Espresso and What the Rest of the World Already Knows

Do you think European coffeehouses tout flavored syrups?  Could it be the espresso is what's important?
Have you ever heard of an Africano drink?  A Belgique? A Denmarko?  Maybe they've got a shared understanding of what thispresso stuff is really about.  And so the Americano?  Is it because we've watered everything down?  Not only do others value the espresso for what it is, they like it, happy to structure their understanding around it without changing it.
Our forty syrup flavors - and sugar free too - do they testify to our insistence that the world cater to our personal taste?  That we might never be able to palate the bitter liquid itself but just give us some vanilla or hazelnut and okay, okay, we can swallow that if we have to.  We're happy to die to everything worthwhile as long as we can have it our way.