Almost everyone around the world drinks coffee. Coffee has become a staple in most people’s lives. People usually drink coffee in the morning to wake themselves up with the high caffeine content. However, coffee can be used as a beverage at any time of the day. Coffee has developed into not just black coffee made from coffee beans but into various drinks like lattes, cappuccinos, americanos, macchiatos and many others.
This article will discuss cappuccinos and how cappuccinos are different than regular drip coffee. We thank the fine folks over at Convergent-Coffee for their guidance in researching and writing this article.
What is a cappuccino?
A cappuccino is a type of coffee drink that is made up of one espresso shot and hot milk with foam milk on top. Cappuccinos can also be made with cream instead of real milk or with non dairy milks like soy or almond milk. Some people like to top the cappuccino with cinnamon or chocolate powder. The modern day cappuccino was invented in Italy in the 1950s when smaller cups were introduced and Italy had machines to heat the milk. The name cappuccino originated from the Capuchin friars who added milk to their brewed coffee. When adding milk to their coffee, the coffee turned a much lighter color and the milk floated to the top.
How to make a cappuccino:
- You will need espresso beans to make ground espresso coffee. Make sure you grind enough espresso coffee beans to make about 15.6 grams of ground coffee.
- Next you will need about 3-4 ounces of milk. Pour 3-4 ounces of milk into a cup that won’t burn you or melt when steaming the milk.
- Use your expresso machine to make two shots of espresso. Put your ground espresso into the espresso machine and brew the ground espresso. Make sure you have a cup underneath your espresso machine to prevent spilling and wasting your espresso shots.
- Steam your milk with a machine that can heat milk. Try to move the cup around in a vertical motion to thoroughly heat your milk all the way through.
- When steaming your milk try to hold the wand closer to the surface of your milk to create a foamy layer for the top of the cappuccino. Be careful because if you do this too quickly, the milk will start to spill out of the cup.
- After you finish getting your espresso shots and steaming your milk, combine both together. Pour the steamed milk on top of the espresso shot in a circular or vertical motion to make a nice design.
How to make regular coffee:
- Make sure you have high quality beans for your coffee. It’s best to use freshly roasted beans for the best flavor.
- Having a grinder at home to grind your own beans is recommended but you don’t have to. You can buy ground coffee from most grocery stores or at Starbucks.
- If you do grind your own coffee, it’s recommended to grind the coffee to a medium coarseness. Having a medium coarseness helps the coffee retain its flavor and caffeine content but doesn’t clog up the machine.
- After you have your ground coffee, place a paper filter into your drip coffee maker.
- Fill the filter with your ground coffee.
- Brew your coffee in the machine. Make sure your machine has water inside already. The coffee machine needs water to boil, heat and wet your coffee grounds into a beverage.
- Make sure to have a cup placed under your drip coffee machine to prevent spilling and wasting the coffee.
The differences between regular coffee and a cappuccino:
Cappuccino
- espresso beans based
- equal proportions of steamed milk, espresso shot and milk foam
- served in a smaller glass like a 6 oz glass
- has layers
- stronger than regular coffee
- needs an espresso machine
- needs a way to steam and heat milk
- mostly for breakfast due to the milk products
- milk in cappuccino contains more calories, contains 110 calories with 6 grams of fat
Regular Coffee
- only needs a regular drip coffee maker
- coffee made just black and plain
- doesn’t have steamed milk or milk foam
- bitter taste
- normal coffee beans used
- normal to drink at any time of the day
- very low calories, only 2 calories per 8 oz cup
- usually served in a normal 8 oz cup or larger