The Viennese bestowed the name "Kapuziner", possibly in the 18th century, on a version that included whipped cream and spices of unknown origin. The Italian cappuccino was unknown outside Italy until the 1930s, and seems to be born out of Viennese-style cafés in Trieste and other cities in the former Austria in the first decades of the 20th century. The drink has since spread worldwide and can be found at a number of establishments.

Outside of Italy, cappuccino is a coffee drink that today is typically composed of a single espresso shot and hot milk, with the surface topped with foamed milk. Cappuccinos are most often prepared with an espresso machine. The double espresso is poured into the bottom of the cup, followed by a similar amount of hot milk, which is prepared by heating and texturing the milk using the espresso machine steam wand. The top third of the drink consists of milk foam; this foam can be decorated with artistic drawings made with the same milk, called latte art.

As cappuccino is defined today, in addition to a single shot of espresso, the most important factors in preparing a cappuccino are the texture and temperature of the milk. When a barista steams the milk for a cappuccino, microfoam is created by introducing very tiny bubbles of air into the milk, giving the milk a velvety texture. The traditional cappuccino consists of a single espresso, on which the barista pours the hot foamed milk, resulting in a 2 cm (3⁄4 in) thick milk foam on top. Variations could be made adding another shot of espresso resulting in a double cappuccino. Attaining the correct ratio of foam requires close attention while steaming the milk, thus making the cappuccino one of the most difficult espresso-based beverages to make properly. A skilled barista may obtain artistic shapes (latte art while pouring the milk on the top of the espresso coffee. )

In a traditional cappuccino, as served in Europe and artisan coffee houses in the United States, the total of espresso and milk/foam make up between approximately 150 and 180 ml (5 and 6 imp fl oz; 5 and 6 US fl oz). Commercial coffee restaurant chains in the US more often serve the cappuccino as a 360 ml (13 imp fl oz; 12 US fl oz) drink or larger. In Italy, a cappuccino consists of 25 ml (1 imp fl oz; 1 US fl oz) of espresso; the rest of the cup is filled with equal parts of milk and foam. Outside of Italy, the ratios of espresso, milk, and foam typically equal 1/3 each.

Cappuccino was traditionally a taste largely appreciated in Europe, Australia, South America, and some of North America. By the mid-1990s, cappuccino was made much more widely available to North Americans, as upscale coffee houses sprang up.

In Italy and throughout continental Europe, cappuccino is traditionally consumed in the morning, usually as part of breakfast, often with some kind of pastry. Italians generally do not drink cappuccino with meals other than breakfast, although they sometimes drink espresso after lunch or dinner. In Italy, cappuccino is only consumed up to 11:00 a.m., since cappuccinos are milk-based and considered too heavy to drink later in the day. Instead, espresso is usually ordered after a meal due to the belief that the lack of milk aids in digestion. In North America, cappuccinos have become popular concurrent with the boom in the American coffee industry through the late 1990s and early 2000s, especially in the urban Pacific Northwest.

Cappuccino is traditionally served in 150–180 ml (5–6 imp fl oz; 5–6 US fl oz) cups. By the start of the 21st century, a modified "short-cut" version was being served by fast-food chains in servings up to 600 ml (21 imp fl oz; 20 US fl oz).

Many of the terms for coffee drinks come to us from Italian, where they are terms of utility. Espresso comes from the Italian word that means "pressed-out," which explains how the coffee drink is made; Macchiato is short for "caffe macchiato," which means "coffee with a spot (of milk)." But Cappuccino bucks the trend: it comes from an Italian word that refers not to coffee, but to friars.

Cappuccino' takes its name from the Capuchin friars: the color of the espresso mixed with frothed milk was similar to the color of the Capuchin robe.

The Capuchin friars are members of the larger Franciscan orders of monks, and their order was founded in the 16th century in Italy. They were renowned for their missionary work among the poor, as well as their dedication to extreme austerity, poverty, and simplicity:

The characteristic simplicity of these friars is, indeed, proverbial; and it may, too, be inferred from their speech, their manners, and from their very aspect; besides being yet further illustrated by several sayings current in Italy—where their order is numbered by the thousand—such as "to dine al cappuccino," to make but a sorry meal; and "to travel al cappuccino," i.e. to journey on foot. —Algernon Taylor, Scenes in French Monasteries, 1746.

The Capuchins were also renowned for their dress. They wear a simple brown robe that includes a long, pointed hood that hangs down the back. The Italian word for this distinctive hood, cappuccio, gave rise to the Italian name for the order. It also gave rise to the Italian word for a friar of the Capuchin order used in the excerpt above: cappuccino.

When the cappuccino drink was first introduced in Italy, it was named after the Capuchin friars because the color of the espresso mixed with frothed milk was similar to the color of the Capuchin robe. The name, whimsical in a world of utilitarian coffee-drink names, stuck; we borrowed it into English in the late 1800s.

The friars, as you may have noticed, are called Capuchins in English; they've lent their English name to a women's cloak with a hood, as well as to a monkey with a ruff of fur on its neck that looks like the friar's hood.