THE TRUTH ABOUT CAPPUCCINOS (and How To Make Them!)

We take a look at the evolution of the cappuccino over the past few centuries, as well as how they are commonly served today. If you enjoy capps, coffee, history, or all three, this video is for you!
(Also, the making of the Kapuzinar was mainly in jest, as they didn't have whipped cream. Hopefully the point was made, though!)
If you enjoyed the video, please consider subscribing and giving it a like!
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0:00- Introduction
0:50- Kapuzinar
4:37- 1901 and Beyond
8:00- Cappuccinos Today
10:20- Traditional Cappuccino
13:05- Modern Cappuccino
14:12- TLDR
15:35- Going Forward
Equipment Used:
Espresso machine- Breville Dual Boiler
Milk Pitcher- 15oz handleless round spout Slow Pour Supply
Cups- Double walled Bodum
Milk- Whole Milk from Braum's ;)
Whipped Cream- Also, Braum's
Hat and Shirt- Onyx Coffe Lab, of course

[@LanceHedrick]

Please take a moment and hit that like and subscribe button if you enjoyed it! Helps a lot. I also respond to most every comment, so please engage! Cheers

[@thomasfitzgibbon1675]

Please make these history videos a whole series!

[@LanceHedrick]

Planning on it! Been fun thus far. Likely flat white or cortado for the next installment.

[@pizzadeliveryguy22]

Agree 100% This one was really good🙌🏽🙌🏽

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you so much!

[@nicholeramsey4320]

Your videos are so helpful! I recently lost my job due to a business shut down. So my husband and I decided this was a chance to do something totally different. I love, love coffee and people so we decided to start up a coffee stand in an area that amazingly doesn't have a drive up stand yet. It's in a lower populated area but it will be perfect for me to start out since I'm a true beginner! So a huge thank you for making videos that are not too overwhelming for someone like me.

[@ettochetthalvore]

Really hope it worked out for you!

[@TateVanPatten]

How did it work out?

[@i.8885]

Wish you luck!

[@slyfox8953]

Uh oh… i heard that it didn’t quite work out…. I’m sorry to hear that :/

[@TheCoffeeField]

Me: I’d like to briefly learn about Cappuccinos Lance: ok let’s go back all the way to the 13th century

[@LanceHedrick]

Hahaha only way I know how! Let's remember I did keep it under 20! That's a rare occurrence!

[@heart_of_dankness9430]

“What is physics” 😆

[@LanceHedrick]

I have no idea

[@tannercolsoncoffee]

Watching this video made me feel dumb. I like to think of myself as standing at the "gate" of specialty coffee and trying to get new people to come in, check it out, and realize how cool it is (because I think it is so, so cool). That is kind of where my knowledge level and passion for coffee rests. It continues to blow my mind just how in-depth the really smart people in this niche can go, and the expertise that people like you have in their craft, in the way they can research, experiment, and explain things. I will continue to lean on your expertise for my own coffee knowledge, realizing that my mind can't even keep up with most of this stuff. Thanks for the awesome video, Lance. You're the best!

[@PK3DCGA]

I never clicked a video more quickly, right on time with my morning coffee about my favourite coffee, I'm ready !

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you! I enjoy making them, so it's really nice they're being received relatively well

[@strekat]

These are great. I could listen to coffee stories all day. You're a great speaker as well.

[@Krynis]

this was far more fascinating than I was expecting from the title, the amount of research you seem to have done is impressive and appreciated as well.

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you so much! I need a better title, it seems 🤣🤣

[@Lireoec]

I've had it made about 7000 different ways at cafes in Australia and I would say yours sounds about right.

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you! Hope you enjoyed the video, friend

[@lebensschueler]

Im Viennese and I didnt know of that story! What it makes interesting is that the Kappuziner migrated to Italy while we invented a new word for it. Cappuchino is commonly known in Vienna as "Melange" which comes from French and means mixture. This one is with steamed milk only. Just recently due to american coffee culture, third way coffe and tourism the cappuchino became a widely used word aswell. So the abandoned word migrated back again! :)

[@hodgesmt]

*Pulls up a chair* "Tell us a story uncle Lance!" amazing video as always.

[@LanceHedrick]

Hahaha! Happy to be the crazy, story telling uncle

[@balalalala13]

Very cool! Love people who share knowledge and you do it very well Lance!

[@arthurzetes]

Awesome man. Great seeing your channel grow and grow!

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you! Only because of awesome supporters like you, my friend

[@HomeBaristaDoron]

You're great man! Love your videos, so fun and informative.

[@cheekster777]

Thanks for another great video, very interesting. Have yourself a great weekend Lance! 👊🏻

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you, legend! Hope your weekend is great as well

[@ChristensenStringStudio]

Love the history! Thanks !

[@staciestgermaine7604]

Your videos have helped me immensely!! Keep up the great work! Thank you!

[@LanceHedrick]

Fantastic! Thanks so much for watching them!

[@doraymon4797]

Great video Lance! Maybe not as detailed as other videos on the technique side, but it did open my eyes on the difference between traditional and modern cappuccino. The landscape of milk based coffee beverages is infinitely complex, but once you understand some reference points, the fun is all in tweaking the beverage to your own taste and delight! Thanks!

[@rafyraffee]

This was actually really interesting Lance!

[@rnchnphtsk]

Quality work man !!! Thank you 🙏🏻

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it

[@RichardOverby]

Loved the song from one of my favorite movies! Thanks Lance for giving us some knowledge!

[@LanceHedrick]

I love Willy Wonka! So glad there is another big gene wilder fan! Cheers and thanks for the support

[@NewtonLewis]

Very educational video. Hoping this becomes a series 🤞

[@LanceHedrick]

Absolutely! Definitely wanting to do histories on lots of major drinks

[@franksasse3883]

I did know about this already, but I watched your video until the end as it was just entertaining! 👍

[@LanceHedrick]

Haha well thanks for watching anyway! I truly enjoy the support.

[@Thrilos30]

Your content is amazing Lance!

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you so much!

[@rohncynthiafalter8029]

I enjoyed your video with the bit of history in it. You have a talent with your videos, I enjoy them a lot.

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you so much! Means a lot, friend.

[@wlmontag]

Thanks for the awesome presentation. Really enjoyed it. Your video on the chemex is brilliant. You fixed every problematic issue I experienced perfectly and your chemex recipe is outstanding. Every passionate coffee enthusiast needs to subscribe to your channel.

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you so much! Means a lot, friend.

[@burger85]

Really informative and great overview video!

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you so much! I enjoyed making it

[@amandab4200]

I did not know that! Thank you for sharing ☺️

[@LanceHedrick]

Awesome! So glad to contribute to your quest for knowledge! Haha cheers, friend!

[@weiszCoffee]

Right on time! Just today we had a very interesting long discussion in our facebook coffee group about what is the correct way to serve cappuccino

[@LanceHedrick]

That's awesome! Hope this helped shine some light!

[@weiszCoffee]

@@LanceHedrick it sure did. I posted your video in the group and waiting to see the comments

[@LanceHedrick]

Hahaha oh my. I need to see if it triggers people lol!

[@murataht]

thanks man ! all the best !

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank YOU for watching and the support. All the likes, comments, shares, saves, etc, help me tremendously. Cheers!

[@RodneyClang]

As a fan and admirer of St. Francis I can’t believe I never knew the link to cappuccinos wow. Thank you !!!

[@timgemesi2339]

I died when you started singing the oompa loompa song. You have the best personality for these videos.

[@oicangito]

Now... This is history, thanks again for the knowledge mister!

[@LanceHedrick]

Absolutely! Thank you so much for watching and supporting!

[@alaskavaper966]

Excellent coffee history, amigo.

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you, my friend! Appreciate the support

[@jimhand2734]

Nice refrigerator art, Lance! Everything else was really interesting too!

[@LanceHedrick]

Lol! I'll let my camera guy know haha. We film in his house a lot

[@JPC326]

Really interesting this morning!

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you! Hope you enjoyed

[@diana-ui9wc]

thank you for another video❤️❤️

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you for watching and for the support!

[@mrbob0822]

Really digging that drink history. Would definitely love to see more history-of episodes like you mentioned! Keep up the great work, Lance!

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you so much, Kevin! Appreciate it

[@MrTeffjan]

Hi Lance great vid as always

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you! Sincerely appreciated, friend.

[@Yellow_Magpie]

This was super informative! I'd also like to add to the discussion about naming conventions and what the customer recieves are, in this day and age, shop specific, like food in a restuarant. I find coffee menu's to be just that menu's, if you order a toastie in one cafe, you don't look at 'toastie' on the menu of the neighbouring cafe and think it's a part by part reconstruction of a contemporary italian toastie, just like next door's, you think 'oh, I wonder how *they* do a toastie and what's in it' and then frequent the one with the toastie you like best! Where I work we had a customer complain that our 'large' cappucino couldn't possibly be a cappucino, I finally understand why, however as you said it may be more like 'a latte with extra foam' in the traditional sense but on our menu we're trying to make it easier for people to ask for that textural difference. It's exactly why a flat white exists even though you could say it's a 'cappucino without the foam'

[@LanceHedrick]

Your menu may be easier for your geographical context, but certainly not on a wider scope. These larger capps are a strictly American thing that came out of a desire of bigger is better. The blurring of the lines causes more rampant confusion, imo. Nothing wrong with those drinks; they are just misnomers.

[@thomascee]

Innnnteresting....... Agree, I’m with ya. I like some thick foam. I wondered why I didn’t always get it when I ordered one.

[@RaveyDavey]

Traditional all the way. I like it when the crema of the shot is swirled in the cup so the brown ring has a lot of crema in it. When you drink it you get the foam with a strong coffee flavor that contrasts beautifully. The modern one is really just a latte which happens to have a bit more foam. I’ve had lattes like that anyway. At least the traditional one gives us a different drink.

[@dankennedy3365]

No Doubt! There's nothing like mixing perfect, sweet milk foam with an awesome espresso! and there's nothing like the disappointing reality of being served a latte when I ordered an espresso 😆

[@TonyAponte95]

I really appreciate the history paired with the practice. Awesome video Lance! Normally, when I make my cappuccinos I like to side on tradition and make a nice fluffy boy.

[@LanceHedrick]

Nice! Different strokes for different folks, for sure. All valid and all tasty

[@Twilo27st]

I didn’t know that. Thanks for this. Thank you. Thank you. 👍👍🙏🙏🙏

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you for watching and for the kind words!

[@DarkSeraphim]

Finally someone talks about my Country. Vienna, Austria 🥰🥰🥰🥰❤ new subscriber

[@chrisruss8332]

Super interesting Lance.

[@LanceHedrick]

Thanks so much for watching! The support is massive. Appreciate it!

[@chrisc9960]

Love the history lesson!

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it

[@torsneyt]

Hello from Vienna! I'm originally from the US but living here for 8 years. So interesting about the origins of cappuccino. The espresso topped with whipped cream drink you made is called an einspänner now. Funny that's the og cappuccino recipe!

[@ichitsai6504]

really don't know about the story, or different ways to make the coffee, thank you for sharing🙏and it feels like a Viennese coffee in very beginning, shock and interesting thanks again

[@grahamstauffer8188]

Omg that part were you went from scoopa to Oompa Loompa got me good! Busted out laughing. Great video and history!

[@LanceHedrick]

Hahaha! So glad you enjoyed my weirdness lol. Hope you have a stellar rest of the day!

[@grahamstauffer8188]

@@LanceHedrick it was brilliant weirdness, same to you Lance!

[@LanceHedrick]

Haha! I'm flattered 😊 cheers!

[@tonydesanto3238]

Given the tie to Vienna and the Kaffeehaus culture, it would be interesting to hear your take on the Kaffee Melange or Wiener Melange. When I lived in Vienna for a time, it was my go-to coffee in their famous coffee houses. Also, thank you so much for a well-done video and the history behind my favorite drink.

[@LanceHedrick]

Interesting! I know nothing about those so I will need to do some research! Thanks for watching

[@rleon8183]

I love this guy! Who ELSE would squirt canned whipped cream into their mouth and say "Cheers!" before signing off??!!?!

[@swissb64]

Love your channel 💗

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you so much, Suz!

[@camwilliams7341]

This was very informative 👍🏼 I feel better at understanding the cappuccino. At my shop there are a lot of people who are particular about cappuccinos more than they would be for any other drink so this helps for me to explain the difference 👍🏼

[@LanceHedrick]

Absolutely! So glad you find it useful for your cafe setting. That's the goal!

[@eleanorbrown8914]

sbux barista here and i def let out a giggle thinking of all the venti (20oz) cappucinos ive made lol. love your videos!

[@LanceHedrick]

Haha! You're not alone! My first coffee gig, we had 16oz capps, so no worries! Lol

[@stephenjenkins1102]

Wow, absolutely fantastic video, I love learning the history and origin of things we take for granted. Great job Sir, more please. But of the the two drinks at the end was the second not a latte?

[@LanceHedrick]

It was not! And I'll explain more in future videos 😉

[@chiaraippoliti]

@@LanceHedrick Would love someone to tell these English speakers that a latte is just milk. Once you add coffee, it’s something else: caffe’ latte, cappuccino, macchiato, etc.

[@Mfuao]

Here in Brazil, cappuccinos are known as a sweetened latte with lots of mixes like cocoa, cream etc., there are several versions, the most classic is cinnamon but you will find it with caramel, chocolate, nutella etc...

[@erukuish]

Great video!

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you so much!

[@AnnabellRamm]

*casually chugs on whipped cream* *casually does it twice* 😂 you’re my hero 😂

[@LanceHedrick]

Whipped cream is so damned delicious!

[@stuartcampbell114]

Keep up the good work Wizard

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you, Stuart! I'll try

[@thetravelpodcast]

Thank you thank yyou!

[@heiwongchunhei1656]

For the modern style Cappuccino, after separation of the foam and coffee, the thickness of the foam is the same of your traditional one ( 14:15 ) But I think the modern way is smoother than the traditional due to the pouring method of the milk

[@MsLemons12]

Yes more coffee and drink history pls

[@LanceHedrick]

Absolutely! I love making these

[@christophkrenn9985]

I’m from Vienna and it’s not just cappuccino either, we also sort of invented the croissant 🥐 *mic drop*

[@LanceHedrick]

OH SHOOOOOOOOT! Coming in hot! I love it.

[@christophkrenn9985]

@@LanceHedrick thanks for the great video as always!

[@LanceHedrick]

Absolutely! Thank you for watching!

[@saltf.3856]

I loved the video. You should do a video on the flat white next.

[@LanceHedrick]

Thanks for watching! And the flat white is certainly on the roster 😉

[@thomascasata3558]

Dude you are a Jewel! Cheers from Austria btw :-)

[@fitzytom]

Great video as always!!! I assume the Irish Coffee will be making an appearance soon??? 👍🏼💪🏼🇮🇪 ‘I love lamp’

[@LanceHedrick]

Haha maybeeeee..... Guess we will see!

[@RichardClifton]

"Gotta wash it down!" I'm going to add this option to my menu for $1.00. They'll have to take it straight from the can to the dome.

[@LanceHedrick]

I'm such a fan of this idea! Lance it up a bit

[@zcytf15]

nice video, thanks

[@TheGreaterThanTwo]

Really enjoying the history videos, especially on drinks. I've seen cappuccinos done a dozen different ways between the two US coasts and I've always wondered which way was *truly* correct... Until now

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you! So glad you enjoyed the video, friend!

[@rebeccawalker5872]

what you made there as the "original cappuccino" is served here as "Viennese coffee" and its either made from essentially Americano in coffee shops that have espresso machines or from "turkish coffee" which is very similar to the method used for cupping - boiling water poured over ground coffee.

[@JakeEarp]

Excellent video! love the history and demonstrations. Which size bodum glasses are those? Look like the perfect cappuccino glasses

[@LanceHedrick]

they are 6oz!

[@donaldlippert6374]

Thanks for the origin story of cappuccino… I am an actual Capuchin friar (monk) serving as a missionary in Papua New Guinea! Cheers!

[@L3Mailman37]

Awesome Lance! I typically aim for the modern approach with my cappuccino, but i often fail and it ends up more like the traditional due to me being too aggressive with the foam. Now I've learned that I'm not failing to make a cappuccino at all. I'm just old skool! ;) Thanks for that.

[@LanceHedrick]

Hahaha for sure! Always a bright light shining somewhere 🤣🤣🤣

[@sidhammer9461]

I was thinking the same thing! Oddly, I can make better microfoam at work with a Breville dual boiler with less steam pressure than I can at home with my QM67. No matter how hard I try, I seem to always get way too much air into the small volume of milk I’m steaming for my “true” cappuccini (6-8 oz total cup size).

[@jonathanwhalen7076]

Legend.

[@LanceHedrick]

Haha! Thanks for watching! Appreciate the support

[@deepestsagara]

This is the true definition of cappuccino!!! At least from my perspective, from what I learn long ago about the word "cappuccino". But nowadays, cafes serving cappuccino with that "latte art" on top. As far as I know, if you can do that latte art thing, it means that your steamed milk still has a little foam. Moreover, the name is Latte Art, so it should be do on a Caffe Latte. Let the classic cappuccino has their classic thick foam 😏

[@yuyutsusharma6977]

Great history account

[@mckinleywyman]

Hey, You're the coolest. You've made me a notably better barista. Both in personality and practical knowledge. Keep fucking going, man.

[@LanceHedrick]

Wow! This is one of the best comments I could ever ask for. Thank you and keep going!

[@Giokosmik]

@LanceHendrick I would argue that doing a traditional cappuccino doesn't require to spoon out and in the foam. If frothing is done thick but silky, swirl in the motta and be fast to pour from the side and not from the spout you'll end up with a thicker side brown ring and at least 2cm of foam on top. Flat white can be done in the same fashion but thickening less the milk and using the motta spout to pour as this allows more milk to pass. Now if you want to make the side brown ring thinner go with the spoon method. I love cappuccinos mate. Keep it up brother.

[@yellowatch8802]

Hey Lance, I would lovee it if you made a video about Turkish coffee, thank you!

[@LanceHedrick]

Will need to learn more about it but definitely would love to!

[@aronhailey2227]

Awesome video, Curious where the drier cappuccino's fit in. I used to work in an Italian-style cafe where we served single shots with a much heftier portion of foam as the standard.

[@LanceHedrick]

I put a dry capp in the video! Just doesn't look as dry as on a normal bowl because the height. Any dryer than what is shown has no real historical precedent.

[@elainelafond6533]

Thank you for this very interesting and instructive video! Can’t really get the difference between latte + foam and cappuccino style in the second method ?

[@-OzSteve]

Loved the history lesson. I've been served each of those variations in different parts of the world and wondered why there was such variation.

[@LanceHedrick]

Thanks for watching! And same. It can be confusing, for sure. Lots of independent evolutions of the beverage!

[@growHH]

Awesome stuff as usual and please pronounce Kapuziner Like "Kapputseener" ✌🏼

[@jeffperssonofs]

Nice to see the history. One clarification... The “Capuchins” are the “Order of Friars Minor Capuchin” which is one of the branches of the First Order of St. Francis. The Franciscans are a mendicant order, not a monastic order, so, they are friars, not monks. The terms are often (incorrectly) used interchangeably in our current day, but there are very distinct differences in their callings.

[@topjets5616]

Great Video :) :) :)

[@LanceHedrick]

Thank you so much! Greatly appreciated

[@mrteddobek]

Lance, your whipped cream break👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@LanceHedrick]

I love love love that fluffy white goodness from above

[@eyeperture]

All vids are packed with tons of valuable info, I only have a suggestion on all of your vids I’ve watched, make it short and rhythmic narration, one could easily lose the focus miss the point. Otherwise this channel is one of best on the tube if is not THE best.

[@LanceHedrick]

Appreciate it! And I do the videos as they feel natural to me. If I change, I likely wouldn't enjoy it as much. Not to evade the criticism, but moreso to say this isn't my full time job, so I've got to enjoy it to continue haha! Rambling is fun for me 🤣

[@mattgraves3709]

The cap is closest to what I make at home. I however like to start with super ristretto and add quite the bit of sugar (20g) to the milk before foaming. gotta add sugar to milk before foam with ristretto otherwise you loose the coffee and I'm a sweet tooth...

[@LanceHedrick]

Sweet tooth as A OK with me! I love sugar haha

[@JuliusSP1]

How do you differentiate between steaming for latte flat white and a modern cap if they use equally soft aeration and each until hand temp?

[@wenyulian9584]

Great history lessons! Great video! What is the milk to espresso ratio for the cappuccino you made? From the color, they looks like latte.

[@LanceHedrick]

Hey! I used about 2fl oz of espresso and about 3fl oz of milk, but frothed.

[@atticustay1]

Can you do a video on doing two coffees at once and splitting milk

[@LanceHedrick]

Perhaps! I've gotten a few requests for this!

[@9jang]

Great fact and history on the drink! I learned a lot!! Also appreciate your multi-camera setup but the color on the Main Camera and the other two angles don’t seem to match. If you have time and people to help, having colors corrected on all camera will reduce obvious color jumps and also help with video continuity. Start with matching all of your camera’s white balance and light levels. Little improvements go a long way. Keep up the good work!

[@LanceHedrick]

Appreciate that! I have absolutely zero know how with cameras lol. Will work on it!

[@9jang]

@@LanceHedrick totally understand your pain, man. Imagine the thing you go through in order to make us great videos! essentially just check if all whites and drink colors on each camera on the same image (say, the milk and counter top in the close up shot on the cup) looks identical at least to the eye. Tinker with white balance settings a bit. Stay away from Auto White Balance.

[@LanceHedrick]

Absolutely. Good calls, my friend. Look for improvement!

[@PanSangex]

2:33, that's like, a lot of shots of spresso lmao

[@LanceHedrick]

Haha! Absolutely

[@MartyPape78]

If i understand this history lesson the original cappuccino is actually more similar to a modern Con panna than a modern cappuccino. Thanks for a great video.

[@LanceHedrick]

Sorta. If we go back, espresso was different completely. So, it would be like batch brew con Panna haha!

[@ievafaulkner6021]

I sprinkle chocolate powder on the shot and then pour the milk for cappuccino, I love how it looks :D

[@LanceHedrick]

So marbly 😍 sounds delicious

[@cheekster777]

That outro! 😂🤣😂

[@justinbouchard]

cute little latte art hand ahahahhahah🤣

[@dasamir]

Hi Lance! Quick question - what’s the difference between your “modern cappuccino” here and a latte? Is it the milk to espresso ratio, amount of foam, etc?

[@LanceHedrick]

Yes! Amount of milk mainly

[@etienneoligny5106]

I had the same question, then i started thinking about it. Modern cappuccino would be a "6oz" drink made in a 6oz cup. A latte would follow the same steps, but in a 8oz or more cup, like you would find at starbucks etc. Both use the same amount of espresso, but the cappuccino has a little more espresso taste rather than a milky taste!

[@LanceHedrick]

Exactly! Size dictates the beverage, for the most part.

[@Tnapvrvideo]

Very helpful comparison. How much espresso (oz.) is in each before the milk is added? Thanks!!!

[@PaulSmith5]

@@LanceHedrick Would you say that the 6oz modern cappuccino is therefore the same as a flat white?

[@Amirichi]

Also pulling those espresso shots a little fast there lancy 😜

[@LanceHedrick]

fast, for sureeeee. makes them have higher clarity

[@Amirichi]

@@LanceHedrick I don't mind fast shots myself. Takes the bitter edge off 😌. Sometimes my favourite cups are when I didn't follow the recipe

[@LanceHedrick]

I always say throw the rules out!