Cappuccino: Monk's Hood Or a Fommy Pleasure

First of all, Italians usually drink espresso after dinner, whereas cappuccino is a breakfast beverage, often served with some type of croissant (cornetto or brioche in Italian usage). What is passing for cappuccino on these shores seems closer to an ice cream soda, with little coffee, much hot milk, and mound upon mound of dry foam piled several inches above the rim of the cup.

As we know coffee originated in the Ottoman Empire and was first introduced to the West by Italian traders. At first, Pope Clement VII was urged by his advisors to consider this favorite drink of infidels a threat. After he tasted it, however, he succumbed to a prerogative that women have relied on for years: he changed his mind. Pope Clement actually baptized the delicious drink, making it an acceptable Christian beverage.

No one knows for sure exactly where cappuccino came from, but there are a few sneaky suspicions. The most popular belief is that the drink gets its name from the robes and cowl of The Capuchin Monk's habit.

The Capuchin order of friars played an important role in restoring Catholicism to Reformation Europe. Its Italian name came from the long, pointed cowl or cappuccino, derived from capuccio, meaning hood. Capuchin was later used as the name (first recorded in English in 1785) for a type of monkey with a tuft of black cowl-like hair. The first use of the word cappuccino in English is recorded in 1948. Whether or not this exquisite beverage was invented by the Capuchin monks is unknown. It is a fact however, that a properly prepared cappuccino of espresso and steamed milk leaves a brown ring along the rim of the cup much like the edge of the monk's cowl.

Have you ever wondered exactly how Cappuccino is made? Well, the basis for any cappuccino worth its salt (or grinds) is a strong blend of Espresso coffee with added milk or frothy cream topped with chocolate powder. The correct proportions are 1/3 espresso, 2/3 froth. To produce the froth, fill a small jug to 1/3 with fresh milk. Insert the espresso machine-frothing arm to just below the surface and turn on the steam, gradually lowering the jug but keeping the arm in place. Add half of the froth into the espresso coffee and sprinkle with cocoa powder or grated chocolate. Add the rest of the froth and top with more cocoa.

Cappuccino is more than just a coffee or a flavor or a process. Now one can find chocolate cappuccino cookies and even lollipops that can offer an authentic cappuccino cappuccino is a breakfast beverage, often served with some type of croissant experience even to toddlers! Whether you the drink fancy or plain, with chocolate or cinnamon experience even to toddlers! Whether you take the drink fancy or plain, with chocolate or cinnamon or just plain cocoa powder, cappuccino is a delight that should be enjoyed often.


Classic Cappuccino

1. Steam the syrup and milk together and allow it to sit.
2. Prepare the espresso and pour into 6-oz. cup.
3. Gently add the hot steamed milk until the cup is about 2/3 full.
4. Spoon the light foam over the top of the hot cappuccino to form a peak and dust with nutmeg.