Explain a cappuccino to me?

[RiceRiceBaby16]

Purchased cappuccino this morning. Walk away holding it thinking hmmm this cup is so light- feels like barely anything in there. But baby in the other arm grumpy and ready to go, no time to check / go back.

4mins later get home to open the lid- less than half of the cup is filled with liquid. Now I've purchased cappuccinos before and don't ever remember it being like this or am I stupid??? I hadn't even drank any of it yet.

YABU- over half of the cup in cappuccinos is meant to be just foam

YANBU- there's supposed to be more of the coffee in there and less foam!

Also, it pretty much tasted like a black coffee with barely any milk in. Grumpy Monday morning for me. Was looking forward to a nice takeaway coffee rather than making one at home.

Umm.. that looks more like a mousse, tbh!

Looks like they did not add much foamed milk.

£2.70 for a cup of foam with a splash of espresso 😂

Normally it is just one shot of coffee and then half steamed milk and half foamed milk.

Should be 1/3 coffee, 1/3 hot milk, 1/3 foam

It's a foamy, milky disappointment. Go with a flat white. Less overall but more enjoyment.

About 1/3 of it should be foam. It looks like what's happened is that the foam has collapsed while you've been carrying the cup around. Movement makes the air bubbles burst so the foam kind of shrinks.

That's a dry cappuccino - all foam. If you want it more milk, less foam you can ask for a wet one. But without a request for dry it should have been slightly milkier.

That's just a really shit barista!!

Actually it's 2 shots espresso and steamed milk , no extra hot milk is added , that's what a cuppachino is , best of asking for latte 👍

I have never seen a cappuccino like that. It is normally filled to the top like a latte but with more foam, looks more like a flat white but with too much foam. You sure they didn't give you a half drank one (I got a cold half drank latte from McDonald's once, it must have belonged to a staff member thank goodness I noticed as the cup was cold when the staff passed it to me so I looked in it) gross.

Try 'latte' with a double espresso and microfoamed milk from a different place. Some takeaway coffees are awful and it depends on the barista's skills as well as the 'chain' you buy it from. Disappointment is the order of the day, so with the exception of few independent cafes (even they get it wrong sometimes) I now have my best coffees at home.

I saw her making it. Once she foamed the milk, she said she will give me a loyalty card and stamp in the meantime as she waits for the foam to settle a little. I guess she didn't wait long enough and poured basically just foam in and barely any of the actual milk made it into the cup!

That sounds yummy! Never heard of it, hopefully the barista doesn't look at me like I'm crazy if I ask for one?😂

This was from an independent coffee shop but to be honest even the interior didn't looked very professional, the menu was hand written on a piece of paper. Cakes looked like purchased from Poundland and unpacked and put on display. I should have known better!

How do you make your coffee at home, what's your set up? I only have a tassimo pod coffee machine but would like a proper
Coffee machine, nothing too fancy but don't know where to start.

Looking at this chart, a cappucino is 1/3 foam which is definitely shortchanging the drinker compared to a strong latte. I lived in NZ for a while where the coffee making quality and standards are exemplary.
We now buy fresh beans from an independent but local supplier and use a Sage Barista Touch machine. You could start with one of their cheaper/smaller machines though.

Slightly off topic but I never understand why people ask for an Americano with milk? I always thought an Americano was a black coffee, espresso topped up with hot water. If you want white coffee why don't you ask for a flat white or a latte?

Not the end of the world I know but it always puzzles me.

This. That is how I was trained

@DoraSpenlow I don't know, sigh.. I ask for an Americano & the person behind the counter will say 'black coffee?'
So the next time I ask for a black coffee & they'll say 'an Americano?' I just assume they're trying to make me feel dumb! Sorry, doesn't work.. they get a gimlet stare & a 'yess..' through gritted teeth! ;-)

Because a latte is a really milky coffee. A flat white is less volume altogether. What I want is a long drink with some cold milk. Not steamed milk or a large proportion of milk. So that would be an Americano with milk!

Because that tastes far too milky? Americano with milk tastes completely different to a flat white.

OP your barista was shit. That's a shit cappuccino.

If you want white coffee why don't you ask for a flat white or a latte?

Because they want a white coffee made predominantly with water and not milk?

If you don't specify that you're having milk in it, often the barista won't leave room for it in the cup because it'll be filled to the brim with black coffee. There's a big step from having a splash of milk in a black coffee and a coffee made almost entirely of milk. They're entirely different drinks.

Thanks for the replies, now I know. I only drink black coffee (Americano😁)

Another one for 1/3 espresso, 1/3 hot milk, 1/3 foam.

The milk is "stretched" by a steamwand which is what creates the foam, the jug should then be knocked on the counter to get rid of large bubbles and then then poured out the side of the jug which helps the unfoamed milk sift through.

A perfect cappuccino should have a white domed top and light brown ring around the edge, chocolate dusting optional.

It's all too bloody complicated these days. Back when the world wasn't mental you'd go for a coffee and get a full cup or mug of coffee mixed with hot water and a bit of milk to cool it down. At a price that was pretty sensible.

Then came the coffee places with their list of bastardised coffees - a hundred choices and not one was 'normal fucking coffee'. Cue lots of attempts to find something acceptable.

Me? I stick with my tassimo for posh coffee 😁 always a decent tasting cup of Joe (great for espresso Martini too) unlike my partner's attempts this month with their expensive new bean to cup breville Emperor's New Coffee maker. Not had one decent coffee yet, nor two the same.

I'm not even fifty yet and the whole world has gone to shit 😁 (a bit like your cappuccino!)

Ahhh yes I remember going into a Swiss Cottage cafe when I was a kid with my mum and having a frothy coffee and iced bun as a treat