Espresso is one of the most popular and tasty coffees on the market today? But what really is an espresso, well we are here to answer all your burning questions. Here is our Ultimate Guide To Espresso!
What Does Espresso Taste Like?
Most people strive to bring out the best taste in their espressos. But Yes- espresso needs to be very pleasant. It should taste like an amplified version of how coffee beans smell like. Espresso is pretty much a combination of sensations- aroma, mouthfeel and more importantly, the taste. When you drink espresso, all you could want is to roll it in your mouth before swallowing it.
If you make espresso and it tastes anything like alcohol, then you’re doing it wrong. But there are many flavors to it, and so the taste might differ slightly depending on the flavor used. The most common flavor is chocolate, with the others being caramel and fruits.
A talented tester will be able to unravel the coffee-bean taste from the coffee. Taste is, however, subjective. And many people would like their espressos to taste differently. The parting shot is this- espresso is pleasant and lovely, right from its aroma to the taste. Nothing bitter or sour!
Is Espresso stronger than coffee?
A lot of us coffee afficionados do not only enjoy coffee for its tasty, wonderful flavour but also because of its effects: the caffeine in coffee can make us feel more alert, awake and can help us concentrate betterand work faster. Then it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a lot of us are setting our sights in espresso, which looks darker and more full bodied and should therefore have more caffeine, isn’t it ?
Well… Yes and no. While when it comes to “shots”, your average shot of espresso contains more caffeine than your average shot of coffee, when it comes to absolute numbers, espresso is usually diluted with water and loses caffeination when brewed, too.
So, while a double espresso shot (2 oz) has roughly 80 milligrams of caffeine a properly brewed, regular cup of coffee (12 oz) will actually have 120 milligrams of caffeine. All in all, drinking coffee instead of espresso might be more efficient instead !
Making Espresso: Every Tip and Procedure You Need to Know
It’s easy to say that making an espresso is a simple task if you are holding an espresso machine in your hands. As much as we’d love to have one, it’ll be too pricey for many to handle. Nevertheless, making espresso without such is possible, so there’s no need to whine on that pricey machine.
The ideal method to make espresso is through brewing with a French press. Costing only $30 or even less, this can be used to create an espresso through these steps:
*Grind Your Coffee Beans & Boil some Water
*Add the ground coffee to the press then fill it with the boiled water
*Let the Coffee steep and pour your espresso immediately to avoid bitterness.
There are also other methods such as using Moka Pot or Aeropress, which you can also use depending on your preference. In the end, a great espresso doesn’t depend primarily on the machine. If you have freshly ground beans, properly pressured, and brewed with water boiling at the right temperature, you can basically enjoy a great espresso. Now, go and start brewing!
Difference Between Coffee And Espresso?
The difference between espresso and coffee is that espresso is just another way to do coffee. Though it was been shown espresso has more caffeine than the normal coffee you do manually at you house.
But is the way of doing espresso that set them apart.
The espresso like it’s name in Italian indicates is a faster way to do coffee since the one doing it is a machine. This machine pressurize and shoot almost boiling water to ground coffee beans, this all take thirty seconds to be done. Espresso machines can give you different type of coffees since this is only a faster way to do so. That’s why is actually called espresso coffee.
While the coffee is just the liquid that is extracted from the beans, normal coffee takes more time than espresso since it filters the water with the already crushed beans. Some people call this house-made coffee.
Is Espresso Good For Health?
Are you a coffee drinker? Ever wonder if the shot you get from your regular coffee or your more special espresso gives more than the caffeine you crave? Particularly, is espresso good for health? Let’s get some answers to these questions.
I’m sure, we are all aware that espresso gives that energy-boosting caffeine that gives a perfect jump start to anyone’s day. But, it’s not the only actual benefit we can get from it. Experts say that drinking espresso also boosts concentration and improves long term memory. That’s why it aids in making you able to concentrate on your work better especially when you’re feeling slow and exhausted.
Another good benefit of drinking espresso is that it’s full of anti-oxidants. It helps in disease prevention and contains anti-inflammatory and anti- free radical aspects.
What’s more? For those who are watching their weight, espresso boosts physical activity, it’s low in calories, and, more importantly, helps in gaining weight loss.
So, is espresso good for health? Definitely, yes.
Can You Drink Espresso Straight?
A coffee conoisseur is always seeking the best way to maximize and intensify the coffee drinking experience, so it shouldn’t come s a surprise that plenty of coffee fan worry about the most “authentic” or “flavourful” way to drink their preferred brew.
When it comes to espresso it is just the same: some people think it should be taken straight, others think milk only intensifies the flavour and brings forth the depth of espresso…
If we are to be honest with you… there is no “best” or “proper” way to drink espresso, it is a matter of your particular taste or how you enjoy your coffee. However, espresso is the name given to a super concentrated, high pressure brewed coffee so if you add milk, sugar, cream or lemon to espresso it can no longer be called a “espresso”: it will instead be a capuccino, a café con leche, a Cubano… but this is only a matter of semantics ! A “proper espresso” is whichever you like best.
How Many Shots Of Espresso Can Kill You?
Caffeine overdose: most of us treat it as a funny joke, but it is a very real possibility. While a lot of us joke and laugh about “coffee overdose” and how it will be our eventual fate, caffeine overdose could happen to anyone that is not careful about how much caffeine they consume. For the average person with a regular metabolism and a normal caffeine tolerance, it would take 14 shots of espresso to experience a potentially fatal caffeine overdose. However, it could be even less for a smaller person that has a slow metabolism, or for someone that hasn’t eaten a lot in the past 12 hours.
Caffeine overdose is no joke either, and its symptoms are similar to those of septic shock: extreme anxiety, heart palpitations, intense nervousness, hyperventilation, fever, nausea, vomits, cardiac arrest… If serious, it could even leave you in a coma; so please be careful and prudent about how much coffe you consume.
Is Espresso Less Bitter Than Coffee?
Espresso and coffee share many similitudes. In fact, they share so much that a lot of people have trouble distinguishing one from the other.
Coffee and espresso are essentially the same thing but prepared in a different way: for espresso, the coffee beans are ground into much smaller, much finer grounds and over them, we pour much hotter water at higher pressure; which gives espresso its higher caffeine content, darker color, and more deep aroma.
Therefore, we should expect espresso to be much stronger flavored and bitter, isn’t it? Actually, not at all: espresso, when properly brewed, loses much of the acidity and bitterness tannic acid gives to coffee. Properly made espresso will be slightly bitter, yes; but the bitterness won’t be overpowering. It will instead create a flavourful, tasty marriage with the slight acidity of the beans and will leave a full-bodied caramel-like aftertaste that will leave you craving for another cup.
Should Espresso Taste Sour?
Coffee lovers are always on the prowl for new and trendy ways to get their caffeine fix in and few are as efficient and delicious as a couple shots of espresso: this hyper-caffeinated, full bodied, darker type of coffee has as many lovers as it has haters. It might a bit too intimidating for the newbies, however: if it is more concentrated and darker it should also be more sour and bitter, isn’t it ?
Well, not exactly: the way espresso is prepared takes away a lot of the bitterness and acidity that comes with the natural process of brewing the coffee; so while it is somewhat bitter (just like any other brew of coffee !) the bitterness and acidity of espresso is not overpowering.
Instead, the flavour profile is dark yet smooth, with a powerful aroma and a pleasant taste that is not unlike that of caramel… when properly brewed. Unproperly brewed espresso might indeed be bitter and sour, so make sure you follow the instructions when brewing a cup !
Conclusion
In conclusion, espresso is a great coffee that everyone should try in there lifetime. We hope everyone was able to learn something new from this article! If you’re looking for more guides, we have the Vertuoplus vs Evoluo guide, and we also have the Is Coffee Acidic guide!
