Here's a fun twist: Italy's most iconic coffee drink actually has Austrian roots. The cappuccino traces its lineage back to Vienna's "Kapuziner" coffee, a brew mixed with cream until it resembled the brown robes of Capuchin monks. When espresso machines arrived in Italy in the early 1900s, baristas reimagined this concept with their own flair, creating what we now know as the cappuccino.

The classic Italian cappuccino follows an almost sacred ratio: one-third espresso, one-third steamed milk, and one-third milk foam. This creates that perfect balance where you can still taste the coffee's boldness beneath the creamy texture. Interestingly, Italians consider cappuccinos strictly a morning drink—order one after 11 AM and you'll get some raised eyebrows. They believe all that milk interferes with digestion after a meal.

The drink's global explosion came much later than you'd think. While cappuccinos existed in Italy since the 1930s, they didn't really take off worldwide until the 1980s coffee boom. That's when baristas started experimenting with latte art, turning those foam tops into canvases for hearts, rosettas, and intricate designs. Today's oat milk cappuccinos and triple-shot variations would probably baffle those original Viennese coffee makers, but hey—that's evolution for you. The Capuchin monks probably never imagined their robes would inspire a global coffee phenomenon either.