Wiener coffee
Coffee with milk and cream
Vienna melange, half coffee, half hot milk, usually topped with milk foam

Wiener coffee[1], also known as Vienna coffee (German: Wiener Kaffee; Japanese: ウィンナ・コーヒー)[2] is a coffee preparation style that originated in Vienna, Austria.[3][4][5] It is popular in Japan.

Etymology

‘Wiener’ means ‘Viennese’ in German. The word shares its etymology with Wiener Walzer (“Viennese waltz”). While the expression “Vienna coffee” may be rendered in German as Wiener Kaffee, in German the phrase denotes only “coffee in the Viennese style” in a general sense and does not refer to any specific method of preparation.

History and preparation

In Japan, coffee topped with whipped cream is commonly referred to as “Vienna Coffee” (ウィンナ・コーヒー). The first café to serve coffee under this name was Ladrio, a coffeehouse in Kanda-Jimbōchō, Tokyo.[6][7][8] The drink was developed based on accounts from a University of Tokyo professor—one of the café's regular patrons—who had studied in Vienna and described the coffee he encountered there.[9]

Einspänner, a strong black coffee (often espresso) topped with a thick layer of whipped cream

Beverages resembling the Japanese Vienna Coffee include the Einspänner and Kaffee mit Schlagobers. An Einspänner consists of coffee topped with nearly an equal amount of heavy cream, served not in a cup but in a glass.[7] The name Einspänner means “one-horse carriage,” and derives from the fact that carriage drivers once drank it to keep warm.[8] Kaffee mit Schlagobers, by contrast, is coffee accompanied by a separate dish of whipped cream (Schlagobers) sprinkled with sugar, served alongside the cup.

Franziskaner, a melange with whipped cream instead of milk foam

The type of coffee most commonly consumed in daily life by the people of Vienna is the Wiener Melange (from the French word meaning “to mix”), which consists of espresso with hot milk topped with milk foam, and is essentially the same as a cappuccino.[7] A related variation, called the Franziskaner, substitutes whipped cream for the milk foam. The name Franziskaner [de] (“Franciscan”) is said to derive from the similarity of the drink's color to the robes of Franciscan monks—a parallel to the origin of the term cappuccino, which, according to one theory, likewise refers to the color of Capuchin monks’ robes.

In Austria, the names for coffee vary not only by region but also according to the type of coffee and the way milk is added. For example, there is the Verlängerter (lit. 'diluted one'), a coffee with added hot water, and the Milchkaffee [de] (“milk coffee”), which contains a somewhat larger amount of hot milk.

In countries such as the United Kingdom and France, espresso con panna (Italian for “espresso with cream”), an espresso topped with whipped cream, is sometimes referred to as café viennois or café vienne, both meaning “Viennese coffee.” In France, however, following World War I and the country's conflict with Austria-Hungary, the name café viennois was replaced with café liégeois.

Cultural references

In Chapter 6 of The Genesis of Doctor Faustus (Die Entstehung des Doktor Faustus. Roman eines Romans, 1949), an autobiographical work documenting the writing process of Thomas Mann’s 1947 novel Doctor Faustus, Mann records having drunk Wiener Kaffee at the home of Arnold Schönberg, who, like Mann, was living in exile in the United States.

References

  1. ^ 学研辞典編集部, ed. (2011-07-26). 用例でわかる カタカナ新語辞典 (in Japanese) (改訂第3版 ed.). 学研教育出版. p. 72. ISBN 9784053032645.
  2. ^ 木戸紗織 (January 2024). 身近なドイツ語 －しゃべりたくなる10のトピック－教育・生活・物語編 (in Japanese). 朝日出版社. p. 10. ISBN 9784255254685.
  3. ^ 飲み物がわかる辞典. "ウィンナーコーヒーとは？ 意味や使い方". コトバンク (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  4. ^ 日本国語大辞典, デジタル大辞泉,精選版. "ウィンナとは？ 意味や使い方". コトバンク (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-08-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "ウインナーコーヒーとはどんなコーヒー？味わいや作り方、名前の由来も紹介 | レシピ | コーヒーのおいしい話 | キーコーヒー株式会社". keycoffee (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  6. ^ 川口葉子 (November 2015). 東京の喫茶店 琥珀色のしずく77滴 (in Japanese). 実業之日本社. ISBN 978-4-408-45660-7.
  7. ^ a b c "『ウィーンのコーヒー事情』". Ricoh Communication Club (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2012-12-17.
  8. ^ a b ""ウィンナーコーヒー"では、通じない！？ | コーヒートリビア". UCC上島珈琲 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  9. ^ "日本で最初にウィンナーコーヒーを出した老舗喫茶店『ラドリオ』～黒猫スイーツ散歩 神田・神保町編②～". さんたつ by 散歩の達人 (in Japanese). 交通新聞社. 2020-06-12. Retrieved 2024-03-10.

See also

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