Celebrate! - Fun Food Facts

Cappuccino Day

Whip up a frothy, hot cup of cappuccino today. It's a perfect drink on a frosty morning, meeting with friends or just to enjoy a creamy cuppa.

Traditionally prepared with espresso, hot milk, and steamed milk foam, a cappuccino is an Italian coffee drink. While steaming the milk you must pay close attention to attain the correct ratio of foam, thus making the cappuccino one of the most difficult espresso-based beverages to make properly. A skilled barista may create artistic shapes while he/she is pouring milk on top of the espresso coffee.

The word cappuccino comes from the Capuchin friars, an Order in the Catholic Church) and is the diminutive form of cappuccio in Italian, meaning hood or something that covers the head. This popular coffee beverage got its name not from the hood on their habits but from the color of the hooded robes that the friars wore. 

Here's a summarized history of this popular warm drink:

In 1945 Achille Gaggia invented the modern espresso machine which further popularized the cappuccino.

In the did 1990s, Cappuccino was made more widely available to North Americans as upscale coffee houses sprang up.

Late 1990′s to Early 2000′s – Cappuccinos became popular in the United States concurrent with the boom in the American coffee industry.

The start of the 21st Century – A modified short-cut version of the cappuccino started being served at fast-food chains.