by Michy Lynn

Created on: February 09, 2009

Coffee and espresso both come from the same bean, and both are ground and both are brewed by using hot water, but their sameness ends there. Let's explore the differences between coffee and espresso:

How Coffee is Brewed

Coffee beans are roasted and then ground. The grounds are placed in a filter of some sort and hot water is passed through the grounds and the filter to brew coffee that we drink.

Espresso - Coffee Concentrate

Espresso, on the other hand, is similar in concept to "coffee concentrate". When coffee beans are used in an espresso machine, the resulting liquid is essentially, concentrated coffee. Therefore, to make the best cup of espresso, one has to start with the best and most aromatic beans, because impurities and bitterness in beans that might be brewed out of regular coffee will be concentrated along with the coffee in espresso.

How to Brew Espresso

Usually only the best beans are selected for roasting for espresso packaging. Good coffee beans that will be manufacture and processed for espresso are often roasted longer, for a richer, darker flavor. After that, the coffee beans for espresso will be ground more finely than regular coffee grinding. The finer the grind the better for espresso.

Once finely ground, espresso is then put into a special type of filter pod or pack. These can be encapsulated paper pod filters or plastic pod-type puck filters. The filters are then placed in a special compartment of the espresso machine. There are many different types and styles of espresso machines, but all of them either have manual or mechanical presses to express the espresso from the filter pod or puck.

The Differences between Coffee and Espresso

Water is heated to approximately 160-180 degrees F for coffee.

Espresso water is usually super heated to 195-200 degrees F, without boiling.

For coffee, the hot water is heated and then dripped or filtered slowly through the filter, allowing the filter to slowly fill with water and then drip the steeped coffee into the coffee decanter.

For espresso, though, the hotter water is forcibly injected and fused through the coffee with pressure, either through mechanical means like a pressure stream of water, or through the process of pressing with a manual lever to 'press' the water through the coffee puck or pod.

Coffee generally takes 10-15 minutes to brew and entire pot while espresso is brewed in 'shots' of approximately two ounces of concentrated coffee - espresso - and takes about 25-30 seconds per shot.

Biggest Difference Between Coffee and Espresso

Because espresso is concentrating the flavor of the beans over regular brewing of coffee grounds, it is recommended that only the highest quality of coffee beans be selected and carefully roasted for finely grinding and used to make espresso.

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