While my first love of the beverage world is tea, I have a very special place in my heart for the glorious cappuccino.

A cappuccino is very simple drink, its just equal parts espresso (called cafe in Italian), steamed milk, and a little sugar if you want it (which I always do).

A chocolate croissant is also a nice addition (special thanks to Tom for  letting me hijack his croissant for the purposes of this picture).

Down the street from my office there is a shop that makes the best cappuccino, and it is cheap enough visit everyday.  After our morning meeting some of the guys at work head over for their morning caffeine fix.

Before I stopped eating wheat, I thought my daily cappuccino was responsible for the intense stomach pains, so I stayed away for an entire year.

It was a long year.

I am now happily back in the habit of a morning cappuccino.

I am also in the habit of embarrassing my friends by forcing them to pose for pictures in crowded coffee shops when all they want to do is drink their damn cappuccino.

This is Luis.  He is a very good sport.

I don’t think I have ever had a cappuccino anywhere else so I really can’t tell you that cappuccinos in Italy are the best in the world, but they are fantastic.

One last thing about drinking cappuccino: a lot of guide books to Italy tell you not to order a cappuccino after the morning hours because the Italians will know you are a tourist.

I think that is crap.

Everyone is going to know you are a tourist because you are speaking english, carrying a camera, and generally looking lost, so just go ahead and order the cappuccino whenever you want, I do.