Cappuccino vs. Latte - Page 2

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luca
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#11: Post by luca »

Compass Coffee wrote:I'd read the judge's & competitor's rules & regs multiple times before hand so was at the same quandary of having been led to believe a cappuccino was a beverage of 1/3 ratios espresso, steam milk and foam and couldn't figure out how that was supposed to work in 5 or 6oz cappuccino cups.
Yeah ... same thing happened to us before the Victorian barista comp ...

One explanation that I have heard is that the 1/3rd/1/3rd/1/3rd ratio thing refers to height in a tulip cup ... still doesn't make sense to me, though ...
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#12: Post by BentheBarista »

Yeah--I think that's a cappuccino. A latte can have a bit of froth on the top, but nowhere near 1/3.

Actually, if we wanted to get technical, a cappuccino would never have espresso in it. In fact, espresso was originally made in Italy to speed up the long process of a cappuccino--or so the legend goes.

But, most old cappuccino recipes are hard to come by. The perfect cappuccino is supposed to be the greatest coffee drink in the world--the impeccable combination of arabic beans and delicate cream. But, no one makes that anymore.

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CGP4
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#13: Post by CGP4 »

Here's Italy's official definition of a cappuccino. No such thing as a latte in Italy...

BentheBarista
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#14: Post by BentheBarista replying to CGP4 »

Wow--weird recipe.

The Modern Marvel's Coffee episode says that espresso was invented to speed along the consumption of dry cappuccinos...crazy--how can you drink an espresso-made cappuccino before the advent of espresso?

Total conflict of evidence. One source is full of it. :)

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RapidCoffee
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#15: Post by RapidCoffee »

King Seven wrote:You can serve a great drink of thirds (a 6 oz double shot capp) and call it a cappuccino if you like but often you see it called Traditional or Classic and I don't really believe that to be the case, as I am unaware of any tradition or history of a drink with that recipe.
Like many on this thread, I've been calling my preferred espresso beverage a cappuccino. While I enjoy milk or cream in my coffee, more than 3-4oz added to a double shot is too milky for my taste buds. I've been referring to higher ratio drinks (1:5 or greater) as lattes.

But who am I to buck the tides of coffee correctness? I'd just like to know what to call the artist-formerly-known-as-cappuccino. "Drink of thirds" is too clumsy; "traditional" and "classic" could mean anything.

Is that an H-B poll I hear in the distance? :wink:
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#16: Post by sehrgut »

Hmmm . . . I've always referred to my favourite drink as a cappuccino, too, and now don't know exactly where it would fall. A doppio with 2.5 oz of milk frothed to an even consistency and allowed to separate in the cup. It generally comes out to a bit less than 2/3 liquid and 1/3+ froth lying on top, height-wise. But my the cups I use for cappas are rather narrow at the bottom, flaring out at the top, so volume-wise, it's probably closer to half-and-half. I don't care for milk in my coffee much (especially when trying new beans/roasts, as I've just started roasting), so I feel as if I'm drowning the coffee if I use too much milk.

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cannonfodder
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#17: Post by cannonfodder »

Sounds a lot like a macchiato heavy on the foam.
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Psyd
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#18: Post by Psyd »

cannonfodder wrote:Those 12oz latte drinks are best left to the big cafe chains that cant make a decent tasting espresso.
Now now! Let's not get snobbish! A twelve ounce drink is perfectly acceptable if it contains the proper ratios! Two doubleshots in a twelve ounce cup with eight ounces of microfoam is perfectly acceptable for me, if the opportunity to come get another one is taken out of the equation. Of course, I'd prefer a second cappuccino made to order after a first, but conditions sometimes don't allow it, so I combine the two drinks into one cup and get on my merry way.
OTOH, this conversation (to a certain degree) relates to another that is taking place occasionally on the Barista Guild of America forum pages. They talk of certification, and I respond with standardization. If the SCAA can't decide what a cappa is for competitive purposes, there is no way that they'll ever be able to get a certification process that's meaningful.
IMNSHO, I think that we should start with the Italians' definition of the humble cappuccino as probably the nearest thing that we have to an authority on the subject.
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cannonfodder
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#19: Post by cannonfodder »

Psyd wrote:Now now! Let's not get snobbish! A twelve ounce drink is perfectly acceptable if it contains the proper ratios!
Yes, I will not argue against that. I have had 3 double shots in a tall milk drink before. But most of those mermaid cafe shops use an ounce or two of bad espresso with 11 ounces of scalded milk.
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Psyd
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#20: Post by Psyd »

cannonfodder wrote:But most of those mermaid cafe shops use
Sorry, I thought we were talking about places you could get espresso at. ; >
I've stopped using the Mermaid as a ruler. You used to be able to define the bottom end of acceptable (sorta like those disposable tires the auto industry is using nowadays, it'll get you there, but I wouldn't want to have to rely on it for any length of time!) but since their quality had slipped off the end of the scale, and their consistency ain't, they really don't have any mark to measure from. Unfortunately, there are independent shops that actually do less well than they do, so they can't even describe the bottom!
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