Coffee Break
With all the talk of pumpkin-spiced you-know-what, now is an opportune time to test your knowledge of spellings related to this seasonal coffee. See how you do.
What are the most correct spellings for the three coffees below?
latte, capuccino, espresso
latte, cappuccino, espresso
latte, cappuccino, expresso
lattee, cappuccino, espresso
The correct answer is the second option, “latte, cappuccino, espresso.” The biggest point of confusion, and controversy, in the answer selections is with “espresso” and “expresso.” In Italian, “espresso” was probably coined to mean "coffee made on the spot at the customer's request," to distinguish it from coffee brewed in a pot. However, because of the similarity of “espresso” to the English word “express” and the promise of coffee being prepared relatively quickly in contrast to percolated coffee, it was natural that “espresso” became interpreted as “expresso,” and consequently be spelled that way. Even more confusing, because in English we sometimes say that an individual serving of something is made "expressly for" someone, and that it so happens that “express” shares roots with “espresso,” “expresso” is both logical and etymologically defensible. The bottom line to remember: “espresso” remains the original borrowed word and most correct word for this coffee, but “expresso” is used enough in English to be listed in the dictionary and cannot be considered incorrect by the lack of an “x” in the Italian word that it's taken from.
On another interesting note, “cappuccino” comes from an ancient religious order, the Capuchin order of friars. The order, established in the 1500s, played an important role in bringing Catholicism back to Reformation Europe. The informal Italian name for a member of the order, “cappuccino,” comes from the long pointed cowl, or “cappuccino,” derived from “cappuccio,” or "hood," that was worn as part of the order's habit. In Italian, “cappuccino” developed the sense of "espresso coffee mixed or topped with steamed milk or cream" because the color of the coffee resembled the color of the habit of a Capuchin friar. Now that you know all this, go reward yourself with a hot espresso, or cappuccino, or latte.