High street coffee not offering value for money

Chris Taylor

27/10/2011 17:37:28

Coffee drinkers aren’t getting the cappuccinos they deserve on the high-street as many cups are flooded with foam, says an expert barista.

Marco Arrigo, who trains baristas Illycaffe’s Universita del Caffe in London, has spoken out against the big coffee houses that are duping Brits out of getting the quantity of coffee that they’ve pay for.

“There is way too much foam in the average High Street cappuccino and far too little coffee,” exclaimed Arrigo in an interview with the Mail Online.

“And the more expensive the cappuccino, by and large the less coffee you get,” he says.

With an average cappuccino costing around £2, households might even consider dropping the take-out option altogether and invest in a Gaggia coffee machine to get the most out of their cash.

According to Arrigo and baristas worldwide, the perfect cappuccino should be made up of one-third espresso, one-third hot milk and one-third foam. To test how well the high-street fared, the Mail Online hit the street and rated cuppas based on this formula. Out of five coffee houses, it ended up delivering an average score of just 6.4 out of 10 for cappuccino quality.

One criticism of high-street coffee shops is that the drink itself often tastes “watered down”; something that Arrigo can relate to.

“Most chains serve only two shots of coffee in their 20 fl oz cups,” said Arrigo, as cited by AllVoices.com. “That’s not a cappuccino it’s a milky drink. If you want a good cappuccino, buy the smallest size you can. Anything more is a waste of money.”