You heard of it haven’t you? Much is the controversy and uncertainty of its origin, and the suggestions put forth to end the disputes goes as far as 300 years in to the past. A friar by the name of Marco d’Aviano is believed to be the creator of this coffee drink. Marco d’Aviano was sent to Vienna in the 17th century to maintain the unity of the “Holy League” armies who fought against the Ottoman Empire. Following their defeat, Ottoman soldiers fled and left behind bags of very strong coffee which were discovered by Marco d’Aviano. Afterwards, Marco d’Aviano decided to add milk to lessen its strong taste and the rest is history.

Unfortunately, there is no record of the events leading to the creation of cappuccino in Marco d’Aviano’s biographies, and the link between d’Aviano and the cappuccino seems to be the result of a joke than historical sources. Marco d’Aviano was a Catholic friar from the order of Friars Minor Capuchin and they are sometimes called capuccini because of their brown hooded frock that they often wear. Since the word cappuccino was used to name this coffee drink because the brown foam on top bring to mind the hood of the Catholic friars, and the middle-eastern people are among the first to consume coffee, the false connection made sense. Outside of that, the word cappuccino deviates from the word cappuccio which means hood in Italian. That being said, d’Aviano as the inventor of cappuccino is far from true.

Besides the foamed-milk hood on the top of the cappuccino which comprises 1/3 of its substance, cappuccino also consist of 1/3 espresso and 1/3 steamed milk. Espresso is a very concentrated coffee drink made by forcing steaming water through finely ground coffee and it serves as the main ingredient of the cappuccino and many others coffee drinks. The differences between the amount of espresso, steamed milk, and foamed milk used, is what distinguish cappuccino from other coffee drinks such as, latte, mocha, and macchiato. In addition, other coffee drinks, such as latte, uses considerably more steamed milk that the cappuccino. Because of this, cappuccino is one of the strongest coffee drinks and it can hit the spot with fewer amount and still deliver a great taste. While the foamed milk added on top serves as an added flavoring, it also helps to preserve the warmness of the cappuccino which is contained best by a porcelain cup. Regardless of similar coffee drinks, cappuccino manages to distinguish itself and be among the most popular coffee drinks.

Enjoying a warm cappuccino in a charming porcelain cup, while sitting comfortably and reading the newspaper or better yet, watching the snowfall, can be a relaxing experience; but lets face it, the winter doesn’t last forever. The warm summer time may discourage coffee lovers from drinking a hot coffee and perhaps for this reason there are iced versions of the most popular coffee drinks. Cappuccino’s summer version is called Cappuccino Freddo (’cold’ in Italian) and while it has no ice in it, it is considerably less warm. What makes cappuccino freddo lose its hotness is the cold milk foam that is added on the top. Sadly, this type of drink is only found in the Italian heartland, and in the United States, the closest we can get to a cappuccino freddo is… a latte. On the other hand, there are plenty of recipes flooding the internet on how to make a home brewed cappuccino freddo, and a good home brewed cappuccino freddo can sometimes be the better choice.

Many might wonder why turn the house in to a brewing factory when nearby convenient stores can produce a cappuccino filled cup almost instantly. The true is that these cappuccinos are often considered a substitute which varies in taste and quality from café bars’ cappuccinos. In addition, there is no foamed milk on top and the form of “foam” that some machines are able to produce is only a byproduct of the mixing chaos that undergoes inside the machine. The supplies used for the making of cappuccino at convenience stores spent months stored before being attached to the machine, not to mention the time spend inside the machine after opening and before use. Furthermore, while café bar’s cappuccino are made with fresh and healthy whole milk, convenience stores only uses plain water mixed with a special dust to produce the “instant” cappuccino. As a consequence, convenience stores cappuccinos lack the qualities, taste, and freshness that a café bar’s cappuccino can deliver.

Cappuccino is the Italians’ favorite good morning coffee and, with no doubt, most Americans’ favorite as well. There is a wide variety of cappuccino drinks in major American café bars chains, but perhaps the best cappuccino experience can come from a small Italian owned café. Moreover, it is unusual and rare to find art designs on major coffeehouse’s cappuccino, unlike on a small café. In a small café, a simple heart or cute panda design on the foam of the cappuccino can be as much as a part of customer experience as the taste of the cappuccino itself. I believe that,

The best way to have a cappuccino is in tranquility, from a porcelain cup, and in a small outside café, or in an elegant coffee bear and you will then experience the true art of enjoying a cappuccino.