The cappuccino has always been an espresso staple since Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz added the item on their menu in 1986. However, the cappuccino seems to have been taken off the menu in several stores in the U.S.
The move follows months after Starbucks' introduction of the flat white in America. The cappuccino gradually lost its place from the menu in some outlets in New York, San Francisco, and Seattle.
Cappuccino lovers need not fret, as Business Insider reports that Starbucks still serves the espresso-milk-foam concoction to those who order the drink. Daily Mail also reports that Starbucks is "definitely not" going to stop selling the espresso-based drink in its UK stores.
Believed to have originated in Australia and New Zealand, the flat white has become a coffee staple in the two countries' coffee scene. Digital brand strategist and blogger of Coffee Hunter Peter Thomson also took the time to talk about the drastic change.
"The cappuccino is a relic of when the whole world aspired to drink coffee Italian-style. It has come to represent the mass consumeration of bland and poorly made chain coffee," Thomson told The Times.
Thomson then contrasts the flat white. "The flat white represents a new wave of independent hipster-style craft coffee from unexpected places like New Zealand and Australia."
The flat white aims to achieve the right balance between the warm milk found in latters and the foam on cappuccinos. Starbucks describes the flat white as "steamed whole milk poured over two shots of concentrated espresso and topped with 'microfoam,'" as reported by Today.
Even "X-Men: Days of Future Past" actor Hugh Jackman described the new "hipster favorite." "It's like a latte with a little less milk and more espresso," recent coffee shop owner Hugh Jackman told Grubstreet.
The decision to stop selling the cappuccino seems to be a very logical move for the world's biggest chain of coffee shops. Thomson also stated that the motivation behind Starbucks' decision was "to help Starbucks recapture the positioning of a coffee-focused café."