It’s not written anywhere, but everyone knows it: a cappuccino should only be drunk in the morning–not with a meal, nor with a snack, and certainly never after dinner. There are no ifs, ands, or buts. That’s just the way it is.
This is not an official rule of etiquette–you won’t find it in the manuals for how to be the perfect Italian and perhaps not even in travel guides–but if you eat pizza with a cappuccino or order a latte in a trattoria, you will be looked at with a single withering glance: foreigners! The cappuccino is a morning ritual; it is ordered strictly for breakfast; it is not ordered after 11 AM, nor at a restaurant. You can only find it at the bar, and it’s always the same size: small (very small compared to those abroad). At least we’re flexible when it comes to the ways of drinking, which, in cities like Milan, borders on madness.
125 ml: Always Small
If the versions of coffee and milk-based drinks range from Australian flat white to frappuccino abroad, in Italy, we are more conservative. The cappuccino is made with whole cow’s milk according to a scientific formula: 125 grams of milk and 25 grams of espresso. First the coffee and then the milk, whisked until it becomes a dense and soft foam. There is only one cup size–no big or small–but a cappuccino can be folded into a latte macchiato, which is served instead in a glass of about 200 ml without foam–comparable to the American “latte”.
Always Stirred
In spots with an experienced bartender, the cup arrives resting on a saucer with the handle facing right and a teaspoon on the same side. Once served, the cappuccino is best without sugar, or just a bit, and stirred. Like espresso, which must always be mixed, even if sugar is not added, to amalgamate the flavors, this connoisseur’s gesture is also replicated in the cappuccino. Clockwise or counterclockwise? Neither. It’s always mixed from top to bottom, or vice versa.
A Bit of Etiquette
For us Italians, the spoon must never be licked. After a couple of turns in the cup, the utensil must be left to rest on the saucer: we don’t lick it, we don’t suck it, we don’t use it to collect the foam from the bottom of the cup. At home, we can afford to dip cakes and biscuits in a cappuccino, but at the bar (and in public), it is better to avoid doing so: sorry, the brioche does not “puccia” (Italian dialect for dip). And when we bring the cup to our mouth, we never (never!) lift our little finger like a foxtail–not at all chic.
How to Pick a Good Cappuccino
Although coffee is one of the main elements, a good cappuccino is made of milk, which must be skillfully whipped. The milk froth must be thick, without bubbles, and remain firm in the cup to hide the liquid underneath. To make a quality cappuccino, you need good milk, and this can be a thorny quest. Be wary of long-life milk, with that characteristic “cooked” flavor, and make sure to check if the tetra pack or bottle behind the counter is fresh milk–a great guarantee of quality for the entire bar. Some bars today also offer the alternative of soy, rice, almond, and (every so often) oat milk, but practically no one will give you the choice between whole or skim milk, and there is a reason: skim milk doesn’t froth.
A Little Variety? Do it Milanese
The variety of options in Italy may seem limited compared to the thousand formats, ingredients, syrups, and options written on the Starbucks menus. But in reality, in cities like Milan, everyone has whims when it comes to coffee orders: hot macchiato, cold macchiato, very hot, lukewarm, frothed (without foam!), with cocoa, with cinnamon … I once even heard someone order “white”, aka without coffee inside! Just look at the bar counter in the morning: it’s a continuous flow of requests for unofficial specials. If you do ask for a slight variation from the official cappuccino, the barista will give you a look, smile falsely, maybe even make a joke, turn around cursing you and the group of colleagues who managed to order five different varieties of cappuccino, but he will please everyone and treat you like a true Milanese. You are now safe. Mission accomplished.
