Is cappuccino facing an identity crisis? What is considered authentic?

Cappuccino is a coffee drink that is deeply loved by "coffee fans" , but now, this former king of specialty coffee drinks is experiencing an "identity crisis".

Once upon a time, a cappuccino was easy to identify: an espresso, hot milk, and a layer of meringue-like foam on top.

However, there is now considerable controversy over what exactly cappuccino is, even among experts. Some experts believe that the focus should be on the size of the coffee ; others believe that the focus is on the proportion and layering of coffee, hot milk and milk foam in cappuccino.

A loyal coffee lover friend told me: "I walked around the whole city, but I couldn't find a cafe that sold cappuccino. No matter where I went, I either drank latte or flat white, and some baristas would at most sprinkle some chocolate powder on my coffee. Where did the classic formula of 1/3 coffee, 1/3 milk, and 1/3 milk foam go? Have young baristas today never learned how to make cappuccino?"

In addition, Starbucks announced that it would launch Flat White coffee in its local chain stores to replace the increasingly dying cappuccino coffee. And the organizers of the World Barista Championship (WBC) plan to cancel the traditional cappuccino competition and add a new "free milk-based coffee" link.

So, what happened to cappuccino?

"In the competition, the cappuccino is made with 30ml of espresso, 150ml of milk and a 180ml cup, without the cocoa powder," said Craig Dickson, a World Barista Championship (WBC) judge from Veneziano Cafe. "When judging, we want that one centimetre of fine foam, so you'll see a lot of judges skimming off the top with a spoon to see the texture. I've heard of the '30-30-30' formula, but that's not what the WBC uses."

Well-known writer James Hoffman has conducted a special study on the origin of the "30-30-30" theory in his book "The World Atlas of Coffee". He found that this formula came from a coffee book in the 1950s, which described cappuccino as "a cup of Italian espresso mixed with equal parts of milk and milk foam" . Does "equal parts" refer to equal parts of milk and milk foam, or equal parts of coffee, milk, and milk foam? Perhaps no one knows the answer.

Therefore, when we train students at the EHS Coffee and Pastry Training Academy , we tell them that the thickness of the milk foam for cappuccino is 2 cm, that for latte is 1 cm, and that FlatWhite is only a thin layer.

But at the same time, they also point out: "The traditional cappuccino has thick milk foam , but as people's requirements for coffee quality continue to improve, consumers are no longer satisfied with cappuccino coffee with a lot of bubbles. What they want is the delicate and silky taste of milk, and the perfect match with Italian espresso. We have repeatedly emphasized in teaching that the texture of milk foam is more important than the number of bubbles. "

The Italian National Espresso Academy states that cappuccino should be made with 25 ml of coffee and 100 ml of milk, with the milk foam filling the cup until the total volume reaches 125 ml. They define milk foam as "infinitely enhancing the taste of coffee, making it taste like fine cream."

Hearing this, you may find that even the most authentic Italians think that milk foam should have a delicate taste, rather than a bunch of empty, rough bubbles. Moreover, if it is really made according to the "30-30-30" theory, the amount of coffee should be 50 ml. According to the official explanation, this kind of coffee cannot be called cappuccino.

Having said so much, due to the continuous improvement of the requirements for milk quality and taste, traditional cappuccino coffee may really disappear from the world one day...

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