Equipment and Ingredients
First of all, to make an awesome cappuccino, you need stuff (equipment and ingredients), so what exactly? Well… here it is :
- Whole coffee beans or ground coffee
- Coffee grinder (in case of whole beans)
- Espresso machine or similar brewing equipment like a moka pot etc
- Whole milk or its alternative.
- Steam wand or alternative milk frother
- Metal pitcher (aka steam pitcher)
How to make cappuccino using an espresso machine?
Ideally, what’s called a proper cappuccino is made only in this way! One and only way to get that ditto coffee shop vibes at home.
Step 1 – Begin with a shot of espresso
Alright, so let’s begin the show with espresso! For that, first bring home whole coffee beans or ground coffee, whichever roast you prefer in order to make a cappuccino. Checkout this coffee roasts link and find yourself at ease in choosing a coffee roast. If you’re in a hurry and have no time to read thoroughly about coffee roasts, just grab dark roasted coffee beans. Next, to make an espresso, you can check out this link and then get back to this blog. So by now, a shot of espresso must be ready.
Step 2 – Steaming and foaming milk
To start this, take about 5 oz of milk and place it in that steam pitcher you’ve got. The tip of the steam wand has to be put under the milk’s surface, at about ½ an inch from the side. The magic wand, oops sorry….the steam wand has to be turned on. What’s happening here is that the wand placed in milk will bring air into it creating bubbles, and the milk stretches or you can also say it expands (as it’s creating foam). Hold it as it is, and if you’re holding the pitcher correctly, the steam pressure will itself make the whirlpool. You can also swirl the pitcher if whirlpool is not happening naturally. This (frothing) has to be done until the milk is doubled in volume. After that, immerse the tip of the wand into the milk, downwards. What this does is that it distributes froth into the milk and maintains an even temperature throughout. Next is keeping an eye on temperature.
If your espresso machine is automatic, then just chill, no need to worry about the temperature of milk, as the steaming’s gonna halt when a particular temperature that’s set is reached. Whereas, if it’s a manual espresso machine, then you need to use a thermometer to check the milk temperature, and stop steaming at 150 degree Fahrenheit, or when you feel you can’t hold the pitcher for a couple of seconds. At this moment, turn the steam wand off.
Step 3 – Finally, signing it off by pouring milk over espresso
If you find that the bubbles in steamed milk are larger than what’s required, then just tamp the pitcher on a surface, or you can stir it, or swirl it. Our aim is to get microfoam (uniform sized small bubbles). Now’s the time for pouring. Slant the cup (already having espresso in it) at an angle which is half of a right angle. Hold the steam picher half a foot above the cup and start pouring. Don’t rush, pour at a normal pace and let the espresso and steamed milk combine properly. That’s it, so simple, enjoy your cappuccino. You may wonder if you’re at a coffee shop or at home!
How to make cappuccino without an espresso machine?
Now the thing is that if there’s no espresso machine at home, and if you can’t go to the cafe again and again, then what to do? This option is for those times.
This is a kind of 2nd preference cappuccino (only to be prepared if you don’t have an espresso machine). Moka Pot is the closest equipment to an espresso machine, yet it’s so far away in terms of the concentrated coffee flavor as that of espresso. Other options are French press, or an Aeropress etc.
By now, preparing the base of your drink (i.e black coffee) is done. So, let’s move on to frothing. You can do it in 4 number of ways. One way is using a milk frothing pitcher which will steam and froth your milk automatically. Next is using a handheld milk frother. Third way is using a whisk (electric or handheld). Fourth way is using a French Press. Except for the first method, for all the 3 other methods… scald the milk first (mandatory). Just take around 5 ounces of milk in a container and warm it, followed by whisking it in any of the 3 ways mentioned above. It takes around 20 and 30 seconds to froth milk using handheld milk frother and French press respectively. For handheld whisk, it’ll take a little bit more time. After that, the only thing left is pouring. Pour in the same way as we’d done in ‘preparing with espresso machine’ paragraph above. All you need to do now is sip and enjoy.
Which milk suits best?
Oh! Does this even matter? Well… if you wanna have a frothy cappuccino, then it matters a lot. So, which one do we suggest? It’s gotta be whole milk for sure, as it froths the best and is creamy, due to its high fat content. 2% milk is equally good too, though it may not be so creamy, it’s the best for frothing. Next option is skimmed milk. If you’re looking for non dairy options, then you can opt for oat milk. Cashew milk may be the 2nd best non dairy option.
If you’re thinking of not using dairy just because it has high cholesterol, then our humble suggestion is to reduce consuming egg yolks as well as butter etc which are much higher in cholesterol, and at the same time incorporate more cholesterol reducing foods, the ones high in fiber. Thereby, by following the steps mentioned in the above sentence, you won’t have any cholesterol worries, and on the other hand you can easily use whole milk or 2% milk too… so that there will be no compromise on flavor, texture etc.
Can we use any coffee other than espresso to build a cappuccino?
A true cappuccino is made by using espresso, steamed milk and foam. And the ratio is almost equal. Exceptions are discussed in the ‘coffee origin and variants’ paragraph. Now if someone is asking about eliminating espresso from the cappuccino itself, then it’s problematic to call it a classic cappuccino. Yes, by using steamed and frothed milk, and replacing espresso with regular brewed coffee (using Moka pot, French press, Aeropress) or instant coffee, a good coffee drink is obtained, no doubt. And the frothy texture will also be similar to a standard cappuccino, but the taste is where there will be a distinction for sure, as these coffees won’t pack the concentrated flavor that an espresso provides. These are coffees which use more water for brewing when compared to espresso. So if you’re taking these diluted coffees and further adding steamed milk and foam, then obviously the drink won’t pack a concentrated flavor like an espresso.
That’s why we’ve already said that this is a backup cappuccino, only to be made in the absence of dedicated espresso equipment.