Espresso

Espresso (/ɛˈsprɛsoʊ/ (listen), Italian: ) is coffee of Italian origin, brewed by forcing a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure (expressing) through finely ground coffee beans. Espresso is generally thicker than coffee brewed by other methods, has a higher concentration of suspended and dissolved solids, and has crema on top (a foam with a creamy consistency). As a result of the pressurized brewing process, the flavors and chemicals in a typical cup of espresso are very concentrated. Espresso is also the base for other drinks such as a caffè latte, cappuccino, caffè macchiato, caffè mocha, flat white, or caffè Americano. Espresso has more caffeine per unit volume than most coffee beverages, but because the usual serving size is much smaller, the total caffeine content is less than a mug of standard brewed coffee, contrary to a common belief. Although the actual caffeine content of any coffee drink varies by size, bean origin, roast method and other factors, a typical serving of espresso contains 120 to 170 milligrams of caffeine whereas a typical serving of drip coffee contains 150 to 200mg. Espresso is made by forcing very hot water under high pressure through finely ground compacted coffee. Tamping down the coffee promotes the water's even penetration through the grounds. This process produces an almost syrupy beverage by extracting both solid and dissolved components. The crema is produced by emulsifying the oils in the ground coffee into a colloid, which does not occur in other brewing methods. There is no universal standard defining the process of extracting espresso, but there are several published definitions which attempt to place constraints on the amount and type of ground coffee used, the temperature and pressure of the water, and the rate of extraction. Generally, one uses an espresso machine to make espresso. The act of producing a shot of espresso is often termed 'pulling' a shot, originating from lever espresso machines, which require pulling down a handle attached to a spring-loaded piston, forcing hot water through the coffee at high pressure. Today, however, it is more common for the pressure to be generated by an electric pump. The technical parameters outlined by the Italian Espresso National Institute for making a 'certified Italian espresso' are: Espresso is both a coffee beverage and a brewing method. It is not a specific bean, bean blend, or roast level. Any bean or roasting level can be used to produce authentic espresso. For example, in southern Italy, a darker roast is generally preferred. Farther north, the trend moves toward slightly lighter roasts, while outside Italy a wide range is popular. Angelo Moriondo, from Turin, patented a steam-driven 'instantaneous' coffee beverage making device in 1884 (No. 33/256). The device is 'almost certainly the first Italian bar machine that controlled the supply of steam and water separately through the coffee' and Moriondo is 'certainly one of the earliest discoverers of the expresso machine, if not the earliest'. Unlike true espresso machines, it brewed in bulk, not as individual servings. Seventeen years later, in 1901, Luigi Bezzera, from Milan, came up with a number of improvements to the espresso machine. He patented a number of these, the first of which was applied for on 19 December 1901. It was titled 'Innovations in the machinery to prepare and immediately serve coffee beverage' (Patent No. 153/94, 61707, granted on 5 June 1902). In 1903, the patent was bought by Desiderio Pavoni, who founded the La Pavoni company and began to produce the machine industrially (one a day) in a small workshop in Via Parini in Milan. The popularity of espresso developed in various ways; a detailed discussion of the spread of espresso is given in (Morris 2007), which is a source of various statements below. In Italy, the rise of espresso consumption was associated with urbanization, espresso bars providing a place for socializing. Further, coffee prices were controlled by local authorities, provided the coffee was consumed standing up, encouraging the 'stand at a bar' culture. In the English-speaking world, espresso became popular, particularly in the form of cappuccino, owing to the tradition of drinking coffee with milk and the exotic appeal of the foam; in the United States, this was more often in the form of lattes, with or without flavored syrups added. The latte is claimed to have been invented in the 1950s by Italian American Lino Meiorin of Caffe Mediterraneum in Berkeley, California, as a long cappuccino, and was then popularized in Seattle, and then nationally and internationally by Seattle-based Starbucks in the late 1980s and 1990s.