by Susan Ow

Created on: January 31, 2009

Are you the newbie to the world of coffee and espresso? Or you cannot differentiate the coffee and espresso when you want to order a drink at Starbucks? There is nothing wrong with being newbie. We always are or were a newbie in our life, such as skiing, cooking, programming, repairing, etc. The bottom line is to take the time and learn. If you are a newbie to coffee and espresso, this is a right place for newcomers to explore the differences.

Bean

Coffee beans and espresso beans are slightly different. Espresso beans are a blend of several types of coffee beans from different countries around the world. The beans are roasted until they are dark and oily-looking.

Brew

The main difference between coffee and espresso is the preparation process.

Drip brew coffee, also known as filter coffee, brewed by pouring hot water over roasted and ground coffee beans contained in a filter. Under gravity, water slowly percolates the coffee while absorbing its oils and essence, then passes through the bottom of the filter. It is widely used method of brewing in North America's house wholes and offices due to the popularity of electric coffeemaker.

Espresso means "fast" in Italian, uses high pressure to quickly infuse water through the finely ground beans. Making a perfect shot of espresso takes more skills than drip brew coffee. A perfect espresso takes not less than 25s and not more than 30s. The former ends up with under-extracted and sour coffee, and the latter introduces unexpected bitterness. Also, a firmer tamp is required. The espresso is placed into a firmed tamp and is tightly packed with about 40lbs of pressure while coffee is loose grind and not packed at all. On top of that, a good espresso machine is needed.

Grind

Since the brewing time for espresso is much shorter than drip coffee, espresso beans are ground much finer than drip coffee. The consistency is almost like a powdered sugar, but also can be adjusted to control the brewing time. On the other hand, the drip coffee is made by dripping boiling water over ground coffee, hence, is ground much coarsely than espresso coffee.

Quality and drink

Drip brew coffee produces clear and light-bodied coffee, which is free of sediments, but lacks of coffee's oils and essences. Hence, it always is labeled as low quality coffee.

Espresso is more concentrated, stronger, darker, and thicker in flavor than drip brew coffee, although drip brew coffee contains more caffeine. The foam floating on top of a freshly pulled shot is called crema, and its presence is the mark of a good shot of espresso. In addition to being served on its own, espresso is also widely used in other coffee drinks such as Americano, Latte, Mocha, Macchiato, and Cappuccino.

Espresso has become popular method of brewing coffee, especially for coffee fans. Unlike brew coffee, where the quality is much more depending on skills, high quality of espresso is much more expensive because extracting the greatest amount of flavor required highly pressure water infusion, thus, a high quality machine.

Armed with the knowledge of coffee and espresso, next time, when you stand in line in a coffee shop, you do not have to be undecided in choosing your favorite coffee.

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