Cappuccino is an Italian beverage made with espresso coffee and milk frothed into a foam with steam.
More people drink cappuccino in Italy than anywhere else, and it is traditionally consumed in the morning, usually as part of or after breakfast, but never with other meals.
Preparation: It is usually drunk after adding sugar, and often while eating a brioche (croissant) or other baked goods or pastries.
Cappuccino is traditionally made with about 125 ml latte and 25 ml coffee.
The foam (or crema to use its proper name) should be plentiful and look attractively frothy. It is sometimes dusted with cocoa powder or ground cinnamon to add the finishing touch.
There many variations of cappuccino around the world. The most popular types in Italy are dry cappuccino (cappuccino scuro) and wet cappuccino (cappuccino chiaro). More recently, modern art coffee or latte art techniques are being used to enhance the appearance of cappuccinos, such as decorating cappuccinos with designs made by pouring milk from the jug or with other tools.
The espresso machines needed to achieve the characteristic cappuccino effect only became widely used at the beginning of the twentieth century after Luigi Bezzera patented the first machine in 1901.