Cappuccino, Mocha And Latte

Do you know the difference between a Latte, a Cappuccino, and a Mocha? Have you ever opened a café menu or stood at the ordering bar and wondered this but were afraid to ask, so you just ordered one or the same one forever? It may sound silly, but it's a question that many people have kept buried in their minds for a long time. Here's a look at the differences between these three types of coffee.

It's All Espresso And Milk, But The Difference Is In The Ratio

The standard latte, cappuccino, and mocha are all made from espresso with steamed milk and milk foam heated by a steam nozzle. The difference is in the ratio of coffee to milk and the addition of hot chocolate to the mocha.

The Viennese Franz George Kolschitsky first invented the addition of milk to coffee in 1683. The defeated Ottoman Turkish Empire at the time left a stock of coffee beans in Vienna, which slowly made coffee popular in this European city. However, the taste of black coffee was too bitter, and many people were not very comfortable with it. In an attempt to bring coffee closer to the general public, Kochsky tried adding milk to the coffee to create a warmer taste and less irritation to the stomach, and to his surprise, it became an instant hit. His café was a huge hit, and the coffee practice continues today.

Latte: Milk Is The Key

Latte means milk in Italian, and as you can see from its name, milk is the main character in a latte.

The standard ratio is 1/6 espresso, 4/6 steamed milk, and 1/6 milk foam, adding hazelnut, cinnamon, vanilla, and other flavours.

Because of the high proportion of milk, the taste is so smooth that it can even be used as a dessert in some European restaurants. It is also an art to be admired for the beautiful pull on the surface of the coffee.

What is the difference between steamed milk and milk foam? Both are the result of heating the milk with hot steam from the steam nozzle on the coffee machine. Steamed milk takes less time to heat up and creates fewer bubbles, increasing its volume by about 1/3 and appearing to have no bubbles, whereas milk froth requires a lot of air to be pumped in to create uniform bubbles and becomes twice as large.

Lattes also vary from country to country, from American lattes with just milk froth, Italian lattes with just milk, to European lattes (also known as café au lait, from the French Café au lait, meaning coffee and milk), where coffee and milk are poured into the cup at the same time, allowing the two to blend together evenly.

Cappuccino: Espresso Is The Basic

The cappuccino is an early 20th-century Italian coffee recipe that differs from the latte in the amount of milk used.

The standard ratio is an even triple portion: 1/3 espresso, 1/3 steamed milk, and 1/3 milk foam.

The coffee ends up with a colour very similar to that of the Cappuccino, the brown cloak of the Franciscan friars, hence the name of the cloak.

The coffee takes up more of the flavour than the latte, and the quality of the coffee itself is more demanding, as espresso must be used to give the cappuccino a good flavour. Cappuccinos can also be flavoured with cinnamon, cocoa powder, lemon and orange zest, etc.

A common type of flat white coffee in Australia and New Zealand is similar to a cappuccino, consisting of 1/3 espresso and 2/3 fine milk foam. The finer foam gives the coffee a smoother taste.

Mocha: Chocolate Flavoured Coffee

Mocha originally refers to a coffee bean with a chocolate aroma, produced mainly in the coastal town of Moka in Yeman, hence the name Mocha beans.

Today it is commonly referred to as mocha coffee, which is made from a ratio of 2/5 espresso, 2/5 hot chocolate, and 1/5 steamed milk.

In addition to the chocolate flavour, mocha has a higher espresso content than a cappuccino and a stronger flavour. Some people add liquors to mocha, such as Baileys milk wine, Sambuca anisette (Sambuca), and coffee wine, to give the coffee a further flavour.

In addition to the three basic types of coffee milk - latte, cappuccino, and mocha - the addition of hot chocolate or chocolate syrup to lattes and cappuccinos adds two new flavours, mocha latte, and mocha chino. In Italy, the founding country of espresso, there are many different combinations of coffee and milk in different proportions, giving rise to various names and flavours. There is a lot to learn from the seemingly simple combination of coffee and milk. Finally, Roaster Coffees helps you make a better daily brew at home and get more about coffee.