Broke because of inflation? If it’s any consolation, as UG students you pay less for a cup of cappuccino from the machine than at other universities.
The average price for this particular type of coffee is 69 cents, the cappuccino test done by Cursor, the university newspaper for the Eindhoven University of Technology, reveals. Groningen only charges 60 cents.
The most expensive machine can be found in Nijmegen, at the Radboud University, which charges 1.20. The cheapest coffee can be purchased in Wageningen; it’s 45 cents, and if you bring your own cup, you get a five-cent discount.
Quality
Cursor didn’t say how the Groningen cappuccino tastes compared to other universities: the journal only taste-tested cappuccino from different locations in Eindhoven. They contacted coffee expert Yves Houben, whose knowledge helped them in identifying a good cappuccino.
‘Cappuccino is coffee with milk foam’, Houben said to Cursor. First you pour the espresso and then the milk foam. The cappuccino is a clearly layered drink, in contrast with a latte or café au lait, in which warm milk is mixed in with the coffee.
Foam
Houben says the foam is of good quality if it sticks to the cup. If you hold your cup upside down after you’re finished and the foam doesn’t fall out, it’s the good stuff. It matters what the foam is made of: fresh milk makes good foam, while powdered milk leads to white flecks in your coffee. Good foam also makes sure the coffee doesn’t come out from under it when you drink it, allowing you to taste both the coffee and the milk.
The quality of the coffee itself is determined by the beans and how they were ground, obviously, but the container from which you drink it also plays an important role. A glass or ceramic cup is always better than a disposable or reusable one, lectures Houben. If the machine dispensing the coffee isn’t cleaned properly, this also affects the flavour.