What is A Cappuccino?

Cappuccino! Sounds very familiar, isn’t it? We all at the fancy coffee shops slurp this cup of coffee served hot/cold. But have we ever thought about what cappuccino is exactly? Let us explore.

Cappuccino literally means a coffee drink, Italian by tradition and is a mixture of espresso, milk and foam. It is basically a fancy version of our standard cup of coffee.The word was derived from Capuchin Friars which means “play of colors” referring to the colors that the drink takes after addition of each of its ingredients.

The drink has its variations all over the world. For instance, in Italy, the espresso forms 1.26 ounces with a little milk and topped with frothed layer of milk again. The frothed layer gives more of an espresso flavor to the coffee. The Italians serve their cappuccino with fewer additions and a little bit of chocolate powder.

The Vietnamese have named the drink as Kapuziner back in the 18th century. It took its name from the capuchin monkeys in Vienna and the Italians seem to have adapted this style in Cappuccino by the late 19th century by making some variations with espresso to milk ratio. The Vietnamese version was served with whipped cream and some spices which were unknown to the world then.

The introduction of this drink in Europe marked a change in the style of making coffee which earlier consisted of boiling water and coffee powder with little sugar. The British countries used to filter this coffee and later it became popular in Italy as the Viennese coffee drink topped with cream.

Cappuccino Fun Facts

Let us take a look at some fun facts related to this wonderful drink.

cappuccino fun facts

– As we saw earlier the name Cappuccino is derived from Capuchin Friars, which had revived Catholicism in Italy. The word Cappuccio literally means “hood” and the colors that the coffee changes after adding milk is similar to the habit of colors particular to the Capuchin Friars.

 – This drink has been being traditionally served in Italy as a part of breakfast at least once even today. Though there have been variations and experiments in the preparation and ratio of milk to espresso all over the Europe, this drink was earlier served as a heavy shot of espresso and just a little milk in a 180 ml capacity.

–  During and after the Second World War, the drink became more and more popular. The espresso machines that were required became more advanced and could withstand even hotter temperatures thus making the drink perfect. The Espresso machines were patented by Italians before the Second World War.

– Cappuccino is served hot and cold. As a colder version, it was popular in Greece with the name “Freddo” and has a small amount of cold frothed milk on top. A version of it is also found all over Canada with a cool whipped cream topping and chocolate in addition.

– The espresso machines have been improvising time and again but, cappuccino is still a very difficult drink to make perfectly. This difficulty and skill lie in attaining correct temperature for the foam while steaming the milk.

What is cappuccino– Cappuccino, Mocha, Latte all have many variations though small. The Cappuccino differs from Latte in the proportion of milk to espresso. Espresso shot in a cappuccino is stronger than that in a Latte and this gets the significant change in taste.

– Today, USA tops the consumption of this drink by consuming close to 400 million cups in a day.

– The best coffee is brewed in Brazil and it accounts for 40% of the brew of coffee all over the world.

– The term Cappuccino was first used in SFO area of USA in Language English.

– Produced in Indonesia, the Kopi Luwak is the most expensive blend of coffee and costs over 400 $ for a pound or about $50 for a serving.

 – In Italy where this coffee took its shape, the common coffee house of Barista is average 48 years old.

– The national cappuccino day is celebrated on 8th

– The froth or foamed milk in cappuccino has health benefits; it helps the body to maintain its heat for a longer time due to the high temperature at which it is brewed.

These were some fun facts about our favorite beverage Cappuccino. As a conclusion we can say, with different names in different parts of the world, this drink is extremely popular for its taste and refreshing qualities.

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