Cappuccino Vs Latte

The already ‘hot’ world of espresso is becoming all the more hotter with the cappuccino vs latte, cappuccino vs straight espresso and latte vs straight espresso debate. For a novice who is bored of having his coffee at the local diner, it will be very difficult to decide, which one is better for his taste. By now we have understood, that there are three types of basic coffee, which one can drink, namely cappuccino, latte and straight espresso (also known as espresso). Out of these three, cappuccino and latte cause the maximum amount of confusion. Let's read on more about cappuccino and latte.

Difference Between Cappuccino and Latte
If you visit a coffee shop and ask for a cappuccino and a latte, you will notice that both of them taste the same. The reason is that both of them are made from poor quality espresso and are topped with a lot of milk and foam. However, a point to be noted is that the cappuccino and latte have different identities of their own and they are not synonyms of each other. To understand the subtle differences between both, let's read about them further.

Along with the cappuccino vs latte debate, there is also a cappuccino vs latte calories debate. Latte consists of more calories than cappuccino. The number of calories per drink will vary from one coffee maker to another.

Latte
A latte is known as café au lait in French, café con leche in Spanish and Milchkaffee in German. In simple words, it is coffee milk. Latte often accompanies breakfast. Let's get to know why. Latte is actually a double shot of espresso, which is topped with steamed milk. Mind you I said steamed milk and not milk froth or frothed milk. Since it has a generous amount of milk in it, it is very filling. Therefore, a latte normally accompanies breakfast.

Latte ideally needs to be served on a 7-8 oz glass, which often is not the case. Since it consists of a generous amount of milk, the drinker should be able to see the amount of milk in this coffee. There are some café, where you can see some foam on top of a latte. It is used only for the sake of presentation such as to make it more attractive. On a latte, there is some latte art, which is used for garnishing. The designs, which are normally used, are in the shape of a heart or a leaf.

Cappuccino
Now let's find out, what is cappuccino. Cappuccino consists of one third amount of espresso, one third steamed milk and finally one third foamed or frothed milk. This drink has a thick layer of foam on it. The liquid in the cappuccino tastes stronger than that of latte, but should be evenly balanced. There are two ways of ordering a cappuccino. You can either order it ‘wet’ or ‘dry’. When you order your cappuccino ‘dry’, it will have more foam as compared to milk. On the other hand a ‘wet’ cappuccino will consist of more milk.

Of late in America, cappuccinos do not consist of milk. Milk has been replaced by micro foam steamed milk. This milk has a glossy texture and a smooth finish with small bubbles. Due to the use of micro foam, when the cappuccino is made the thinner micro foam gets poured first in the coffee mug and the thicker foam ends up as the top layer.

Often you will see that cappuccino is served in a porcelain cup with 6-7 oz quantity of coffee in it. The cup has a large mouth and a narrow base. Porcelain cups are used, as porcelain retains heat better than most other materials. A cappuccino is normally garnished with cinnamon. The cinnamon powder is just dusted on top.

Read more on recipes for homemade cappuccino.

Besides the way different types of coffee is made, a lot depends on the quality of the coffee beans from which coffee is brewed. Hence there are other factors too that affect the taste of a cup of coffee. Thanks to the cappuccino vs latte debate, I was able to exactly find out the minute differences between these two espressos that made all the difference in their taste. Now I know, which one to order when. So, the next time you're out to have a cup of coffee, you will now know what exactly is your cup of tea, so to speak.