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Permalink Reply by ryan mcdougall on January 19, 2011 at 12:17pm

Capuchin monk ey?

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Permalink Reply by John Arild Stubberud on May 27, 2011 at 3:19am

• The capuchin monks wear robes that are totally brown: there's no white.
• The Order chose these particular robes with that particular brown colour and a pointed  hood, as this was the way Franciscus di Assisi (San Francisco) was dressed (the monks decided to build their order upon His ideals); the inspiration was the particular preserved robe you still see on display in the crypt in the Monastary in Assisi (millions see it every year).
• By the end of the 18th Century, the Order had monestaries in most european larger cities.
• The monks got the name because of the hood, which is long and pointed.
• But already by the 17th Century the term 'capuchin' was referring to the destinctive red-brown colour .
• The first usage of 'capuchin' on coffee is from Austria, in 1853, in Vienna on coffee menues in the large Cafés, described as "Kapuziner", which at the time was a cup of dark coffee with a little cold cream, to give that capuchin colour. (Cream was luxury). No 'cap' of whipped cream, just liquid cream poured into the coffee; white china, capuchin-coloured beverage.
• The Austrian Empire spread the viennese coffee culture to most large european cities; the large coffee machines produced from the 1860's brewed some kind of filtered coffee, and the beverage was enhanced with flavors like honey, alcohol and cream; whipped cream on top soon being the new craze, such coffees soon being known outside Vienna as 'Café Viennois'.
• Italy was late in discovering the "Kapuziner"; (northern Italy though, actually belonged to Austria until WW1, and the term 'kapuziner' is known from Trieste's viennese coffee houses.) The word 'cappuccino' is by 1900 not yet known in Roma, Milano, Firence, OR mentioned in the italian language at all.
• By 1910, espresso was still pretty unknown in the coffee scene, and the coffee machines could not yet steam or heat milk.
• The oldest usage of the word 'cappuccino' in italian language seems to date from the late 1930's or between 1945-50. The oldest photos of cappuccino shows it with whipped cream in Italy
• The 'kapuziner' is still on coffee menues in Austria and parts of Germany, alongside other old classics like 'franziskaner' (another order of monks: this one with more milk, as their robes are more grey), 'phariseer' with alcohol and whipped cream, the origin of 'Irish Coffee'.
• The first time 'cappuccino' is mentioned in english language, is in the 1950's.
• An authentic cappuccino would surely be the austrian original. You would need a 19th century Kaffeehaus coffee cup, the viennese coffee blends of the 1850's, course grind, 6 minute extraction, and cream from happy alpine cows (the climate in the 1850's was pretty cold, and the cattle didn't give rich milk, so a low fat cream would probably make sense). The setting would be pretty classy, though: viennese waltzes, famous authors and composers at the tables next to you. And cakes that makes the cookies crumble.
• Next year's WBC is in Vienna.
• When talking about cappuccino: it is important to remember it is originally a colour, not a 'cap' of foam.
• :)

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Permalink Reply by Brady on May 27, 2011 at 1:01pm

Thank you, John, for an outstanding and thorough post on the matter. This is certainly vary enlightening... and I'm amused by the notion that a traditional Italian cappuccino might be a milkier variation on the original drink.

 

You've listed several dates here. Any chance you'd be able to attribute those dates to published or other primary sources?

 

The one I'm most interested in is this one:

"...The first usage of 'capuchin' on coffee is from Austria, in 1853, in Vienna on coffee menues in the large Cafés..."

 

Thanks again for an outstanding contribution to this discussion.

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Permalink Reply by illudereludere on May 28, 2011 at 2:08pm

That's awesome. (Seriously). I like the last part, which really embodies the spirit of espresso making with respect to tone, meaning, and such.

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Permalink Reply by Dustin DeMers on May 28, 2011 at 8:24pm

I was just thinking about this thread, thanks for adding all this info and reviving it John!

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Permalink Reply by illudereludere on May 29, 2011 at 12:41am

Yeah, this thread doesn't seem to die to easily.

Dustin DeMers said:

I was just thinking about this thread, thanks for adding all this info and reviving it John!

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