- Campus
- 7 min
- 04/09/2026
Cappuccino test on campus: where do you get the best one?
Cursor tests five cappuccinos at TU/e and finds a clear winner and one to avoid.
The cappuccino is the most ordered coffee on TU/e campus and has remained consistently popular for years. Where can you drink the cheapest one? And where the tastiest? Cursor investigated and headed out with coffee expert and ESA chain manager Yves Houben.
Houben is a coffee connoisseur and, in addition to his job as a manager at the TU/e Education and Student Affairs (ESA) department, also runs his own coffee company, Coffee Experiences. He organizes workshops to teach people more about coffee. He is, therefore, the ideal expert to bring along for a tasting on the TU/e campus.
In the test, we look specifically at the cappuccino: a preparation method that both students and staff enjoy for their coffee treat.
Inquiries with caterer Appèl during the previous Cursor coffee test in 2022 revealed that the cappuccino is by far the most popular item on the coffee menu. It was sold almost twice as often as the classic lungo, or black coffee.
For this new test, Cursor repeatedly asked for recent figures on the cappuccino – is its popularity still as high? It turns out that is the case. “Based on registered coffee sales, the ratio roughly comes out to more than twice as many cappuccinos as regular coffee.” The TU/e community drank no fewer than 6,599 cappuccinos at Appèlkantines during the 2025/2026 academic year. And on top of that, many more were undoubtedly ordered from vending machines, Bakkie040, and the Zwarte Doos, for example.
Putting it to the test
The cappuccinos we tested come from five locations on the TU/e campus: the canteen in Vertigo, Brownies&downieS in Atlas, the Student Sports Café, the Spar, and the Zwarte Doos. The criterion: they must contain fresh milk, so the TU/e vending machines are excluded this time to ensure a fairer comparison. The cappuccinos were not blind-tested, but we can guarantee that we have no affiliation with any supplier whatsoever.
Yves Houben speaks about the cappuccinos as a coffee connoisseur, while Cursor editor Bridget acts as an average layperson and cappuccino lover. Houben: “A cappuccino is actually coffee with milk foam. But often hot milk is mixed in as well.”
“Then it is more of a café-au-lait, or even a latte. Although the latter has a different order: the milk goes in first, and then the coffee. With a cappuccino, the espresso comes in first, followed by the milk foam. This allows the cappuccino to retain distinct layers, whereas the latte actually mixes milk and coffee.”
Look closely
The test is simple in design: we order a cappuccino, have sticks to test if the foam is firm enough, taste it, and then neutralize the taste with water. For each cup, we each rate the milk foam, the temperature, and the coffee flavor, and each receives a score between 1 and 10. An average is calculated per person, and subsequently, the average of those two scores forms the final score. Houben keeps a close eye on things while ordering the cappuccinos, watching closely how the baristas prepare them and what equipment they use.
“I look at the type of machine, whether I can see the brand of the coffee beans, and whether the milk is frothed manually via a steam wand, a milk frother, or fully automatically.”
“A separate frother ensures consistent quality; with a steam wand, you are much more dependent on how skilled an employee is in the frothing process.”
Equipment is important
“Good equipment can certainly help in making a good cappuccino,” says Houben. “But it is about more than that: the beans or grind, the type of milk, the machine settings, how well and often it is cleaned, and which cup the drink goes into.” So, unfortunately, there are also many elements that can negatively influence the taste.
Student Sports Café
The Student Sports Café in the sports center is a place that perhaps not everyone thinks of as a coffee spot. But the café offers a wide range.
Our cappuccino is served in crockery. The café scores points with that alone. The foam is heavenly: perfect looks and texture. Houben knows exactly why: “That milk frother over there (pointing to the bar), that’s a good one. And the milk goes into a separate milk jug.”
The taste is also downright delicious. The coffee is made from a bean that pairs perfectly with the milk and is therefore perfectly suited for cappuccino.
For Spoor, the temperature is perfect; nice and hot, but immediately drinkable. Houben prefers cappuccinos a little hotter. “Then it’s still tasty even if you have to wait a moment for your food or a table companion, for example.”
By popular demand
After the previous test in 2022, Cursor received many messages about Spar: the coffee there really should have been tested. In the campus supermarket at Luna, the cappuccino comes from a vending machine, but it uses fresh milk. So this time, Spar was included in the test.
We are using their disposable cup – an item that has been replaced by the Billie Cup on the rest of the campus. “You prefer to drink a cappuccino from a glass or crockery,” says Houben. But if many customers drink Spar’s coffee this way, it yields a fairer test result.
Houben: “The rubber Billie Cups, in particular, can start to impart a taste above 80 degrees. That also applies to cups with a plastic lining inside, like the one at Spar.” However, such a lining is there to keep the cup intact longer when liquids are put in it, which is especially important for hot drinks.
But any potential flavor transfer from the cup turns out to be the least of our worries in this case. The cappuccino is bitter and simply downright disgusting. With a price of 1.95 and from a (‘luxury’) fully automatic machine, perhaps you shouldn't expect too much?
Nevertheless, in 2022, one of the cheapest cappuccinos from a luxury machine in Auditorium shared first place. Unfortunately, that machine is no longer there.
Disappointment
Off to MetaForum for the ‘luxury’ coffee machine there. It disappoints us. ‘No milk until September 1,’ reads a post-it note. A letdown. We head on towards Vertigo. There, the milk is made in a basic, everyday milk frothing cup. We look at each other somewhat surprised, but the result is a full mug of lumpy foam.
“They have a separate fridge for the milk,” Houben notes. “It doesn’t get opened and closed unnecessarily dozens of times a day. And that is a positive thing, because it allows you to maintain better control over the temperature of your milk. This results in a more consistent milk foam.”
The temperature of this cappuccino is also good, especially for Spoor. “I can drink this one immediately, but it still feels pleasantly warm.”
However, it is unpleasant that the layers of coffee and milk foam remain separated. You end up with milk foam in your mouth first, followed by a torrent of hot coffee.
“They are supposed to come together in your sip. This is due to the wrong ratio of coffee to milk. The coffee preparation here is set in the machine the employee used, but she topped it up with a lot of very firm milk foam. That doesn't work well.”
Restaurant
De Zwarte Doos is the only establishment in this test that also offers table service, but we are not easily spotted by the staff and decide to order at the bar anyway. While looking for a table, the deplorable state of the chairs immediately catches our attention: a bad start.
Just like the sticky menus and the dirty cups in which our cappuccinos are served. Not great either and we didn't even sip yet. At €3.90 per cappuccino, it is also the most expensive in the test, by the way.
Houben tests the milk foam immediately upon receiving the cappuccino—as he does every time. “It doesn’t sit on my finger like I would like. The taste is okay, but here the milk is more in the coffee than forming a layer of foam.”
The cappuccinos haven't overflowed, yet both testers notice multiple coffee streaks and stains on their cup, saucer, and spoon, and the whole thing is sticky. It leaves an unpleasant feeling regarding the cleaning of the tableware. Spoor shudders from within, but it’s all for the test. Both take a sip.
The coffee taste is good. “Nicely rounded. The coffee was handled with care, but not the tableware,” sighs Houben. It is a good thing that the hygiene of the tableware — a basic expectation — was not part of the test, otherwise the Zwarte Doos would have received a much lower final score.
The cookie accompanying the coffee does, however, make the coffee connoisseur happy. “We didn't get that anywhere else.”
Varying
Finally, Brownies&downieS in Atlas. Houben has been here several times recently and noted that the quality of the coffee was inconsistent. “I don’t think it’s the coffee makers, but that the machine (settings) might need to be checked.”
Here too, we order a cappuccino – obviously. “Visually, the foam looks good, at least,” says Houben. “But unfortunately, it runs off the stick quickly.”
The drink is piping hot. A 10 for Houben so he can enjoy it for as long as possible; a 7.5 for Spoor. “I like it when I can drink it – almost – immediately.”
Unfortunately, the drinking experience is disappointing. Houben: “I taste the same problem I had recently: the coffee tastes burnt and overpowering.”
An example of an incorrect setting that negatively affects the coffee taste is the water temperature. If it is too high, the coffee beans burn, which can make them taste bitter or burnt.
So, Houben giving a 10 for the temperature of the drink is unrelated to this; that is about the serving temperature. A cappuccino can also be very hot without the beans being burnt during preparation.
Final verdict
Houben and Spoor reach the same conclusion: the Student Sports Café is the absolute winner with an 8.8. The café wasn't bad in the previous test, but since the new milk frothing machine, it is even better.
“Heavenly milk foam,” according to the editor. And the coffee and milk make a perfect pair. Incidentally, anyone can order a coffee here; you do not need to be a member of the sports center to use the catering facilities.
Max van Veen, Director of the student sports center SSC, says he is pleased with the score. “A fantastic compliment for our catering team, which is constantly working to deliver the best taste and service. Incidentally, they do this not only well with cappuccino, but also with the rest of our offerings. I would therefore like to invite the campus to come and taste for themselves.”
Second place goes to Vertigo. You really do get a full mug here, because the lady behind the counter pours the large mug completely. Nice for the broke student, but it turns out not to be entirely ideal for the coffee-to-milk ratio in the cappuccino. When you try to drink, the foam comes out, but not the coffee. It sits on top, so to speak, and does not mix sufficiently even after intense stirring. A shame, because this canteen certainly has potential.
Sparkoffie is an absolute no-go. Houben noticed something special there, by the way. “If you pay 12.95 per month here, you can get unlimited coffee,” he observes as an advertisement on the coffee machine. In terms of price, it sounds like a good student deal, but we’re passing. Houben shakes his head. “Even if I had already paid, I wouldn’t be getting coffee here again after this experience.”
Spar was asked for a response regarding why the coffee tastes so bitter and also why the cappuccino comes out of the machine too cold. The store says it does not recognize a structural quality problem with their coffee. “It is unfortunate to hear that the cappuccino was not to everyone's taste during the test. We have inquired about this with the location. There are no known indications there that the quality of the coffee is insufficient, nor have we received any complaints from customers regarding the standard of the coffee,” the spokesperson stated.
However, they do intend to take the feedback into account to monitor quality. “But based on the information we currently have, we do not recognize the picture of a structural quality problem.”
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