Easy Cappuccino Recipe – How to Make a Cappuccino

A cappuccino is a coffee drink that marries espresso with milk foam. If you have an espresso machine at home with a built-in milk frother, it’s an easy drink to make; but you can even make a nice cup without an espresso machine by using a stovetop coffee pot or by making a strong brew in a French press.

In the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Technology Lab, we’ve tested all types of coffee makers to brew coffee every way imaginable, including pour over coffee makers, single-cup brewers, drip coffee makers, portable coffee makers for camping, cold brew coffee makers and more. (Whew!) We’ve tested espresso machines with all the bells and whistles as well as stand-alone milk frothers, so we know how to make espresso and how to whip up a mean latte.

In addition to our own hands-on expertise, we also spoke with Simon-Pierre Caron, a De’Longhi Barista Partner since 2017 and co-owner of Café In Gamba, in Montreal, Quebec (plus winner of Montreal’s Best Latte in 2018!), for tips on how to create the perfect cappuccino at home.

What is the difference between a cappuccino and a latte?

A cappuccino and a latte are generally made with the same ratio of coffee and milk, but the cappuccino has more foam. So while a hot latte includes steamed milk, only some of that milk forms a layer of froth, whereas a specialty cappuccino has dense, creamy homogenous foam. (An Italian-style cappuccino more commonly has both steamed milk and milk foam.) The heated and foamy milk brings the milk sugars to the forefront, giving the cappuccino a slightly sweeter flavor. The difference between a cappuccino and a latte is subtle, but it’s easier to make a cappuccino at home!

Do you need an espresso machine to make cappuccino?

Caron does advise using an espresso machine for milk-based drinks. An espresso machine produces well-balanced espresso, and the fully automatic ones grind the beans and do the milk frothing for you. “They are super easy to use and super convenient. You can choose the setup for frothing, so you can get really hot milk with no foam or hot milk with a lot of foam,” he says.

But even with manual espresso machines, which require you to operate a built-in steam wand, Caron appreciates the control. “I can control the pressure and how much air I’m going to put in my milk. Do I want more foam? Do I want less foam? I can make all those adjustments myself.”

But if you don’t have an espresso machine, you can still make a good cappuccino at home. A stovetop coffee pot, like the Bialetti Moka Stovetop Espresso Maker will produce full-bodied, strong, espresso-style coffee.

Another way to make your cappuccino coffeehouse worthy without a fully-loaded espresso machine: Grind your own beans. Fresh whole coffee beans have the boldest flavor. “The grind size of the coffee is a huge factor for any type of brew,” says Caron. “If your grind is too coarse, you will extract more acid and end up with sour or watery coffee. If your grind is too fine, you’ll end up with a super-bitter brew. I mean, it’s like wine: You gotta go to what you like. But most people like it balanced.”

How do you make a cappuccino at home?

Simply put, you need finely ground coffee (espresso grind) and the milk of your choice — plus water for brewing, of course. Some espresso makers will grind beans for you, pack the grounds and make your shot with just the push of a button, but many require you to learn to fill a hopper (known as a portafilter) with grounds and tamp them (which means to compress the grounds into a puck so the hot, pressurized water can extract a lot of flavor as it passes through quickly). Once the espresso is brewed, you slowly add the frothed milk.

Caron recommends frothing whole milk for cappuccinos: “What makes the foam is the protein in the milk and what makes the sweet taste is the fat. Between 3 and 4% fat would be the optimal sweetness and also the best texture.”

If you’re not doing dairy, Caron recommends oat milk as an alternative. “It’s easy to steam but also it doesn’t affect the taste of the coffee,” he says. “For example, with almond milk, you really taste the almond, and with soy you taste the soy. But with oats you can taste the coffee, which is great.”

Starting with a warm mug isn’t essential, but it does improve the experience of the coffee, since the flavors will be maintained at the optimal temperature. To warm your mug, you can place it on top of an espresso machine with a cup warmer or pour in and dump out some hot water.

Want to flavor your cappuccino? Rather than just pumping syrup into the finished drink, brew the espresso over the flavoring so it will be fully dissolved and incorporated into the drink. Caron recommends using natural versions (real caramel or chocolate and pure vanilla extract) for the best flavor.