cappuccino

cappuccino, coffee drink made of equal parts espresso, steamed milk, and frothed milk, of probable Italian origin but influenced by an Austrian predecessor. Although a cappuccino is similar to a latte, the former is layered in three equal and distinct parts—with the foam typically spooned onto the drink in dollops—while the latter is a mixture of one part espresso and two parts poured steamed milk, with only a thin layer of foam on top. Because of its greater milk content, a latte is typically sweeter and higher in calories, fat, and protein.

The first attestation of cappuccino comes from the coffeehouses of Vienna in the 18th century, where the Kapuziner emerged as a popular drink made of coffee and whipped cream, usually with sugar. Italian cappuccino, however, first appeared in the early 20th century, after the invention of the espresso machine. The shared name of the two drinks relates directly to the colour of the robes of the Capuchin order of friars, who wore a rich brown hooded cowl that, once the hood was doffed, revealed a white tonsured head that must later have suggested a resemblance to the colour of both drinks, Austrian and Italian. The same visual similarity accounts for the name given to the capuchin monkey, which has a monklike tuft of hair on the back of its head.

The early espresso machines were expensive and cumbersome, but in the post-World War II era espresso machines became less costly and more widely available. With that development, the cappuccino became a drink of choice for Italians at breakfast, a simple meal that usually consists of little more than a pastry or a hard roll. Italians traditionally have a strong aversion to drinking anything containing milk after breakfast, in the view that milk impedes the digestion of a proper meal, and, as a result, cappuccinos are seldom served after 10:00 or 11:00 in the morning. Indeed, in many Italian coffee bars, the metal pots used for steamed milk are stowed away in late morning, and tourists seeking a cappuccino are advised to drink a plain espresso instead.

Outside of Italy, cappuccino first became popular in Britain, where coffee and milk were taken together at all hours. It was introduced to Italian restaurants in the United States as early as the 1930s, but it was not until the 1980s that the drink became widespread with the rise of nationwide coffee chains.