El cappuccino coffee, or cappuccino, is one of the most acclaimed types of coffee by most coffee lovers. It corresponds to a recipe, a way of preparing coffee, and not to a variety of coffee bean. It is something that generates some confusion for some people. Therefore, you should know that you can prepare this recipe with any type of coffee bean, either ground or whole.
Preparing a cappuccino coffee is very easy, the complicated part is that the result is really goodor. So that you can prepare cappuccinos like a true barista at home, here are some tips and tricks.
What is cappuccino or cappuccino coffee?
Un Cappuccino coffee (or cappuccino in Italian), is a very particular and delicious recipe to present your coffee. This variety arises in Italy, since it was the transalpine country that was the first to start preparing this drink based on espresso coffee and whipped milk to foam it. A perfect combination that gives that characteristic aroma, flavor and texture coming from southern Europe and whose name comes from "cappuccio" the hood of the friars.
La recipe It basically consists of mixing 125 ml of milk and 25 ml of espresso coffee, and sometimes other elements can be added that enrich it, such as cocoa powder, cinnamon, etc., but this is already up to the consumer's taste. The problem is that it is not so easy to mix these ingredients and do it in the correct way so that the result is as expected, with the right temperature and creamy texture.
Ingredients needed
For make a really good cappuccino, you just have to make sure of everything you need for its preparation, both utensils and ingredients for the recipe. If you follow these recommendations, you will see that you do not have to go to a professional to enjoy this pleasure on a daily basis.
The ingredients of an authentic cappuccino are:
- Una espresso machine.
- Water, better if it is of weak mineralization or distilled suitable for consumption, since this way it will not add strange flavors to the coffee.
- 7-12gr of coffee (if it is 100% Arabica variety better). If the grinding is done at the moment from grains, the best aroma and flavor will be obtained.
- Your express machine may already have a built-in grinder, or you can buy one separately.
- 1 espresso coffee (25 ml of coffee),
- 125 ml of fresh and cold whole milk. Skim milk and other types of milk could be used, but the texture and firmness of the cream will not be the same.
- 1 jug/glass of 250 ml milk to make the foam.
- It can be done with an electric frother, although it is better if your espresso machine has a steam arm.
- 1 cup of cappuccino of about 180 ml. It should be ceramic, so that it retains heat better.
How to prepare a delicious cappuccino at home
Once you have everything you need, now is the time to start the “ritual” to prepare the cappuccino most delicious you have ever tasted, and made at home:
1-Prepare the milk foam
You can follow the steps in the section where we explain how to make good milk foam for a cappuccino. There you will find all the keys and steps to make the best cream.
However, the generic steps for a foam were shown there, but if you want to be more rigorous for the cappuccino, you have to use only 120 ml of fresh and whole milk. It is recommended to use a metal jug.
In this case, the milk must be between 55-65ºC when the frothing process is finished, that way it will be at the optimal point to combine it with the espresso coffee created in the previous step.
If you see that the milk foam has bubbles too thick, you can eliminate these by tapping lightly on the milk jug, so only the persistent bubbles with the creaminess you are looking for will remain.
2-Prepare the espresso coffee
The first thing you should do is prepare the espresso coffee on your machine. To do it the right way, the steps are:
- Choose a quality coffee bean and fresh. Ideally, a roasted bean older than 3 weeks should not be used, but that is difficult to control considering how distributors and supermarkets work.
- For grinding, you have to prepare a dose between 7-12 grams, depending on whether you like something less or more loaded. In addition, it must be an ideal grind for this type of coffee maker, that is, it must not be too coarse. That will be enough for the extraction to take between 25-30 seconds, which will give the water time to carry all the aroma and flavor.
- Now put water distilled suitable for human consumption or weak mineralization in the water tank of your espresso machine. Also put the freshly ground coffee and connect it.
- If your coffee maker is not automatic and lets you select the parameters, you can choose a temperature of about 90ºC. If it is automatic and lets you select a type of recipe, choose the cappuccino and it will do the rest.
- Once the coffee has dripped into the cup, you will have the finished cappuccino base. The dripping process should have taken about 30 seconds, if it's less than that the ground grain is probably too coarse, and if it's more than that you've over-grinded.
The result should be a dark brown followed by a slight golden foam.
3-How to present or serve it
Finally you just have to pour the milk with the foam over the espresso coffee. What's left, if you've done it properly, will be 1/3 espresso + 1/3 milk + 1/3 milk foam. This is the perfect cappuccino. Now, if you are more purist and want absolute perfection, also take care of the type of cup and other details...
Cappuccino coffee is so special that it even has a process to serve it properly. Professional baritas are not worth any type of cup or presentation, much less if you want to add that special touch of Latte Art.
The best way to serve cappuccino is in a ceramic cup about 180 ml. The ceramic will keep the heat longer. In addition, the thickness of the cup must also be adequate, although it may seem silly, it is not. Ideally, one that is neither too thick nor too thin.
Expert barites also create the famous latte art when pouring the milk with the cream, although this is somewhat more complicated to do and you can ignore it, since that only influences the view, not the final taste. Carefully adding the foam over the coffee to give it that creamy texture will suffice.
On the other hand, in most of the world this type of cappuccino is taken at any time. But if you want to listen to the true creators of this coffee, the Italian masters would never drink a cappuccino past 11 in the morning. It is a drink that can be taken in the morning when waking up or at breakfast, that is its ideal “pairing”.
