Coffee lovers are so fond of coffee that a good ol’ cup of black coffee is enough to brighten our morning and day. Still, there might be some days that this is just not enough. There are days that we feel like drinking a more elaborate drink in the comfort of our home. The cappuccino is the perfect example of a delicious, elaborate drink that is universally loved.
Most people, though, only drink cappuccinos in coffee shops and such places. But what if you could make one at home? What if we told you it’s really easy, and you don’t even need a coffee maker to make a cappuccino? That’s right! With just a few simple tools that are commonplace in most kitchens, you, too, can make a cappuccino.
First, let’s go over the ingredients, and after that, we can focus on the recipe for making a cappuccino at home.
Ingredients
A cappuccino is made up of three ingredients: foam, milk, and coffee. Let’s take a closer look at each of these ingredients:
- Coffee: A traditional cappuccino uses 60 ml of espresso. But in reality, any sort of concentrated coffee can suffice. At home, you can make very concentrated coffee using a French press, an Aeropress, or a phin filter. If you don’t have any of these, you can still make cold brew coffee using nothing but a mason jar.
- Milk: Traditionally, whole or 2% is used for cappuccinos. But you can substitute it for any other milk you want as long as it is relatively thick and tasty.
- Foam: Using almost any type of milk, you can make foam on your own. The only thing you’d need is a French press or, otherwise, a container of some sort. We’ll explain this in further detail in the recipe section.
The cappuccino has three ingredients, as we just discussed. But more importantly, those three ingredients must be in complete balance. It is important that there is the exact same amount of each ingredient in the drink.
We recommend you use a scale. This aspect also makes it easy for you to make a bigger coffee for yourself, as you just have to add the same amount of milk and foam as you do of coffee.
If nothing else, being precise about the quantity of each ingredient is a surefire method to making a good cappuccino.
How to Make a Cappuccino?
Finally, this is where we roll up our sleeves and make a cappuccino.
Ingredients
- Milk
- 60 ml or two ounces of coffee
How to Make
- First, we’re going to froth and foam our milk. First off, heat up 120 ml of milk until nice and steamy. If you have a French press, pour the milk into it. Place the lid on top and apply force to the plunger—repeat this step over and over again for around thirty seconds. If you don’t have a French press, pour the hot milk into a mason jar (or even an empty plastic bottle) and shake for one or two minutes.
- Now, brew your coffee. You can do this any way you like—just remember to make it strong as we’re going to use relatively little coffee.
- In a cup, pour 60 ml of coffee.
- Pour in 60 ml of milk.
- With a spoon, scoop the foam and place it on top of the coffee. You can place the cup on a scale and add foam until you get to 60 ml.
- Enjoy!
Types of Cappuccino
Even though you know now how to make a cappuccino, it’s more than possible that you will feel you want to experiment with the recipe to make an even better drink. Way ahead of you! These are some of the most popular types of cappuccino out there to help inspire you a little:
Dry & Wet Cappuccino
You might be familiar with these two if you order cappuccino frequently. Dry and wet are two terms that refer to two different types of cappuccino—they refer to the amount of foam and milk in the drink.
The wet cappuccino is used to order a cappuccino that has more milk than it has foam, while dry cappuccino refers to a cappuccino with more foam than milk.
Every barista prepares them differently, and you can specify. Some people like their cappuccinos very dry to the point that there’s no actual milk, just foam. Some people like their cappuccinos with as little as a mere 10ml of foam, making them extremely wet cappuccinos.
Iced Cappuccino
Cappuccinos might be your favorite—but what about during a hot day? Maybe the AC isn’t working properly and you’re already dripping with sweat… You need your caffeine fix but can’t bear the thought of drinking piping hot coffee. That’s what iced coffee is for!
An iced cappuccino can be made by simply adding ice before the foam. As little as two ice cubes are more than enough to chill the drink without watering it down.
You can also crush the ice and add it for a better experience, although it melts down quicker than if you used ice cubes.
FAQ
Can I add whipped cream to my cappuccino?
Yes. More conservative people might argue that adding whipped cream would no longer qualify the coffee as a cappuccino, yet this practice still remains popular in many parts of the world. You can either add it on top of the foam or as a substitute for the milk foam.
Can I add chocolate syrup to my cappuccino?
Not to be confused with a mochaccino, a cappuccino with chocolate syrup is simply a flavored one. A mochaccino is essentially different in the quantity of the ingredients as well as other small details
Can I use a hand mixer to froth the milk?
As we explained in the recipe, it’s rather easy to froth milk without using a coffee machine or any other kitchen appliance, such as a hand mixer. Besides, a hand mixer would be a little overboard for the small amount of milk we’re using and would prove ineffective for producing milk foam.