by B. Stone

Created on: April 19, 2009   Last Updated: April 20, 2009

Since the coffee bean was first cultivated in the 6th century in the Arabian Peninsula, coffee has been a valuable beverage of cultures around the world. Sometimes as the luxury of a few, and others as the necessity of the masses, coffee has been with us every step of the way. Along that journey of time, as we have evolved, so to has our appreciation of the great green bean.

Today, not only can we walk into any coffee shop and order a traditional cup of coffee, but we also can choose the pint size version - a concentrated, aromatic shot of espresso. Essentially, coffee and espresso are the same thing. They both come from roasted arabica coffee beans. This is, however, where their similarities end; the differences between coffee and espresso are endless, from their brewing methods to their many manifestations.

To begin with, espresso beans are roasted longer than coffee beans. Coffee beans can be lightly roasted, as most house blends are, medium roasted, or dark roasted, such as a French Roast. An espresso roast is closer to an Italian or any other very dark roast. A longer roast yields a darker bean, that produces a slightly sweeter, less acidic flavor. This is because the natural sugars have a chance to caramelize and some of the acid and caffeine is burned off.

So now you have coffee beans and espresso beans - can espresso beans be used to brew coffee and vice versa? Yes, if you wanted to make a dark cup of coffee, or an acidic shot of espresso. But only with the correct ground. Coffee beans are ground to a medium grind for automatic coffeemakers, and even a coarse grind for french press coffee. Espresso on the other hand needs to be ground into a very fine grind. This is because the smaller space between the coffee grains will extract a richer, thicker brew than the more watery consistency of coffee.

The differences continue with brewing methods. Drip coffee is brewed through gravity in an automatic coffee maker. Coffee grounds are placed in a cone shaped filter. Hot water then drips over the grinds, allowing the water to seep through, taking with it the essences and oils of the beans. This is a slower process, that generally takes about five minutes.

Espresso is brewed by pressurized hot water. The water is released in a small, short burst, releasing the espresso liquor immediately. A good shot of espresso should take from 18 to 22 seconds to brew. Espresso can only be made in an espresso machine, making it until recently only accessible for stores and restaurants

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