Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jason Dominy on March 27, 2008 at 1:33pm

From what I understand, it's objective. A capp is basically a latte with a little extra foam. I used to understand it as 1/3, 1/3, 1/3, but the capps I see in competition look like regular lattes with more foam on top. And yes, the judges do move the foam around on top to judge the density and texture of the foam. Good question Loren, I think I read another post on this same subject on one of these forums....Now, which one, I can't remember.

Permalink Reply by Brent hall on March 28, 2008 at 6:00am

Should be in a six ounce cup, 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 espresso, milk and foam...that's the definition of a classic cappuccino. Judges push back the foam with this in mind: They should be able to pull the foam back a few times before getting to milk. This will determine consistency and texture of the milk. Well textured milk will almost always settle out correctly.

Permalink Reply by Brady on March 31, 2008 at 7:49pm

To answer your question, yes. And it is a big mystery for me as well, so I have no definitive information to add here. (In fact, I've pretty much stopped reading about this, every discussion on the subject just seems to confuse the picture even more.)

What I can say though is that, from reading a variety of pretty heated discussions on the BGA forum and elsewhere, there are a LOT of differences in the interpretation. I've seen the 1/3-1/3-1/3 definition, the 5-6 oz single (WBA?), 5:1 ratio, etc. These definition differences are regional (US and Europe), shop to shop... and many seem to be based in long-standing traditions. All seem to have something to back up their legitimacy. Truly a mess.

As for current competitive stuff, check out the WBC finals videos on zacharyzachary.com. I watched them a few weeks ago and was pretty surprised at how thin the competitors' foam was (for art's sake?). The camera angles are pretty good, and really show what their layers look like.

In an industry of confused definitions, I think the cappuccino is king. Good luck.

Permalink Reply by Loren Anthony on April 2, 2008 at 7:00am

lol Thanks Brady ... honestly I plan to make whatever the customer feels like should be a cappuccino and then I'll practice the Barista stuff on my own time.

It seems like the cappucinos the customers like are all foam (resulting in super light cups) for Dry cappuccinos and for regular ones the 1/3,1/3,1/3 in a 12 oz. cup. Ive noticed when doing it that way, they do prefer to have choices in size. But we'll see if I comply or not lol

Permalink Reply by Brady on April 2, 2008 at 12:00pm

FWIW, the approach we've taken at our shop is to offer 10z double capps in ceramic for here, 12oz double and 16oz triple capps to go.

No large, although we'll make a skim "wet cappuccino" if it is ordered. We used to do one - it was a quad. The change was based partially on principal, partially on economics - the milk waste on a 20oz capp is just too much.

For our standard capp, we stretch our milk as much as possible to still have good tight bubble texture, and freepour. This usually settles out as a 3/4" to 1" foam layer in paper, a little less in the ceramic. The paper cup is noticeably lighter than a latte, but not light enough that it feels like it'll tip over in a stiff breeze. It has good, full espresso flavor and a nice drinkable texture... no useless leftover dry foam in the cup when the drink is finished.

I feel like this approach works well for us. Our customers kind of expect us to be "experts" on the subject, they look to us to know what the drink should be, and appreciate being served something that is somewhat authentic. That said, we always describe our standard capp before beginning to prep. We want them to feel welcome and enjoy their drink, and will make reasonable accommodations.

Honestly, half of the new customers that order it expect it to resemble the thing they get when they push the button at the gas station. We do offer to add sugar. If they seem really squirmy, we'll steer them toward a vanilla latte instead (and some even come back). We're also happy to make it dryer or with more shots. Scooping is permitted at our house if its ordered dry. This cup would tip over in a breeze.

I hope this is helpful. Good luck.