I went to a local coffee shop one day and ordered a cappuccino. Now I like a traditional cappuccino that is ⅓ espresso, ⅓ steamed milk and ⅓ thick foam. I also prefer a more ristretto shot within my cappuccino.
The supposed cappuccino’s that most caffe’s serve is actually a latte. And their shots are typically normale or longo.
I asked for a ristretto shot and got the what’s that look. So I said just stop the shot after less time. I then ordered a small cup, to keep the milk ratio down. And asked for thick foam.
But their “small” cup is too large to produce a cappuccino with the right ratios. And most barista do not know how to produce thick micro foam, as they are trained to produce nice latte art which requires latte foam (not cappuccino foam). Personally I do not give a hoot about latte art; I just want the drink to taste good.
So what I ended up with was a drink with a still weak (watery) shot massively diluted with way too much milk and latte foam. Ordering a second shot did not help the drink, as shot two was also weak.
Cafes that make true cappuccino with tasty espresso are very rare. Sigh…