Espresso
Espresso. It is the word and product that most clearly defines specialty coffee in most people’s minds. The business of specialty coffee has pretty well become a part of our cultural fabric by now.
Yet even with both independent and chain coffee shops in virtually every city, coffee recipe books lining book-store shelves and cable television programs dedicated to coffee, the word espresso still sounds a little exotic to many people (I still occasionally hear it pronounced as “expresso”).
Espresso is the foundation for all of those syrupy, sweet lattes and cappuccinos Americans seem to love and that Italians scoff at. Conversely, when served by itself it is also the coffee that southern Europeans love and many Americans think of as “too bitter.”
Many people still seem to be confused and misinformed about espresso. They think of it only as that bitter, ultra-dark roasted little shot of coffee that contains two or three times the caffeine of regular brewed coffee. They may also think of it as that little drink that needs a quarter cup of cream and several tablespoons of sugar added to it before it is palatable.
Before we get into what espresso really is let’s address some of those misconceptions. Espresso is not a style or level of roasting the coffee seeds. It is not necessarily a dark or French roast, although that’s the common conception. The roast levels used for espresso vary according to the roaster, what coffees may be used, and even differences in region. West coast espresso is, generally speaking, often roasted darker than it is on the east coast, where lighter roasts seem to be popular. Of course, Starbucks, a west coast company, is viewed as the paradigm for dark roasted coffee. Since they are a very well-known specialty coffee company it is understandable that the darker roasts that they employ are thought to be ubiquitous by many. Returning to Italy, I understand that many Italian coffee roasters favor a medium roast for their espresso.
The point is that any roast level may be used for espresso. It is not the roast that makes it espresso. Creating espresso does take into consideration the blend of coffees that the roaster chooses combined with the level of roast that he or she decides will best achieve the desired qualities for that particular espresso blend. It is very much a creative process and a matter of taste.
Another misconception concerns the caffeine content of espresso. It is not the hyper-caffeinated drink that many people think it is. A shot of espresso (approximately 1 fluid ounce) contains about the same or even less caffeine than your average cup of joe. Again, speaking in generalities, a shot of espresso contains somewhere between 60 and 100 mg of caffeine, while an 8 oz. cup of brewed coffee might contain somewhere between 90 and 160 mg. But even those numbers are estimates, as there are a number of factors that influence the caffeine content of any particular espresso or brewed coffee.
Unfortunately, perhaps the biggest misconception about espresso is that it is a drink that one of my friends described as “nasty,” a bitter, acidic and far too strong dose of coffee oil. Unfortunately, he was right, about that particular shot. In my last column I praised the espresso I got at Café Soleil in Madison, Wisconsin. It was noteworthy for how good it was. Conversely, other espresso is noteworthy for how bad it is.
When prepared poorly it can be practically undrinkable. But – and this is significant – espresso can and should be a sweet, multidimensional and nuanced drink that stands entirely on its own, without the need for cream or sugar. When done well it is an attractive, rich, aromatic drink, more akin to a fine aperitif. It can be a little sip of heaven.
Next time I’ll discuss some of the things that make for an exceptional espresso.
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