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Permalink Reply by Bryan Wray on May 25, 2010 at 5:28pm

It's a lame answer, but you shouldn't be asking us how to make the beverages at the cafe you are working at, you should be asking your trainer...

If my definition of a cappuccino flies in the face of how your cafe makes a cappuccino then you're just going to have to get scolded by your boss/manager anyway and then told how to do it according to their standards.

As Alexandra got at, the most basic of all generalizations is that a capp has more foam than a latte. If you use a spoon to pile on the foam then you better run before all of the crazy coffee Nazis on this site (myself included) attack your technique.

And I'll say it before someone else does... a cappuccino shouldn't have "sizes" just like an espresso doesn't have sizes. You don't sit down to dinner at a restaurant and ask for "a medium glass of ____ wine." Make sense? A cappuccino should be a one size fits all drink, 5-6oz with 1 or 2 shots depending on the preference of the cafe. Double shots are becoming more standard.

-bry

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Permalink Reply by David Paradise on May 25, 2010 at 6:20pm

Thanks for the advice, Alexandra! I have found out after my second day of training for 2 hours hours each day it's more difficult than I thought to steam milk. I am still trying to find my own technique.

Alexandra Szep said:

Hey David,
A latte and cappuccino are very similar. They consist of espresso with steamed milk. The major difference is how you steam the milk. A cappuccino is thicker and a has more foam. When I make a cappuccino I stretch the milk a bit more, and I want my milk to turn out thick and silky, but not foam that looks like shaving cream. I really hope this helps, please let me know if you have any other questions.
Alexandra :)

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Permalink Reply by Brady on May 25, 2010 at 7:19pm

Welcome to bX, and to the profession.

You are right - steaming milk properly is much harder than it looks.

Agreeing with previous posts, but thought I'd clarify something that may not be clear in those videos. Those capps were probably poured using fully incorporated microfoam - in which the foam and milk components are not separated but combine to create one thick, shiny miracle of food science. It'll look like milk on video, but will pour more like latex paint. If you pour this into the espresso, it will separate out into milk and foam portions after a minute or so in the cup, creating that layered capp that you'd expect.

Please forgive me if I've assumed incorrectly... knowing that you're very new I thought perhaps this would be helpful. I hope this helps. Good luck!

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