How to Make Authentic Viennese Coffee? Is Starbucks Iced Americano with Light Cream Good?

Cream, a food rich in texture, has both a silky smooth quality and a thick, substantial mouthfeel. Consumed alone, it might be somewhat cloying, making it suitable for pairing with other foods to balance the taste, such as coffee.

In the world of coffee, the term "cream" frequently appears. In coffee tasting, it refers to a texture as smooth as cream, or the sweet aroma experienced after consuming cream; in prepared beverages, cream sometimes serves as a companion to enhance the drink's flavor, while other times it acts as decoration and embellishment to improve visual appeal, becoming the inspiration source for many creative specialty drinks on the market.

If we want to trace the earliest history of cream appearing in coffee, our gaze cannot be limited to these modern fancy beverages, but rather we must seek out stories that have been passed down for hundreds of years~

Ancient "Cream Coffee"

FrontStreet Coffee researched and discovered that the earliest record of adding cream to coffee was in Austria. In 1684, a Polish man named Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki received a generous reward for rescuing the Siege of Vienna during the war, along with a large quantity of coffee beans left behind by the defeated Turks. After the war ended, he opened a Blue Bottle Coffee House locally in Vienna.

Initially, he served drinks in his shop following the Turkish method of making coffee, where beans were ground into powder and boiled twice with water, then poured directly into cups along with the coffee grounds. However, Austrians found this method unacceptable, so to cater to local tastes, he used a cloth bag to filter out the coffee grounds and added cream, honey, spices, and other seasonings. Soon, this "first-generation cream coffee" became a favorite among Austrians.

At that time, such cream coffee was typically served in a small glass. When cream mixed with coffee, it presented an attractive reddish-brown color, quite similar to the color of the robes worn by Capuchin friars (Order of Capuchin Friars Minor), so Viennese people called it "Kapuziner," phonetically translated as "Kapuziner."

As it was introduced to Italy and accompanied by the birth of the espresso machine, Italians switched to espresso with golden crema, while the original cream was replaced by steamed frothed milk, and it received its Italian name: Cappuccino. In other words, the cappuccino we're familiar with today has cream coffee as its predecessor.

Although "Kapuziner" later evolved into many versions of specialty coffee, the original "cream coffee" did not disappear but continued to thrive in major coffeehouses under the names of Viennese Coffee or Espresso Con Panna.

How to Make Traditional "Cream Coffee"

If you directly translate Espresso Con Panna into Chinese, it means "espresso with cream." This shows its construction is extremely simple - just squeeze two to three circles of whipped fresh cream onto a freshly extracted espresso.

Unlike other specialty coffees, when tasting Espresso Con Panna, there's no need to stir - you can drink it directly. The cool cream will add a cotton candy-like texture to the bitter and rich coffee, creating a denser and more mellow layered mouthfeel. However, in most people's eyes, it remains an extremely strong-flavored coffee, so it doesn't have a wide audience.

In addition to Espresso Con Panna, the more widely spread Viennese Coffee also uses strong coffee liquid and cream as main ingredients. However, unlike the original intention of the previous specialty coffee, the Austrian version of cream coffee was designed to provide energy for drivers traveling on cold nights, so they would add more high-calorie foods to the coffee - a drink that was both refreshing and delicious, as well as warming and filling.

FrontStreet Coffee learned that making traditional Viennese coffee is not complicated. It's generally served in a tall glass with a handle, with about a teaspoon of white sugar at the bottom, then filled with about 1/2 strong coffee liquid, followed by a topping of fluffy whipped cream, and finally sprinkled with cinnamon powder, chocolate shavings, biscuit crumbs, and other foods on top.

Modern "Cream Coffee"

Compared to the era of material shortages, today's cream coffee can be said to have various forms and styles, and they have been given more special names that catch people's attention.

For example, Starbucks has a hidden menu item "Iced Americano + Light Cream" that derives from the ancient Viennese coffee. The entire drink consists only of ice, coffee, and light cream - the preparation steps are as simple as putting an elephant in a refrigerator.

Cream coffee made this way, with the backdrop of ice, allows the unwhipped viscous cream to first float on the surface before slowly sinking and blending with the espresso, creating both a beautiful layered effect and a rich interplay of sweetness and flavor that delights the palate when consumed in large sips.

In addition, cream has been transformed into many interesting forms by the skilled hands of various baristas. For instance, there's an improved version of "Viennese Coffee" in Korean cafes that continues to be active on social media platforms like Instagram due to its unique cream presentation method and extremely photogenic appearance.

The cream here needs pre-treatment - it's whipped to a yogurt-like consistency before being layered in the coffee. As long as the ingredients are prepared, the making method isn't complicated. FrontStreet Coffee will now recreate one.

Ingredients:

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 mixer to whip the cream evenly until it reaches a semi-solid yogurt-like consistency. Like FrontStreet Coffee's, when it forms peaks that don't collapse quickly, it's ready.

Prepare a desired small cup, add 50 grams of ice cubes, and fill it six parts full with milk. Spread a layer of the freshly whipped vanilla cream, then extract a double espresso and pour it over the top.

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

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