Making coffee at home is one of the best pleasures life can offer. A hot, fragrant cup of coffee is able to make your day better instantly. Today, we’re gonna help add a coffee recipe to your own repertoire: the cappuccino.
A cappuccino is a rather easy recipe to make, but it has a few tricks that you must master to get it just right. Like many other popular coffee drinks, it is espresso-based, meaning that it starts with a base of espresso. That is why a Keurig machine is the best way to make a cappuccino.
Luckily, as complicated as espresso-based drinks are, at least Keurig does half the job for you! With just the push of a button, you have high-quality espresso. And that, believe it or not, is half the way there.
Now we actually need to make the recipe. First, let’s take a look at what a cappuccino is.
What is a Cappuccino?
Sometimes, it is easy to confuse a cappuccino with a latte. After all, they are the two most popular espresso drinks and they may sometimes look the same.
A cappuccino, however, is a much smaller drink. It consists of 60ml espresso, 60ml milk, and 60ml foam. The latte has actually up to 300ml of milk and just 2ml of foam, with around the same amount of coffee. So, a latte is a bigger drink served in a big cup or a mug, while a cappuccino is a small drink.
A cappuccino’s most important part is its foam. You need a thick, firm foam to make a good cappuccino. While in other beverages, it may be alright for the foam to be wet to some degree, you need to pay extra attention to the foam in a cappuccino because that’s the heart of it.
Here’s a list of the differences between a latte and a cappuccino for you to avoid further confusion:
- A cappuccino is a 180ml total; a latte is 360ml total.
- Cappuccinos are served in small coffee cups, while lattes can be served both in big coffee cups or coffee mugs.
- A cappuccino is usually defined by its foam. The quality of the foam is important and should be dry and firm.
Moreover, we should also point out that there are different types of cappuccinos out there. Because a cappuccino is defined by its foam, there exist different types of cappuccino that play around with the amount of foam there is in the drink.
For example, a dry cappuccino is a cappuccino that has absolutely no foam. “Dry” because it has no foam—instead, it is all milk. A dry cappuccino is 60ml of coffee and then 120ml of steamed milk. No foam at all!
On the opposite side of the spectrum, there’s the wet cappuccino. “Wet” because it has a lot of foam. A wet cappuccino usually has 60ml of coffee and 120ml of just foam. No milk at all!
How to Make a Cappuccino Using a Keurig
Since a typical Keurig coffee is about 8 ounces, that rounds up to about 230ml. Therefore, instead of the traditional 60ml per beverage (which represents two espresso shots), we’re going to do 70ml per beverage. Therefore, this recipe yields three servings of cappuccino.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- 180 ml milk of your preference
- 8 ounces espresso
- An empty water bottle
- Sweetener of your choice
Instructions
- First off, we have to take care of the foam. This is the most important part of the recipe, so be sure not to miss anything. Heat up milk until it is hot and steamy.
- Once it is steamy, transfer to your empty water bottle.
- Start shaking up and down. The harder, the better, as it froths better.
- This should be going on for at least one minute. Two minutes is ideal.
- Once down, immediately pour the contents of the bottle into a milk pitcher.
- Pour the coffee into your coffee cup and now proceed to pour the milk and foam.
- For this part, you’re going to need a scale. Place the cup on a scale and pour milk until it reads 60ml.
- Then, using a small spoon, start pouring foam on top of the milk until it reads 120ml.
- Done. Enjoy!
FAQ
I don’t Like Foam in My Coffee. Can I Skip the Foam altogether?
Yes, of course! Some people might say that without the foam, there is little point in drinking a cappuccino—but that’s not true at all. A cappuccino isn’t just a smaller latte; it’s a drink in its own right.
And if you don’t like foam, then simply make yourself a dry cappuccino, which has no foam at all. It is a drink with decades of history and people have been ordering it forever. No need to feel weird about it!
What is Steamed Milk? Can I Make It at Home?
Steamed milk is made using an espresso machine. There is a steam wand that lets off steam, and you can use it to froth the milk because it shoots out with force.
Steamed milk can’t be made at home, because we don’t have a steam wand. But don’t worry, steaming isn’t more than just frothing the milk. Although the results aren’t quite the same, they’re still similar enough. By frothing the milk as we do in this recipe, we get very close results from steaming milk.
Can I Flavor My Cappuccino Using Chocolate Syrup?
Yes! There are tons of cappuccino recipes out there that use different toppings on top of the foam. In fact, milk foam can be so fluffy that you can almost treat it as if it were whipped cream. Simply choose whatever toppings you feel like combining with your coffee—such as chocolate shavings, caramel sauce, or sprinkles—and add it right on top of your foam.
This may not be a typical cappuccino, but it’s a great way of adding flavor and uniqueness to your coffee. There are no rules in coffee, only flavor!