Real cappuccino now!

You can buy a cappuccino just about anywhere in the UK these days. Or rather you can't. Just about any specialist coffee chain, cafe, bar, pub or tea room will offer to sell you one, but put it alongside the item you would be given in Italy and there's just no comparison. Watery, weak and boiling hot, it's often a pale imitation of the real thing.

A cappuccino should be one third espresso, one third milk and one third foam. If it doesn't conform to these rules, or it's in a mug the size of a bucket, or if the foam disappears before you get to the bottom, there's something wrong.

The problem is that the staff in these shops generally don't even know the difference. Somebody should do something about it.