Wiener Melange

A Wiener Melange (German and French for "Viennese Blend") is a speciality coffee drink similar to a cappuccino. The difference is sometimes assumed to be that the Melange is made with milder coffee [1] but the Viennese coffee company Julius Meinl describes a Wiener Melange as "one espresso shot served in a large coffee cup topped with steamed milk and milk foam".[2] Cafe Sabarsky in Manhattan concurs.[3] At Cafe Sperl in Vienna, the Melange is half a cup of coffee "black coffee" and half a cup "creamy milk", topped with milk foam.[4] Nescafe, Movenpick, Lufthansa Catering and Albert Heijn housebrand however serve Wiener Melange as Coffee blended with Cocoa - no matter whether foam topped or not. Kaffeehaus de Châtillon in greater Seattle describes it as relatively equal portions of light roast Kaffee, milk and cream foam in a 6oz cup.

A Wiener Melange

The English term "Cafe Vienna" and the French Café viennois usually refer to espresso con panna - topped with whipped cream instead of milk foam. Ordering a Wiener Melange may yield the arrival of an espresso con panna even in Vienna, though this is properly called a Franziskaner (Franciscan friar).[2] The reference to Franciscan friars parallels the term "cappuccino",[5] similar to the Austrian coffee preparation or "Kapuziner", which derives its name from the brown color of the robes worn by Capuchin friars.[6]