Like other people, the English love coffee. Estimates indicate that more than 80 percent of them visit cafés at least once a week to order their favorite coffee drink, and about 17 percent of them visit cafés on a daily basis, out of which 16 percent of them own a coffee maker at Home, so what are the most popular drinks they prefer and where do they come from?
Latte:
The UK’s most popular coffee type is a latte . the latte is generally a shot of espresso topped up with steamed milk and a layer of foam on the top.
While coffee has its roots in Africa and the Middle East, the concept of drinking milk with coffee was primarily a European invention, in practice since the 17th Century. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term “caffè e latte” (coffee with milk) was first used in English by the novelist William Dean Howells in 1867.
The latte story goes that coffee with milk was popular among American tourists in Italy who didn’t enjoy the bitter, rich flavors of Italian espresso and added large quantities of warm milk to make a sweeter drink.
It’s said they took the recipe back home with them, with the version of the latte we know today being standardized in Seattle, USA, in the 1980s. It has gone on to become one of the most popular coffee types in the world – but a word of warning if you fancy ordering one in Rome or Milan.
Cappuccino:
There’s not much difference between a cappuccino and a latte – both have the same ingredients, but it’s the quantities that change these drinks.
A cappuccino will have much more foamed milk than a latte and is considered a layered drink, often finished with chocolate or cinnamon powder on top.
While the name cappuccino comes from the Latin “caputium,” meaning hood or cloak, the drink’s origins actually come from Austria.
Coffee houses in Vienna pioneered the introduction of cream and sugar with coffee in the 18th Century. The color of the coffee resembled the color of the hooded robes worn by the Capuchin monks and nuns, and the German/Austrian variation of “kapuziner” was taken as its name.
Cappuccino versions were served across Europe from the 1930s onwards – although the drink at this time was typically espresso topped with whipped cream. As coffee machine technology improved, the version we know today was standardized, initially in Italy, before becoming popular as a ‘long’ coffee drink, meant to last, around the world.
flat white:
A flat white is an espresso-based drink that contains steamed milk.
It is made with a small amount of steamed milk and a thin layer of microfoam.
There is some debate about whether the flat white originated in Australia or New Zealand. Either way, it has been around down under since the 1980s. In the years since, it has popped up on menus in the US, UK, and elsewhere and is now a specialty café standard.
Americano:
As the name might suggest, we may have Americans to thank again for the invention of the Americano – the UK’s fourht most-popular coffee.
The drink – a shot or two of espresso, topped up with hot water – is believed to have been popularized by soldiers posted in Italy during World War Two.
It’s said that the American troops were looking for a different way to take their coffee. The local baristas came up with the option of diluting it with hot water in order to make the drink something they were more familiar with – the name Americano has stuck ever since.
The name Americano did appear in print some 20 years earlier though. Somerset Maugham’s collection of short stories, Ashenden: Or the British Agent, refers to his titular hero drinking an Americano in Naples, although we never find out what exactly the drink was.
Mocha:
While the word mocha is now synonymous with chocolate, particularly in coffee, it wasn’t always the case.
The name was taken from a variety of coffee grown in the Middle Eastern country of Yemen. The beans were named after the local Mokha port that they were shipped from.
People noticed an unusual chocolate taste to the coffee. As chocolate became more common in Europe, it began to be added to coffee to give it a sweeter taste and the mocha name was used.
Modern mochas come in many different varieties, ranging from latte-style coffees with chocolate powder or syrup added, to hot chocolates with a shot of espresso added.
Iced Coffee:
While only accounting for just under 4% of UK coffee sales in 2016, iced coffees and cold brews are becoming more and more popular around the world. A traditional iced coffee is brewed hot and poured over ice or very cold milk while a cold brew does as the name suggests – and is prepared entirely cold for a different flavor.