#10 THE HISTORY OF CAPPUCCINO

There are those who say it is worthy of an Italian priest, who is an Austrian soldier. But it seems that he was born in Vienna, then arrived in Italy - and that it was very different from how it tastes today. Two Theories both from the Battle of Wien of 1683:

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THE SAVIOR OF EUROPE AND CHRISTIANITY

It seems that the term Capuccino is named after the Friar of the Cappuccini’s Order Marco da Aviano, sent in 1683 by the Pope in Wien with the aim of convincing the European powers to create a military coalition against the Muslim Turks who were besieging the capital. Recognized as the Savior of Europe by Muslim danger, beatified in 2006, it seems him the creator of the “cappuccino”: during his stay in the city, the religious was said to have entered in a cafeshop, at the time already very popular in the continent, but he was unable to drink, ‘couse the taste was too strong so he asked something to soften it. "Kapuziner!" A waiter exclaimed, seeing the Fiar adding milk. The rest is history, or rather legend.

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NOT A FRIAR, BUT A SOLDIER

Another version of the myth, set also in the year 1683 during the same battle, that one wants the Turks to flee from their camp and to abandon numerous coffee bags (turkish were great lovers of coffe) then bringed inside the city and used by Viennese troops after the find. After trying to boil it, the taste was too bitter and so they tried to melt it with milk and honey - calling the beverage in honor of the friar’s gown color. For some, there was a soldier among these troops, Franciszek Jerzy Kulczycki, inventor of the drink, and the first to open a café in Vienna after the conflict in which he used the coffee that the Arab invaders had left behind with the addition of milk and honey.

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In Vienna, the Capuchin friars have always had great importance, just think that all the noblemen Habsburgs were buried in their crypt. It is also true that the “cappuccino” name, derives from the color of the friars' cape.

There are not evidence of its invention in all gastronomic history, but what is certain is that the beverage must have been invented with cream. In fact, milk did not enter into use until between the eighth and twentieth centuries because before was only used as an ingredient for butter, cheese. Probably in the first spoon was added the cream. By Kapuziner in german to Cappuccino in Italian, and substituting cream with milk, the pace was short. "

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Although the cappuccino can boast Austrian natives, the Italians have made it a lifestyle. Today it is one of the Italian beverage par excellence, even more widespread of espresso because of the sweeter flavor, and the first that opens the door to a real Made in Italy coffee.