), but as far as I know, it's not so much an issue of foam vs. no foam, it’s the espresso to milk ratio — in short, latte has more milk.
Cappuccino is an espresso shot with essentially similar amounts of milk and a rather stiff milk foam (say, 1/3 to 1/3 to 1/3). Latte is an espresso shot with 3-4 times as much milk, topped with a short head of foam.
brooke29 at 11:14AM on 08/15/08
According to one independent cafe I went to at my university, a real Italian cappucino is espresso topped with milk foam, no mixing of milk and foam at all, more like what we think of as a macchiato at Starbucks, but a real macchiato in Italy is simply an espresso shot with a tablespoon of milk. A cafe latte isn't marked so much by the absence or presence of foam, but the mixing of the espresso and the milk. A cafe au lait has a higher proportion of milk to coffee or espresso, I believe.
HeartofGlass at 12:28PM on 08/15/08
@ jessie. You are correct. A good capp has espresso (as many shots as one deems to consume fit) and a nice thick milk foam. Not a bubbly loopy foam, but a good thick foam, almost the texture of heavy whipped cream. You won't get a good thick foam if there is a cup of milk in the steaming pitcher...you need room for it to expand. 1/4 cup of fresh cold milk will give a nice, heavy foam cap.
ChelleyD01 at 12:53PM on 08/15/08
HeartofGlass is correct - A Cappucino is espresso topped with foam. A Latte is espresso, warmed milk and can be topped with foam (although it is not required to make it a Latte).
srphayre at 12:57PM on 08/15/08
I used to be a barista. Cafe au lait is no foam. Latte has mostly hot milk with a thin layer of foam on top. Capp should be small amount milk, mostly a nice thick foam. As Chelley said, the foam should be like whipped cream not big frothy bubbles.
lexophile at 2:16PM on 08/15/08
I should clarify, for a capp you want the least amount of milk possible... you want it mostly to be foam. The problem is getting enough good foam is tricky and you often end up with a little bit of light foam/milk.
lexophile at 2:18PM on 08/15/08
Based on many barista jobs (not Starbucks) and six months living in Rome, a cappuccino is 1/3 espresso, 1/3 milk, 1/3 foam. A macchiato is espresso topped with foam. A latte can have foam or not (usually American lattes do), but it is more like 3:1 or 4:1 milk:espresso. Cafe au lait is 2/3 milk, 1/3 coffee (not espresso).
I'm sure other Serious Eaters who've been to Italy experienced the funny time-etiquette for ordering drinks: cappuccino is only for breakfast or after dinner - caffe (espresso) or caffe latte were the only appropriate options for the afternoon. And all the neighborhood bars though I was insane for wanting "caffe latte con latte frigo" - caffe latte with cold milk!
producestories at 2:22PM on 08/15/08
Wet Cappuccino = Espresso + Steamed Milk + at least 1/3 of cup volume is foam.
Dry Cappuccino = Espresso + Foam on top (no steamed milk)
Latte = Steamed milk + Espresso + maybe the slightest dollop of foam to dress it up - no more than that.
In the hand, a cappuccino (either style) weighs much less than a latte if made in the same volume cup.
therealchiffonade at 2:54PM on 08/15/08
Thanks everyone for the interesting distinctions between cappuccinos and lattes. I always thought I preferred lattes but after reading this, I've found, it's cappuccinos I like! Bring on the foam.
Chew on That at 3:20PM on 08/15/08
I have a question. I've been trying to do "latte art" making a heart design on my homemade lattes. I have a Starbucks Barista brand home espresso maker with steam wand. The videos on youtube about latte art all seem to have a very thick milk. Mine is never that thick. I usually use skim milk...if I switched to 2% or whole, would the milk be thicker? Can I do this at all with skim milk?
ajwhite85284 at 10:43AM on 11/03/08