A typical process for making a cappuccino, say at a cafe or a Starbucks, goes like this:
- Foam the milk in a special milk-steaming vessel
- Pull the shots of espresso in to special espresso shot cups
- Pour the milk in to a mug or cup
- Spoon the foam on top of the milk
- Pour the shots through the foam and milk
- bliss!
I see several downsides to this approach for in-home cappuccinos, especially when making them for only one person. In a multiple-cappuccino setting, you gain efficiency by re-using the milk vessel and the espresso shot cups, but for one cappuccino, you’re just dirtying a lot more accessories than you really need.
My modified process:
- Foam milk in small coffee mug
- Pull shots of espresso straight in to coffee mug containing foamed milk
- bliss!
No spoons were harmed in the modification of this process.
The downsides to this approach are it’s difficult to see how much crema you’ve gotten in your shot of espresso, which helps me know whether I need to adjust the grinder or the amount of force I used to tamp, and that the travel mugs are all too tall to fit under the portafilter. I could solve both problems by using a clear measuring cup instead of a mug for everything; I should be able to tell from the colors whether I’ve got it right.
Oh yeah — making cappuccino can be messy, even when the mess is smaller than normal. If you try this just before you run out the door to go to work in the morning, wear an apron. Trust me on this one.
If you are going to talk about coffee so much, you should have a seperate category for it! 😉