The nature of strong coffee: What is espresso?

One of the most popular forms of coffee, yet arguably the most misunderstood as well. Here is everything you need to know about espresso!

Espresso Basics

While it may seem that espresso is completely different than coffee, at its core it is simply just a brewing style. Just like there is French Press and Pour Over coffees, Espresso is simply one way to make delicious coffee.

One common misunderstanding is that there are special "espresso beans" that are different than regular coffee beans. However, this is untrue and rather just that some coffee beans and roast levels, mainly medium to dark, are better suited for espresso. Therefore when you hear "espresso beans" it really means medium-dark roasted coffee beans.

Holy Grounds Coffee offers a variety of "espresso" roasted coffee beans such as our sweet and chocolatey single origin Brazil coffee.

What Makes Espresso Special

By forcing hot water through a "puck" of finely ground coffee and therefore creating pressure, it yields an ultra-rich and creamy, highly concentrated coffee. This creaminess is also called crema and is the light brown foam that sits atop a good espresso.

By having a highly concentrated and bold coffee, espresso is perfect to pair with milk and other sweeteners. This is the true reason why espresso has dominated the cafe market for the past few decades. Dunkin and Starbucks specialize in making sweet, milk-based espresso drinks that many consumers enjoy every day as their source of caffeine.

"This is the true reason why espresso has dominated the cafe market for the past few decades"

How To Make Espresso

As its own brewing style, making espresso requires an espresso machine of course! These machines range from budget friendly options, up to a few thousand dollar advanced "at home barista" machines. Personally, I use a Solis Barista Perfetta Plus which can be found for $200-350 depending on new vs opened box.

Using a quality espresso machine ensures a good extraction of the coffee with proper pressure. Specifically, the ideal pressure is 9bars or around 130psi. This pressurized extraction through finely ground coffee is what makes espresso, well espresso! Espresso quite literally means "pressing out of".

Puck Preparation

The actual making of espresso has become a bit of an art form that has evolved over decades of practice. In general, it requires measuring out a precise amount of coffee, finely grinding it, and then doing "puck prep". This involves placing the coffee into its filter basket,

using a wire distribution tool, or WDT, to distribute and de-clump the coffee, before using a tamper to compress the coffee grinds into a puck.

Then the coffee basket is inserted into the espresso machine where hot water is forced through the compressed grinds and yields a rich espresso. Learning how to make a great espresso involves hours of practice and learning but can certainly become a fun hobby for a coffee enthusiast!

Recap

While espresso is often in completely separate conversations form coffee, espresso is simply one brewing style for coffee. Making espresso involves specially designed machines that can force hot water through finely ground coffee and yield a rich and bold shot of espresso. This rich and bold shot pairs perfectly with milk based drinks, which is why espresso has become so popular and dominated the cafe market.

So get out there and try some espresso for yourself!