The Ultimate Cappuccino (by an Ex-barista)

Today, I will be teaching you a technique that I discovered while working as a professional barista.

Occasionally, I've had customers complaining that my cappuccinos, if it wasn't for the fact that the milk was more stretched, were not much of a difference from my lattes. Hence I looked for a way to amplify the visual difference as well as to provide the cappuccino lovers with something to look up to.

Things that you will need for trying this instructable are: an espresso machine, a grinder, the typical barista or espresso enthusiast gear and knowledge. I would not be reiterating this information as it is in abundance on the web and elsewhere, rather, I'll be introducing my novel technique hoping that you'd find it of use, either in your home, hobby or business.

So let's begin!

Step 1: Get Your Chocolate Powder Mix Right

From experience, I found a ratio between the chocolate milk powder and the cocoa powder of 7:1 and above to work well. But not less than 5:1 as too much cocoa tends to clump up the mix and give a harsh, rather than a sweet scent.

Step 2: Prepare Your Pitcher

As any barista knows, you should get your milk pitcher prepared before starting to think about extracting the coffee.

In relevance to this preparation method, I show the size of pitcher to be used, the type of milk preferred for a start, and one secret ingredient, which will allow you to be equally successful when using milks with higher percentages of fat.

Step 3: The First Pour

Normal cappuccinos end at the first our. However, I will teach you to coat the surface of the first pour with a nice hydrated layer of your chocolate powder mix, and wait for the right moment to attempt the second pour.

After the second pour (in the next step), your beverage will acquire its distinctive appearance.

Step 4: The Second Pour

After the first pour, the drink will take somewhere between 1:30 to 4 minutes to reach the point where it would be ready for the second pour (given that the milk was sufficiently stretched).

To verify whether the drink is ready, the foam should have its top aligned with the cup even when the cup is tilted.

Once the second pour is finished, you have 1+ millimeters of the foam popping above the top of the cup/glass.

Enjoy your cappuccino!