2007/09/26 
11:01 UTC 
In an article in The Telegraph today, Italian offcials propose to establish a standard for their national drink, becasue more and more Italians fear that the good name of their coffee is being diluted by chain cafes passing off shoddy versions of espresso and cappuccino.
The colour of an espresso, for example, must be “of a hazelnut hue with ornate flourishes of red and a smokiness that creates a uniform tiger-stripe pattern”. Meanwhile, the “crema”, which sits on top, must be like a “tight sweater, with very fine bubbles, if at all, and of a height of between two and four millimetres”. The cream must “remain for a long time on the surface of the liquid without breaking, and without holes opening in its centre. At the end of the coffee, it should form a crown around the rim of the cup”.
According to the Italian National Espresso Institute, the perfect cappuccino should have 25ml of espresso and 125ml of steamed milk.
The froth should be white, and speckled with chocolate and optional hazelnut. It should have hints of dried fruit, toasted cereal and caramel, while the body of the drink should have an “almost imperceptible acidity”.
Read the full story here.
