Cappuccino
A double espresso shot with roughly equal parts steamed milk and a deep layer of milk foam, giving a lighter, more airy texture than a latte.
- Coffee dose
- 18g
- Yield
- 180ml
- Milk
- 120ml
- Intensity
- strong
- Preparation time
- 3 min
- Skill level
- advanced
Caffeine estimate
Approximately 120-160mg (double shot).
Well established
Brewing method
Made using Espresso machine.
Taste, variation and common mistakes
Light and airy relative to its strength — the deep foam layer means each sip carries less liquid milk than a latte, so the espresso flavour stays more forward even though it's a milk drink.
Common mistakes
- Over-steaming the milk into large, dry bubbles instead of fine microfoam, giving a stiff, meringue-like texture rather than a smooth one.
- Starting with milk that's too cold or too warm, both of which make good foam harder to achieve.
- Pouring all the foam on as a dry cap at the end when a more integrated pour was wanted, or vice versa — both styles exist and neither is universally 'correct'.
Ratio and size vary by café and country — some traditions serve a smaller, stronger cappuccino closer to a wet macchiato in volume, others a larger version closer in size to a latte. There is no single fixed international standard.
Steps
- Pull a double espresso shot.
- Steam milk to a thick, deep foam.
- Pour so the drink ends with roughly equal parts espresso, steamed milk and foam.
Equipment
Related drinks
- milk based version of Espresso
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Build this drink
Tools for working out the quantities this drink needs.
How to make it well
Step-by-step techniques this drink depends on, each with what to change when it does not work.
- Steaming milkProduce hot milk with a fine, integrated foam that pours as one liquid rather than as foam sitting on milk.
- Judging milk temperatureStop steaming at a temperature that keeps the milk sweet and the texture fine, without needing to read a thermometer mid-drink.
- Steaming plant milkTexture a plant milk without splitting it, and know when the carton rather than the technique is the problem.
- Frothing milk without a steam wandGet a usable milk foam using an electric frother, a whisk, a French press or a jar, and know what each can and cannot produce.
- Purging and wiping the steam wandClear milk from the wand before it dries, so the next drink is not made through yesterday's residue.
- Pouring latte artPlace textured milk on the surface of an espresso in a controlled pattern, by managing height, flow and cup angle.
Milk that suits it
How each behaves when steamed — foaming, stability and splitting risk. No health comparisons.