Introduction
Even for the more enthusiastic of coffee lovers, there are new drinks coming up frequently as well as old drinks that are jolted back into life. This is somewhat the case for the dry cappuccino, a drink you may or may not have heard about before.
What is a dry cappuccino?
If a regular cappuccino is espresso, steamed milk, and foam, the dry cappuccino formula stays actually the same. Only thing that changes is the amount of each of these basic ingredients.
The key is in the name: it’s dry because it’s got a lot less steamed milk than a regular cappuccino. Instead, a dry cappuccino boasts of a huge amount of foam. The result is a more pronounced coffee flavor, a lighter type of coffee that does, in fact, feel dry because of the sensation you get when there’s so much foam.
For foam lovers, the dry cappuccino is probably a drink made in heaven. It is equal parts strong coffee and equal parts fluffy goodness.
To be precise, a dry cappuccino should be almost all foam with only a little bit of steamed milk. The rest is just espresso (usually two shots). In contrast, a regular cappuccino is made up of almost the same amount of milk and foam, with just a slightly bigger amount of foam than milk.
Bone dry and Super wet
Like with everything, there is a spectrum. You can have a regular cappuccino and a dry cappuccino- but what about going even further?
Because we coffee lovers are impossibly nit picky and particular about our coffee, there are different ways to go about a cappuccino that go beyond a dry cappuccino.
The bone dry cappuccino is an even drier version made by using absolutely no milk, just foam. It’s so dry, Zach Galifianakis endorses it.
On the other hand, we got the super wet cappuccino, which inhabits a very vague area between a latte and a cappuccino. You could order a latte with extra foam and it would be indistinguishable from a super wet cappuccino. However, we have to admit that there is a lot to enjoy with this kind of drink- so we won’t hold its vagueness against it.
How to make a dry cappuccino
Now that we know exactly what it is, the only thing left for us is to try it and see what all the fuzz is about. Since we like to do things ourselves, here is a couple of simple recipes for you- one for the regular dry cappuccino and one for the bone dry cappuccino.
Dry Cappuccino recipe
Ingredients
● 60ml espresso
● 120ml milk
Instructions
● Pull the double shot
● Foam or froth the milk until almost all of it has been foamed. Take a spoon and push the foam towards the sides so you can see the bottom to tell how much milk there is left.
● Pour about 20ml of milk, then the rest should be all foam.
Bone Dry Cappuccino recipe
Ingredients
● 60ml espresso
● 120ml milk
Instructions
● Pull the double shot
● Start foaming the milk; use a bigger container than usual because there’s gonna be a lot of foam.
● Don’t be afraid to take a long time. Sometimes it’s better to do it in separate pitchers.
● Pour all 120ml of foam into your cup.
Tips
Foaming milk isn’t so easy as the recipes might make it seem. We have here a few tips for you to get a better foam and therefore a much better cappuccino:
#1 Aerate the milk as much as you need to
Aerating the milk aids the formation of bubbles which, as long as you do it in moderation, will result in a better foam.
To aerate the milk, you need to bring the steam wand much closer to the surface than usual. Do this in a slow motion, never letting it rest in one position for longer than a couple seconds: bring it closer to the surface, watch the whirling motion go for two seconds, then bring it back down.
Repeat this step as many times as you need to in order to achieve the foam that you want.
If you’re using an electrical frother instead of a steam wand, the same holds true. Instead of holding the frother down at the bottom of the pitcher or container, bring it to the surface. This will let air get inside and it will make a lot of bubbles.
Remember: we aren’t going for frothed milk, but for foam. Try to unlearn everything you have so far about how to froth milk. Go for the bubbles, instead of avoiding them.
#2 Give it a shake
Even if you’re using the proper method to froth milk -which is the steam wand- we still have to make use of every tool we have available to us. The most obvious one and maybe also the most underrated one is giving the milk a good ol’ shake.
This is better done before frothing the milk, and actually if you do it after you may undo some of the work you did frothing it.
We recommend putting the milk in a mason jar either before heating it up or still warm. Shake for at least one minute, then you should be done.
#3 Choose your milk wisely
Some milk foams better than others. Sometimes it may seem like you’re doing everything right and still, for some reason, you’re not getting the results you want. Our advice in these cases? Change either the brand or type of milk you’re using.
Ingredients vary depending on what brand you’re using and particularly the type of milk.
Whole milk, for example, makes a much better foam than 2%.
But there’s also a lot of other options. There are many types of vegetable milks nowadays that are suitable for these purposes.
There are two types of milk in particular that are especially great for making foam: almond milk and soy milk.
Soy milk makes great foam the fresher it is. If you can get your hands on homemade or freshly made soy milk, you’ll get a nice foam in no time. Commercial brands have a lot of added ingredients for better consistency which can mess with the foam, so try to avoid those.
Almond milk is not usually good for creamy texture but it really shines when foaming it. It makes a super rich foam that lasts longer than with any other type of milk. Almond milk and cappuccino are a match made in heaven.
