What Makes Espresso Different from Plain Coffee

An espresso is defined as a concentrated coffee beverage brewed by forcing hot water under pressure through finely ground coffee. Some people tend to confuse an espresso for a whole different brew because it is well-known on its own.

Espresso machines are a product of the 20th century. The first patent for this device was filed by Luigi Bezzera who was from Milan, Italy. Modifications to the Italian version where introduced during the middle of the 1940s, which featured a machine with a piston lever.

While other blends are normally roasted then brewed, espresso preparation adds one more step to the process. When a shot of espresso is produced, the act of extracting it is known as pulling a shot. This is termed as such because older espresso machines required the user to pull down a handle attached to a spring loaded piston, thus causing hot water to shoot through the coffee at high pressure. The end product is an almost syrupy beverage because of all the extracted and emulsified oils in the ground coffee.

When shopping for coffee blends, note that espresso often has a thicker consistency and a higher concentration of dissolved solids than your usual cup of coffee. It also tends to be very concentrated, thus making it the perfect base for drinks like cappuccino, macchiato, and lattes. Steamed milk or cold cream is usually added to these concoctions.

Compared to the basis of usual serving sizes, espresso has more caffeine per unit volume of most beverages. A fluid ounce shot of this thick brew has about half the caffeine of a standard 6 fluid ounce cup of drip brewed coffee, which typically varies from 80 to 130 milligram. To learn more about espresso, check out Sea Island Coffee's website today.