If you frequently visit major coffee forums, Front Street believes that regarding cappuccino, you will always come across this statement: “Nearly 90% of cappuccinos on the market are not made right.”Many friends expressed confusion when they saw this: "Isn't cappuccino just a cup of milk coffee with milk foam? Isn't it just pouring milk foam into the coffee?"That’s true, but there’s still a lot to pay attention to when making it! As we all know, cappuccino is composed of espresso, milk, and milk foam, and in the Italian system, there are many such combinations. In addition to kabu, there are also latte, Australian white, piccolo,CortadoWait.......The reason why cappuccino can be distinguished from these other milk coffees is because it has characteristics that others do not have, and it has characteristics that others do not have. But if cappuccino loses these characteristics, then it will be no different from other milk coffees, so naturally, such a "cappuccino" can be said to be incorrect.But obviously, 90% is too exaggerated. The cappuccinos produced by most merchants on the market are fine. You can say that their taste is not authentic enough.(After all, it won’t be made with a lot of beans like in Italy), but the characteristics of cappuccino are well presented. Then the question arises: What are the characteristics of cappuccino?"Dense touch", "strong coffee flavor", and "11 points full", these are the three characteristics that make cappuccino different from other milk coffees! Compared with other milk coffees, cappuccino has a richer coffee flavor and an extremely creamy feel because its milk foam is thicker. Such thick milk foam gives the coffee more "weight", because the surface is covered with milk foam, so even if it is made to 11 minutes full, there will be no coffee overflowing from the cup.The cappuccinos that Front Street saw on the Internet that were criticized by words and writings all accurately hit these minefields: the thickness of the milk foam is about the same as that of a latte, and the cup size is as large as a latte. It has a very delicate and complex latte art, and it doesn’t have an obvious coffee flavor when you drink it, just like a latte served in the store.So if we want to make a relatively standard cappuccino, there are the following aspects that need to be paid attention to when making it. First is the ratio between milk and coffee! Because cappuccino is a cup of milk coffee that highlights the taste of coffee, we can neither let the milk overwhelm the taste of the coffee nor balance the two. To do this, we need to accurately control the ratio of coffee and milk.In addition, we need to extend the foaming time to create a thick milk froth. Because as mentioned before on Front Street, the dense texture and 11 points are the iconic features of cappuccino. Generally, the thickness of cappuccino milk foam will be between 2cm and 2.5cm, which is about double that of latte milk foam. The specific thickness depends on the demand.If you want to make a cup of cappuccino with simple latte art, then the thickness of the milk foam should not be too thick, about 2cm. Because the thicker the milk foam, the lower the fluidity. The lower the fluidity, the more difficult it is to draw flowers. Therefore, if you want to draw flowers, the milk foam cannot be too thick.(But the thinnest cappuccino milk foam can only make simple latte art, such as a big white heart. If you see a very complex and delicate latte art, it means that the milk foam in this cup of cappuccino is not thick enough or standard enough)；And if you want to make a cup with "coffee golden circle"Kabu, then the milk foam can be slightly thicker, about 2.5cm. Because the production of coffee golden circle does not focus on fluidity, even if the milk foam is thicker, it will not have much impact, but will make the kabu more authentic.Take Front Street as an example. When making cappuccino in Front Street, the ratio of coffee to milk is 1:4. Because the coffee beans used in Front Street are medium-dark roastedFront Street classic blend, the coffee produced will have a richer aroma of caramel, chocolate, and butter cookies, so don’t worry too much about it being masked by the taste of milk. The extraction parameters for espresso are as follows:Amount of powder used: 20gExtraction liquid volume: 40mlSince the concentrated liquid weight is 40ml, if the ratio of coffee and milk is 1:4, the milk will be 160ml. And because what Front Street wants to make is a cappuccino with a golden circle of coffee, the whipped milk foam will be thicker, about 2.5cm. The temperature is also around 65°C, which can stimulate the sweetness of lactose and give the coffee better performance.When the sending is completed, we can start making the coffee golden circle. First pour the coffee into the prepared cup.(It should be noted here that the diameter of the cup we prepare should not be too wide, because too wide the mouth of the cup will reduce the thickness of the milk foam in the cup.)Then take out a spoon, scoop out a spoonful of milk foam and put it in the center of the coffee.Then we shake the latte art tank to re-integrate the milk foam in the tank, which can improve the fluidity to a certain extent. Then we immediately pour the milk foam into the middle.As long as your milk froth is thick enough, you can pour it directly to 11 minutes full. When the milk froth reaches 11 points, we have completed making cappuccino with coffee golden circle! If you feel that the golden circle alone is too monotonous, you can also sprinkle chocolate powder on the surface for decoration.When tasting, we need to take a big mouthful because the milk foam is too thick. If we just take a small sip, we will only be able to drink the milk foam but not the coffee.The characteristics of the cappuccino produced in this way are very obvious! What you first experience in the mouth is the cloud-like dense touch brought by the thick milk foam, with the mellow aroma of coffee attached. Then I came across milk coffee. The coffee is very smooth when entering the mouth. Unlike latte, cappuccino has a very strong coffee taste, but because the presence of milk balances the bitterness, the coffee tastes strong but not bitter, with a distinct flavor and a hint of sweetness.The cappuccino produced in this proportion on Front Street has just the right, strong but not bitter coffee taste. But if the coffee beans you use are not roasted that darkly, you can reduce the amount of milk a little on the original basis. For example, when using medium-light roasted coffee beans, you can use a ratio of 1:3.5. Because the lighter the roast, the easier it is for the flavor of the coffee to be masked by the flavor of the milk.So, the above is a relatively standard cup of cappuccino making. The coffee has a strong flavor, a dense texture, and is 11 points full. Just pay attention to these three points when making cappuccino~
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
