After spending a day with Ryan from Strangers Reunion - who is also Singapore National Barista Champion 2011, 2012 & 2013 – to learn more about coffee, I have a newfound respect for the beverage. In order to make the perfect cuppa, there are many factors in play, and the next time you have a cappuccino at your favourite cafe, do thank the barista for satisfying your caffeine addiction.
Here are 5 things you should know about coffee.
1. Amount of foam in the coffee does not make a difference.
There are some people who are obsessed with the foam level in coffee, but it does not make a big difference to the taste of coffee. Technically speaking, there is a marginal difference, but most people are probably not able to tell anyway. Instead of being overly-concerned about foam, people should focus on the factors – coffee bean, temperature, texture and flavour – that makes or breaks a cup of coffee.
2. Latte Art
While latte art (or lack of) does not affect the taste of the coffee, it is an indicator of how serious a barista is about his trade as it reflects how good the milk is.
3. Soy is not meant to be a drink option.
Soy is actually meant for those who are lactose-intolerant, and not because it is healthier or tastes better. There has always been the debate that soy is healthier than milk, but that is not necessarily true. It is really not about comparing which is healthier, though. The problem with soy is that it masks the flavour of coffee. Full cream milk, on the other hand, does not affect the flavour. Milk is supposed to complement the coffee, not over-power it.
4. There is no need to stir the coffee before drinking it.
When milk is poured into the espresso to make the latte, it is already thoroughly mixed. There is no need to stir the coffee any more.
5. Coffee is good enough on its own without sugar.
If the coffee is done correctly, it should be sweet enough. Adding sugar actually stifles the coffee and does not allow its full aroma to be released. The barista has to put in a lot of hard work in order to prepare a cup of good coffee, so appreciate it as it is, because they know best how coffee should be served.
Also read our Beginners Guide to Coffee.
I think you should do more research. While points 1,3 & 4 are technically correct you should provide more information as to why. Points 2 & 5 are not correct.
strangers reunion is such a lovely place to be, thanks Ryan for your cup of coffee that morning, the mocha was awesome…and the foam art on top was impeccable.
I never have sugar in my coffee, I find it overpowers the coffee. I always say a good coffee never needs sugar unless it is a bad coffee and needs urgent masking!
Point 3 is not correct. I have been a barista and soy milk drinker myself for years. Soy milk in fact is so mildly flavoured compared to full cream milk that it is full cream milk that overpowers the coffee taste, not the other way round. Point 3 is only valid when ill-informed baristas steam yeo’s soy milk or some local sweetened soy milk (tao huay cui), trying to pull it off as a soy latte, where the problem occurs.
I quite agree with all the points above. Not sure about how you can determine the quality of milk through latte art; Unless if you get a really good, neutral-tasting soy milk, it always have that ‘bean’ taste. I’m lactose intolerant, so I would still have my latte with skim milk, since it would have much lesser lactose compared with full cream milk. Non-fat milk is an absolute no.
1. Amount of foam in the coffee does not make a difference.
WRONG: Amount of foam do matters greatly.
Cappuccino has more foam and latte has just a thin layer. They are not done differently for different names.
Foam,which are bubbles giveing a texture feel but it does not integrate with the espresso, as much.
So a cappuccino will be more bitter as lesser milk gets blended together with the espresso.
As for a latte, it means “Milk”.
It’s an American drink, also a French drink known as Cafe Au Lait,. It should have little or no foam.
2. Latte Art – “it is an indicator of how serious a barista is about his trade as it reflects how good the milk is”
WRONG. If the barista is serious, buying expensive machines talking about thermal stability and the bringing out the best of flavours with fanciful unused controls.
Shouldn’t he be more concern of the TASTE than VISUAL?
The problem with latte art is simple, during pouring, there will be two portions to control.
One is pouring and frothing the milk froth, second is the liquid milk.
LATTE is a milky drink, something smooth, so it should be mostly liquid milk in the first place, there shouldn’t have much froth in there.
As mentioned above, pouring too much foam makes it a cappuccino and more bitter.
Here comes the problem with LATTE ART.
When a barista strive to draw his brown canvas, he will pour in excessively much foam, making it neither LATTE nor CAPPUCCINO.
Particularly if you have a big bunch of baristas, when different baristas may froth and pour with different amount of foam, base on preference, technicalities, or the drawing.
Thus if we put into perceptive.
We can say for sure, latte art will not make the beverage better but becomes a component of causing a consistency issue.
It absolutely disagrees that the barista is doing better.
P.S: Latte Art was invented by the Americans in the 80s when their coffee culture was so bad until recently.
Put into facts and figures, even today, less than 3 percent of Americans drink espressos.
Despite beautiful and feature rich machines invented by the Americans in recent years, they are not espresso drinkers and don’t appreciate espressos well.
Back then, you can say latte art was gimmicks, today the new American machines are, just like the one on your picture.