Word of the Week – Cappuccino

Cappuccino. The mere word conjures up images of beautiful coffee, and the mere thought gets my tastebuds dancing. I am a coffee lover, so all kinds of coffee earn this reaction. Latte, mocha…mmm. Yep.

I’ve always loved cappuccinos too, since I was a kid, even before I drank coffee daily. Now, granted, the kind I acquired the taste of were sugar-laden, creamy things, heavy on the vanilla. That may not be the kind made famous in Italy, per se…but the roots are still there!

Cappuccino is in fact espresso served with steamed-milk foam. So very dark coffee lightened a bit with milk. Where, though, did it get its name? That’s the fascinating part! Cappuccino actually comes directly from a religious order! There’s an order of Fransiscan friars called Capuchins who have always worn a brown hooded habit; a brown not quite as dark as undiluted espresso, but just the color you get when you add a bit of frothed milk foam. 😉 Yep, that’s right. The creators of the coffee drink looked at it, were reminded of the Friars, and named the beverage after them!

Now I want to inspire a coffee drink to be named after me…wonder if I can make one purple. 😉