What Is A Bone Dry Cappuccino?

What is a bonedry cappuccino? In this article, we show you how to go about making the perfect bone drycappuccino.

What is a bone dry cappuccino?
A bone dry cappuccino has less to no steamed milk

Back in the day when I was growing up, you were pretty fancy if you ordered a cappuccino or latte. These days, however, things have changed. Variation is the name of the game, and if you want to raise an eyebrow, you had better order something quite outlandish — such as a bone dry cappuccino.

If you’re wondering, “What is a bone dry cappuccino,” don’t worry. Up until recently, I did not know either. In short, the difference between your typical cappuccino and a bone dry cappuccino is that the latter contains no steamed milk.

Read on to find out how to make a bone dry cappuccino.

Classic Cappuccino

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Cappuccino is made with steamed milk and foam

Before you learn how to make a variation of the classic cappuccino, it may be a good idea to understand what a traditional cappuccino consists of. Cappuccino is an espresso-based beverage prepared with steamed milk and foam.

If you want to master the art of cappuccino brewing, you must understand the distinction between steamed milk and foam. This knowledge will also help you make a bone dry cappuccino.

You might also be interested in our guide on how to make bon bon café.

Steamed Milk

You create steamed milk with the steam wand on an espresso machine. The high-pressure steam that the wand injects doesn’t only heat but also gently aerates the milk.

This causes a microfoam to form over the hot, steamed milk. Microfoam should not be confused with macrofoam, otherwise called ‘froth,’ which you need to create the top layer of a cappuccino.

Froth

Froth, or macrofoam, contains larger bubbles than microfoam. Because of these larger bubbles, macrofoam is light and airy, which means that it can easily float on top of the espresso and steamed milk mixture of a cappuccino.

What Is A Bone Dry Cappuccino?

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Dry cappuccinos have more foam than wet cappuccinos

The various takes on the classic cappuccino play around with different ratios regarding the amount of espresso, steamed milk, and froth. In a classic cappuccino, the ratio is 1/3 espresso, 1/3 steamed milk, and 1/3 froth.

Some people, however, prefer their cappuccino “wetter,” which means that they like more steamed milk and just a little bit of foam. In essence, wet cappuccinos straddle the middle ground between the classic cappuccino and the latte, which is essentially espresso and steamed milk.

Conversely, some people like “dry” cappuccinos, which means you only add a little bit of steamed milk to a single or double espresso. The rest of the cup is filled with foam. But, then, some folk drink their cappuccinos “bone dry,” which is just another way of saying that they prefer their cappuccinos sans steamed milk.

How To Brew A Bone Dry Cappuccino

To make any version of cappuccino, you will need an espresso machine with a steam wand. Here are the steps to follow if you want to make the bone dry version:

  1. You first need to make your foam. Pour cold milk into a pitcher. Since you’ll need a lot of space for the foam to form, a 20-inch pitcher is a good size.
  2. Purge the steam wand to get rid of any water that may be lodged in the steaming circuit.
  3. Place the tip of the steam wand just below the surface of the milk so that it can inject air into the milk. You’ll hear a hissing sound.
  4. Keep frothing until the temperature of the milk reaches 140 degrees.
  5. Prepare your espresso in a heated cup.
  6. You now want to scoop the froth on top of the espresso instead of pouring the frothed milk from the pitcher. This is to avoid any steamed milk from landing up in your bone dry cappuccino.

Author

  • Niki B

    Born and bred in South Africa, Niki B now does her writing from the distant shores of South Korea. A self-proclaimed coffee addict by day, and a writer by night, she gladly shares her knowledge with fellow coffee lovers.