
What is an Espresso
Popularly known as Black Coffee
It’s iconic across the globe, and the base of more delicious coffee drinks than we’d like to count. But why is an espresso so special? Is it the best type of coffee? Why was it this particular way of brewing that made it so popular? Keep reading and let’s find out.
What is an Espresso?
Espresso is a delicious concentrated form of coffee, served in shots and it’s often the coffee base of many other beverages, such as cappuccino, latte, americano and macchiato. An espresso is intense and bold, but nonetheless delicious, and the espresso is usually served in small demitasse-style cups for this reason.
What is Black Coffee?
While espresso refers to a certain method of brewing coffee - forcing hot water at high pressure through finely-ground coffee - it's easy enough to recreate at home without an expensive espresso machine, with instant coffee and what is popularly referred to as Black Coffee. So, while an Espresso is also a Black Coffee, a Black Coffee cannot be called an Espresso unless brewed by forcing hot water at high pressure through the finely ground coffee.
How to make Black Coffee at home?
Add 2 teaspoons of NESCAFÉ® instant coffee granules to 30ml (2 tablespoons) of water, stir to dissolve, and your espresso base is done. Add water as per your taste to make yourself a perfect cup of Black Coffee from this base.
Caffeine content in espresso
Espresso has the reputation of having a high caffeine content. However, this depends on how much is drunk. Typically, espresso contains 29 to 100 milligrams of caffeine in a single shot. A double shot will contain between 58 to 185 mg of caffeine.
Origins of the espresso
As with many famous coffee recipes, the espresso was invented in Italy, around 100 years ago, and is credited to a man by the name of Luigi Bezzera, from Milan. He was the first to use a steam-pressure method of brewing coffee, which produced a strong cup of coffee faster than ever before. In fact, the name "caffé espresso" translates to "pressed out coffee", referring to the water being pushed through the finely ground coffee at a very high pressure. Espresso became increasingly popular when the demand for coffee increased in the late 1800s and early 1900s. By the 1940s, the process of making espresso had been properly fine-tuned, creating the espresso known and used cross the world.
What is the difference between an espresso coffee and regular coffee?
Espresso is the base of almost every type of coffee. Baristas making espresso use water under high amounts of pressure to force its way through compacted ground coffee, which makes a thick, syrupy liquid, with a gorgeous light brown foam layer on top, called the crema. That's the main difference - other coffee types rely on a slower filtering process, allowing hot water to slowly sift through coffee grounds. Espresso also relies on a much finer bean grind, while regular coffee works perfectly with medium ground beans.
Now you know what an espresso is, discover a NESCAFÉ instant espresso, here.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is espresso stronger than coffee?
How to make espresso (black) coffee at home?