In Italy cappuccino is consumed mainly early in the day as part of a light breakfast, although it is not uncommon at all today to see Italians drinking it (without food) throughout the day; Italians do not generally drink it with meals other than breakfast. In some other countries it may be consumed throughout the day or after dinner.  Flavored cappuccinos are especially popular as evening drinks. Cappuccinos can be flavored with a variety of syrups. They can then be topped with chocolate or caramel drizzle or vanilla or chocolate sprinkles.

Besides a quality shot of espresso, the most important element in preparing a cappuccino is the texture and temperature of the cream. When a well-trained barista steams the cream for a cappuccino, he or she should create microfoam by introducing very tiny bubbles of air into the cream. This gives the cream a velvety texture and sweetness.

The widespread acceptance in the U.S. of what was once regarded as a taste of coastal urbanites and older Italian-Americans has led to many establishments, such as convenience stores offering what they represent as cappuccino to their patrons. However, that product is usually an ersatz cappuccino, produced by machines similar to those that mix cocoa drinks where all the buyer need do is touch a button and position the cup properly. The drink that comes out is usually produced either from a pre-produced mix or double-brewed coffee and bears little relation to the real thing. Similar products result from home use of store-bought mixes usually advertised, more accurately, as producing "frothed coffee."

Origins

The origin of the name is in the brown hooded silken golden embroidered robes worn by the Capuchin order of Franciscan friars. In France at the beginning of the 18th century a new fashion arose in Paris (though not at Versailles) for carved wall-paneling boiseries that were left in their natural color (almost invariably oak) rather than being painted and gilded as in the previous century. The new mode, which coincided with the height of the controversy over Jansenism that was dividing the tout Paris in stylish religious pamphleteering, was wittily termed à la capucine in reference to the brown color of the robes worn by Franciscan friars. This color-coded etymology is followed by the Oxford English Dictionary and the American Heritage Dictionary. The order of Capuchins was, in turn, named for the capucize (cappuccio), or long pointed cowl, worn by the friars.

Devotees of the Blessed Marco d'Aviano offer a (likely apocryphal) twist on the origin of the term. According to this legend, Marco d'Aviano, the Capuchin friar and confidant of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, added cream and honey to sweeten the bitter coffee beans left by fleeing Ottoman Turkish army after the Battle of Vienna (1683). A similar legend, with slightly more credibility is told about the origin of the first Viennese cafe by Franciszek Jerzy Kulczycki.