Why is a "competition" cappuccino cup only 5 oz?

As I understood, a traditional cappa is 6 oz in volume. I guess I'm having a hard time understanding why such competitions would not stick to tradition... as any cappuccino cup marked as "competition" size, is a strict 5 oz.

I figured that perhaps, it's because at competitions, judges are only served one shot, or 1 oz of espresso, so it comes out to one less ounce. But if that's the case, shouldn't the milk also be halved from 4 oz to 2 oz? Then the cup would be 3 oz...

This is just a curiosity I came across, during my hunt for a decent cappuccino cup. I noticed the mass majority of cups marketed for cappuccinos, were in the 4-5 oz range. I don't think I came across any cappuccino cups that were 6 oz, other than some specialty stores like Chris Coffee and others.

Other than that, ya got latte cups that are traditional 8 oz in volume. I found a ton of those. But a 6 oz cappuccino cup was generally a rare find, and when I did find it, it didn't look that appealing to me.

As far as I know, traditional cappuccino cups are from metric Italy and run at 150 mL, or 5.1 ounces. Don't know about latte traditions, but I've never seen one as small as 8 ounces, but more usually I see 10 to 12.

Competition cups must be "5 to 6 oz." The revised Official Rules were just published and are available here: http://worldbaristachampionship.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/2012-WORLD-BARISTA-CHAMPIONSHIP-RULES-AND-REGULATIONS-VERSION-2011.09.10.pdf

another_jim wrote:As far as I know, traditional cappuccino cups are from metric Italy and run at 150 mL, or 5.1 ounces. Don't know about latte traditions, but I've never seen one as small as 8 ounces, but more usually I see 10 to 12.

FWIW a number of the usual online sources carry 8oz latte cups like Visions, Espresso Supply Inc and Espressopart.com. Just not in mainline ACF. Orphan Espresso's Inker line also comes in 8oz latte.

Competition capps are a bit twisted, you sort of get judged on the coffee taste but can only use a single. So your best bet is to get a small cup and put a lot of steam in the milk, big shots are in order. You can also pour the whole drink short and take the hit on visual points to get better taste scores, which score much higher.
As jim said, a load of standard cups come in at a shade over 5 oz, I have never been to Italy but would think most shops stick a single in.
Are there any latte traditions? I hear all sorts of random things from non coffee nuts, my favorite being 'a latte is when the coffee is poured into the cup after the milk'

miKe mcKoffee wrote:FWIW a number of the usual online sources carry 8oz latte cups like Visions, Espresso Supply Inc and Espressopart.com. Just not in mainline ACF. Orphan Espresso's Inker line also comes in 8oz latte.

And generally, most of the tea/coffee cups that are sold as sets at Macy's and other department stores, come standard 8 oz.

A lot of people expect 8 oz to be some massive-looking mug, but it's actually kinda small.

Marshall wrote:Competition cups must be "5 to 6 oz." The revised Official Rules were just published and are available here: http://worldbaristachampionship.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/2012-WORLD-BARISTA-CHAMPIONSHIP-RULES-AND-REGULATIONS-VERSION-2011.09.10.pdf

Thanks for the clarification.

I just got a 5 oz competition cappa cup from Intelligentsia, and it's by far the best cup I've used for coffee/tea.

I didn't know cups made a difference, but I was enormously impressed by the mouthfeel of this cup. And because it's 5 oz, I never have to worry about going overboard, which I did most of the times with my latte cups to finish out my latte art design. But it would come at the expense of the flavor... although, now I have extremely little margin to do anything significant with latte art...

another_jim wrote:As far as I know, traditional cappuccino cups are from metric Italy and run at 150 mL, or 5.1 ounces. Don't know about latte traditions, but I've never seen one as small as 8 ounces, but more usually I see 10 to 12.

Interesting, thanks!

lsjms wrote:Competition capps are a bit twisted, you sort of get judged on the coffee taste but can only use a single. So your best bet is to get a small cup and put a lot of steam in the milk, big shots are in order. You can also pour the whole drink short and take the hit on visual points to get better taste scores, which score much higher.
As jim said, a load of standard cups come in at a shade over 5 oz, I have never been to Italy but would think most shops stick a single in.
Are there any latte traditions? I hear all sorts of random things from non coffee nuts, my favorite being 'a latte is when the coffee is poured into the cup after the milk'

Fascinating info.

Why are a competition cappuccino cups 5 oz then?

Shouldn't it be 3 or 4 oz?

'Cause I'm assuming 5-6 oz traditional size, is meant for a double shot...

If you only have one shot in a 5 ouncer, that would mean 4 ounces are milk... even a latte follows a 1:3 espresso:milk ratio.

bigbad wrote:Why are a competition cappuccino cups 5 oz then?
Shouldn't it be 3 or 4 oz?
'Cause I'm assuming 5-6 oz traditional size, is meant for a double shot...

It depends on who gets to define "tradition," and so far the Italians seem to win, based on both origination and longevity. The common exceptions (in America) are what I think of as "corporate" (super-size it to sell more) and "nouveau" (not so much larger as stronger, by replacing a single shot with a double). As an aside, I find the "rule of thirds" useless, since my milk goal is homogeneity, not measurable phases of liquid and foam.

As has been noted, the Italian tradition, whether you revere it or scorn it, is probably best described here:
L'Espresso Italiano e il Cappuccino Italiano Certificati
While the site does have a page in English defining an espresso, the only description I can find there for a cappuccino is in Italian, at the above link. To summarize:

volume of cup: circa 160ml(5.2oz)
volume of cold milk: 100ml(3.2oz)
volume of foamed milk: 125ml(4.0oz)
volume of espresso: 25ml(0.8oz)
temperature of foamed milk: 55C(131F)

In short, 1oz espresso + 4oz microfoam in a 5oz cup.

This drink is likely tastier, smaller, wetter, sweeter and cooler than that delivered by 90% (even after excluding national chains) of my local cafés.