How did vienna coffee origin stories shape cream coffee?

Cream and coffee have been paired since 17th-century Austria. In 1684, Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki opened a Blue Bottle coffeehouse in Vienna after receiving coffee beans left by the defeated Turks. He first brewed the Turkish way, boiling ground beans twice and pouring everything into the cup, but Austrians rejected it, so he filtered the grounds through cloth and added cream, honey and spices.

That first-generation cream coffee, served in small glass cups, spread quickly and fed later styles. Viennese coffee and Con Panna keep the cream tradition, while cappuccino grew out of the same idea of softening coffee with a dairy topping. Modern baristas keep reworking cream, from secret-menu drinks to Korean-style Viennese coffee recreations.

The pairing of cream and coffee has a long history, dating back to 17th-century Austria. This article takes you through the origin story of cream coffee, from the first-generation cream coffee at the Blue Bottle coffeehouse to its evolution into cappuccino, and then to the traditional methods of making Con Panna and Viennese coffee. We will also explore how modern baristas are reinventing cream, including the Starbucks secret menu and a recreation tutorial for the Korean-style Viennese coffee. Front Street Coffee sorts out this delicious history and creativity for you.

Cream is a rich ingredient, with both a silky texture and a dense, thick mouthfeel. Eaten on its own, it can be a bit sweet and cloying, but it pairs very well with other foods to balance the flavor, and coffee is one of them.

In the world of coffee, the word "cream" appears frequently. During tasting, it describes a creamy, smooth mouthfeel, or a sweet aroma reminiscent of cream after eating; in made-to-order drinks, cream sometimes acts as a companion to add flavor, and sometimes as a decoration to enhance appearance, serving as a source of inspiration for many creative specialty drinks.

If we want to trace the earliest history of cream being incorporated into coffee, we cannot just focus on modern fancy drinks, but should explore those stories that have been passed down for hundreds of years.

Early "Cream Coffee"

After consulting materials, Front Street found that the earliest record of adding cream to coffee appeared in Austria. In 1684, the Pole Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki received a generous reward for saving Vienna during the siege, as well as a large amount of coffee beans left behind by the defeated Turks. After the war ended, he opened a Blue Bottle coffeehouse in Vienna.

The Blue Bottle coffeehouse run by Kulczycki

At first, he brewed coffee the Turkish way, that is, grinding the beans into powder, boiling them twice with water, and pouring everything including the grounds into the cup to drink. But the Austrians could not accept this way of drinking it. To cater to local tastes, he switched to filtering out the coffee grounds with a cloth bag, then added cream, honey, and spices for flavoring. In this way, a cup of "first-generation cream coffee" quickly won the affection of the Austrians.

At the time, this cream coffee was usually served in small glass cups. After the cream and coffee were mixed, it took on a beautiful reddish-brown color, much like the color of the robes worn by Franciscan Capuchin monks, so the Viennese called it "Kapuziner," transliterated as "Kapuqinne."

As it spread to Italy, along with the birth of the espresso machine, Italians switched to using espresso with golden crema, and replaced the original cream with steam-textured milk, giving it an Italian name: Cappuccino. In other words, the cappuccino we are familiar with today actually has cream coffee as its predecessor.

Although "Kapuziner" later gave rise to many fancy coffee versions, the original "cream coffee" did not disappear, but continued to thrive in coffeehouses under the names Viennese coffee or Con Panna coffee.

How is traditional "cream coffee" made?

If the English of Con Panna coffee is translated literally into Chinese, it means "espresso and cream." It is clear that its structure is very simple: just pipe two or three rings of whipped fresh cream onto a freshly extracted espresso.

Unlike other fancy coffees, when tasting Con Panna, there is no need to stir; just drink it directly. The cold cream adds a marshmallow-like touch to the bittersweet, intense coffee, making the mouthfeel even denser and richer. However, in the eyes of most people, it is still an extremely strong-flavored coffee, so its audience is not very broad.

Besides Con Panna, the more widely known Viennese coffee also mainly uses strong coffee liquid and cream. However, unlike the original intention behind the previous fancy coffee, the Austrian version of cream coffee was meant to replenish energy for carriage drivers traveling on cold nights, so more high-calorie foods were added to the coffee. It is a drink that can refresh, taste delicious, keep you warm, and fill your stomach.

Front Street has learned that making traditional Viennese coffee is not complicated. Generally, a tall glass with a handle is used. First put about a teaspoon of white sugar at the bottom, then pour in about 1/2 strong coffee liquid, then top it with fluffy whipped cream, and sprinkle cinnamon powder, chocolate shavings, cookie crumbs, etc. on top.

Today's "Cream Coffee"

Compared with the era of material shortage, today's cream coffee can be said to be rich in variety and diverse in form, and they have also been given more special names that catch the eye.

For example, Starbucks has a secret menu item, "all-ice Americano + light cream," which is derived from the old Viennese coffee. The entire drink is made from just three components: ice cubes, coffee, and light cream. The steps are so simple it is like putting an elephant into a refrigerator.

In this cream coffee, set off by the ice cubes, the unwhipped thick cream first floats on the surface, then slowly sinks to the bottom and blends with the espresso, creating a beautiful layered effect. Drinking it in big gulps also lets you feel the rich, sweet interwoven sensation of cream coffee on the palate.

In addition, in the hands of baristas everywhere, cream has been turned into many interesting forms. For example, Korean coffeehouses have an improved version of "Viennese coffee," which, thanks to the unique presentation of the cream and its highly photogenic appearance, continues to be popular on social media such as Instagram.

The cream here needs to be pre-processed in advance, whipped into a thick yogurt-like consistency, and then layered into the coffee. As long as the ingredients are ready, the method is not complicated, and Front Street will recreate a cup now.

Ingredients to prepare: light cream, vanilla syrup, espresso, milk, ice cubes

First, find a container convenient for whipping, pour 80 grams of light cream into it, then add 15 grams of vanilla-flavored syrup.

Then use a whisk to whip the cream evenly until it shows a semi-solid yogurt-like consistency. When it forms peaks like this at Front Street and does not quickly collapse downward, it is ready.

Prepare a small cup you like, add 50 grams of ice cubes, pour in milk to 60% full, spread in a layer of the just-whipped vanilla cream, then extract a double espresso and pour it on top.

Finally, use a spoon to scoop 1 to 3 dollops of vanilla cream onto the coffee, and sprinkle cocoa powder on top according to preference. The internet-famous "Viennese coffee" is ready.

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.