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.

An illustration of what an espresso consists of

What is an Espresso coffee made of?

Espresso is a concentrated form of coffee, served in shots. It's made of two ingredients - finely ground, 100% coffee, and hot water. This method of brewing makes for a bold, rich, intense shot of coffee, which then forms the base of many other types of coffee drinks, such as a cappuccino, latte, americano and macchiato.

Espresso is not a type of coffee bean or a roasting style – a common misconception. It’s a process of brewing coffee and is instead made by forcing high-pressured hot water through very finely ground coffee beans. This is then topped with a crema, a brown foam, that adds the rich, full-flavoured aftertaste. When made at home with hot water, it is the most basic form of Black Coffee.

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What a cortado is made of

Cortado translates to cut, meaning that the coffee is cut with milk. Unlike other coffee types the milk isn’t texturised and instead, a cortado is made with lightly steamed milk without froth or foam.

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What a mocha is made of

Although a mocha is often interpreted differently across the world, the basis is that a shot of espresso is combined with a chocolate powder or syrup, followed by milk or cream. It is a variant of a latte, in the sense that it is often 1/3 espresso and 2/3 steamed milk. However, a chocolate flavour is added, and this can be milk or dark.

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What a macchiato is made of

The macchiato is an espresso coffee drink, topped with a small amount of foamed or steamed milk to allow the taste of the espresso to still shine through. A macchiato is perfect for those who find espresso too harsh in flavour, but a cappuccino too weak.

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An illustration of what a flat white consists of

What a flat white is made of

A flat white is a blend of micro-foamed milk poured over a single or double shot of espresso. This microfoam is steamed milk infused with air, which creates tiny air bubbles, to create a smooth and velvety texture and creamy taste.

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An illustration of what a latte consists of

What a latte is made of

A latte or caffè latte is a milk coffee that is made up of one or two shots of espresso, lots of steamed milk and a final, thin layer of frothed milk on top.

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An illustration of what a cappuccino consists of

What a cappuccino is made of

A cappuccino is the perfect balance of espresso, steamed milk and foam. This coffee is all about the structure and the even splitting of all elements into equal thirds.

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An illustration of what an americano consists of

What an americano is made of

An americano is just water and espresso. It’ll either be served 1/2 and 1/2 or 1/3 espresso to 2/3 water, depending on the coffee shop in question or how you’ve chosen to brew it.

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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.

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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?

Because of the way it's brewed, by forcing hot water through finely ground coffee at high pressure, espresso has a higher caffeine content than regular coffee. An espresso contains around 80mg of caffeine, which is twice the average cup of instant coffee. Espresso often has to be watered down slightly, or enjoyed with milk, as it has a dark, intense flavour when you drink it without any additions. As it forms the base of most coffee recipes, espresso needs to have an intense flavour for the coffee to shine through any other ingredients like milk, sugar, or flavoured syrups.

How to make espresso (black) coffee at home?

While espresso refers to a certain method of brewing coffee - forcing hot water at a high pressure through finely ground coffee - it's easy enough to recreate at home without an expensive espresso machine, with NESCAFÉ instant coffee. Add 2 teaspoons of instant coffee granules to 30ml (2 tablespoons) of water, stir to dissolve, and your espresso base is done. Espresso forms the base of many different coffee recipes.

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