Nobody denies a good cup of cappuccino, especially during winter. However, contrary to common belief, this beverage does not have its origins in Italy, but rather in the menus of the Habsurg Monarchy in Vienna.
This is how the cappuccino originated and how it was transformed to the hot beverage we know today. Cappuccino is so popular, that it has it own national day.
The origins of the cappuccino
Although its name might make you think this is an Italian beverage, the truth is that this coffee beverage, named kapuziner, originated in Viennese coffee houses during the Habsburg monarchy, around 1700s.
This was a new way to drink coffee, because before the kapuziner that was a mix of coffee, crema and sugar, Europeans used to drink and ottoman style coffee: boiled grounded coffee and nothing else.
The introduction of cream to the strong taste of coffee was soon popularized to the point that in some coffee houses, spices such as cinnamon were added.
Kapuziner coffee spread throughout Central Europe and in the Italian-speaking parts of the Habsurg Monarchy.
Why is it called cappuccino
Kapuziner was named as such because the light brown color it got after adding cream resembled the Capuchin monks in Vienna.
However, as the drink evolved so did de word. The first written record of “cappuccino” dates back to the 1930’s and it was accompanied with some photographs of a drink resembling a “Viennese”, a coffee topped with whipped cream sprinkled with cinnamon or chocolate.
Mistakenly, it is believed that the name cappuccino references to its “cap”of mik foam, but it has nothing to do with its name,
Difference between a cappuccino, a viennesse and a latte
At first glance, these three beverages seem the same: they have coffee, milk and some foam, but the key difference is the ratio between the first two.
Cappuccinos as we know today began their popularity in the 1950, with the rise of espresso machines, people started to prepare them with a shot of espresso instead of boiled or filtered coffee.
To make a perfect cappuccino you have to have equal parts coffee, milk and foam.
As for a latte, all you need to do is have a higher ratio of milk with a little foam on top.
The viennesse coffee is more like a desert. It has coffee and chocolate ganache mix together. On top, you put some whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles or syrup or cinnamon. A recipe far from the original coffee with milk that led to nowadays cappuccino.
