Are Latte and Cappuccino the Same?

With today’s long list of coffee beverage stores popping in out in almost every corner of the block, the exact difference that separates a cappuccino from a latte or vise versa isn’t established well. Numerous people are confused with these two and all of them are left to wonder as to which is healthier and which is easier to prepare.

Well, both are special espresso drinks; however, what else must you discover in these two?

What is a Cappuccino?

A cappuccino is made by mixing 1/3 foamed milk, 1/3 espresso and 1/3 milk. Its name came from ‘capuchin’, an Italian word which means ‘small cap’. In Italy, where its roots are drawn back, this is prepared alongside breakfast meals; however, the century has turned this into an all-day drink.

Traditionally, cappuccino is served in a 6oz cup only, but coffee houses like Starbucks offer this in larger cups already. Aside from the conventional cappuccino blend, there are now modern variations of the drink such as cappuccino Fredo, the cold serve without foamed milk and babyccino, the coffee-free kind.

Cappuccino can be prepared in your kitchen with a little practice on foam, steam and water together with the right countertop equipment. An espresso machine with a steaming wand is preferable. Approximately, a cappuccino is 150ml beverage, 85ml fresh milk and 25ml espresso. The foaming part creates an added volume.

To be able to make a cappuccino in your own kitchen, here is how to do it:

• On a steaming pitcher, pour the cold milk. It should be about 1/3 full.
• To be able to release the residual water, release your steam on the steaming wand.
• Dip the steaming wand’s tip into the milk and start. As the volume of the foam and the milk increases, lower your pitcher.
• The steaming must never be stopped until the milk achieves the 65 degree mark.
• Tap your pitcher’s base firmly to be able to compress your foam.
• Pour our foamed milk into a cappuccino cup. Aim for the center first, then moving outwardly in a circular motion.
• Release the steam once more to get rid of the milk residues.
• While several new cappuccino variations have come out into the market, this coffee beverage has remained an all time favorite; even when served after breakfast.

What is a Latte?

The term latte is the simplified ‘café latte’ which means coffee milk in Italy. A latte is made through combining espresso and milk (steamed). Several decades ago, Italians brewed coffee in their Moka pot to have something hot to drink during breakfast. Basically, one serve of latte is bigger than a single serving of cappuccino, often by 20oz. You will know it’s a latte because its milk layer on top is very thin and it has more than one shot of espresso.

In the simplest sense, latte is the oversized cappuccino minus the foam. Therefore, the size and the foam are two major differences.

To be able to make a latte in your own kitchen, here is how to do it:

• Fill your mug to 40% milk and 2 tablespoons of sugar to sweeten the foam.
• Always make certain that your coffee machine has enough water, take your filter and pour down your coffee. Place your filter back.
• Start the machine and make sure your espresso goes into a cup. Stop your machine when the cup has ¾ espresso.
• Foam your milk. Take your mug with your milk and place the frother’s nozzle to approximately 1cm on top of milk.
• Once your milk is 1cm above your cup’s brim, stop your machine and slowly tap your mug’s bottom to eliminate the foam bubbles.
• Add your espresso to your milk.

Of course making your own cappuccino or cafe latte is made much easier these days by the abundance of home coffee brewers now available. Some of the more famous of these include Keurig, Tassimo, Nespresso etc … and many more. We have covered some of these machines in a couple of articles earlier in the year or late last year and you may wish to have a quick look check out which ones we thought were worth looking at. You can access the articles here for coffee machines in general and here for best we found on the market. Oh before we forget, we did a third article looking at the automatic units and you can find that article over on this link.

In a few other parts of the world, a unique way of referring to the drink is the ‘one with the piece of art on top’. The images are produced through pouring the milk on top of the espresso. While this sure can please anybody’s eyes, only a skillful hand can do this.