What exactly does cappuccino do?

Once upon a time, cappuccino was easy to identify. Espresso, hot milk, topped with a layer of frothy meringue. But what exactly cappuccino is is now controversial even among experts, who focus on coffee size as a distinguishing feature.

Oliver Strand, the food and coffee writer, argues that cappuccino in the United States comes in small, medium and large cups, but that it's actually made. Strand believes cappuccino is basically a 4-ounce drink.

There are also coffee roasting professionals who believe that what exactly is a cappuccino should not focus on the quantity factor. Others cling to old-school definitions: the layering of coffee, hot milk and foam in cappuccino is the point.

According to the article, in some coffee shops in the United States, cappuccino is not layered, there is no foam visible at the top, and the taste is the same from the first bite to the last bite. This version appears to violate the cappuccino standard promoted by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) and its Barista Guild, which calls for a minimum of 1 cm of foam.

However, some industry insiders said that this standard is a bit "absurd", milk foam is only 1 cm thick, a careless latte. Some coffee experts believe that it is those "latte art bitches" that cause modern cappuccinos to have so little foam. Experts say that in this age of "no pictures, no cooking," less foam is good for baristas to make elaborate designs.

In New York, coffee shop owners, fed up with customers convinced they knew what the "real" cappuccino was, removed the names of all drinks from their menus. The boss believes that whatever coffee it is, it's "espresso with milk." But he was particularly irritated by the new popularity of flat white, a drink made from espresso and milk that has a variety of "authority" practices.

But not everyone who cares about such issues is as dismissive of coffee taxonomy as the boss above, the article said. Italy's Instituto Nazionale Espresso Italian, for example, calls for "25 ml espresso and 100 ml steam whipped foam."

Italian coffee lovers are so adamant about the idea of authentic cappuccino that in 2007 the head of the country's agricultural council proposed that the government issue certificates to cafes that use the correct method of making it.

But there are those who dismiss the Italian standard of perfection. Coffee insiders point out that even in Italy, cappuccino standards vary, with the only common denominator being smaller portions and being considered a morning drink.

Culinary historians say cappuccino may have originated in Austria and became popular with the rise of Starbucks, an American coffee chain. Scholars also say that perhaps the best cappuccino doesn't require fancy barista techniques or other garnishes