Is Black Coffee Stronger Than Espresso | 4 Bizarre Facts
So, is black coffee stronger than espresso, a question that most of us are pondering about? Black coffee, French press, pour-over, and espresso are just a few of the types of coffee and brewing methods that are often some of the options most of us go for!
But what is really stronger? Is it black coffee or is it that wonderful aromatic flavorful shot of caffeine served up in some of the smallest cups you can find.
Black coffee and espresso coffee are altogether different from each other and that is why they have different levels of strength.
The information we are providing in this brief article will help you to know is black coffee stronger than espresso more precisely.
Is Black Coffee Stronger Than Espresso?
No, black coffee is not stronger than espresso due to various reasons. Black coffee is the liquid extracted directly from coffee beans by pouring hot water on them.
On the other hand, espresso is a kind of process for making a particular type of coffee by using a machine to shoot boiling hot water on finely ground coffee beans.
It makes espresso stronger than regularly brewed coffee as more surface area of coffee beans is exposed to hot water while making this coffee.
Actually, different types of methods are used to prepare different types of coffee like pour-over coffee, French press coffee, espresso coffee, or stovetop percolator coffee, etc.
So, espresso is a process of coffee preparation but all types of coffee preparations are not espresso.
Furthermore, espresso is not the name of coffee beans of a different type. It is a specific extraction method and process used for brewing coffee beans to make a cup of espresso coffee.
You can increase the strength of your espresso coffee by using coffee beans with extra caffeine.
Time taken to prepare coffee
Another thing that makes espresso coffee stronger than black coffee is the methods to prepare them. It takes time to brew black coffee with methods such as pour-over coffee or the french press as the process of brewing ground coffee requires you to typically steep or bloom the coffee in order to make a fresh cup.
It may take several minutes to get a cup of fresh black coffee as it works on gravity.
On the other hand, a cup of fresh espresso coffee can be prepared with the help of an espresso machine that shoots almost boiling water with pressure on the finely ground beans of coffee.
It gives you a cup of aromatic, caffeinated coffee within a few seconds. It can extract more caffeine from the grounds as more surface area of coffee beans will be exposed to the hot water.
Is Black Coffee The Same As Espresso?
Although both black in color, black coffee is not the same as espresso for the following reasons. Like we mentioned before, black coffee is extracted directly by pouring hot water on the ground coffee beans and filtering it. It works on gravity to allow the hot water to go through the coffee beans.
You can use French Press or Moka pot or a good coffee maker machine to prepare black coffee by using a negligible amount of pressure on water to pass through the ground beans of coffee.
A cup of espresso coffee can be prepared with the help of a machine and the hot water is poured on finely ground beans of coffee with pressure. The pressure used in making espresso coffee also extracts oils from coffee beans along with flavor and caffeine from them and gives it a creamy texture.
Size of granules of coffee bean grounds
Another thing that makes black coffee different from espresso is the size of the granules of ground coffee beans. While brewing black coffee, coarsely ground coffee beans are used to balance the waste of coffee particles and flavors released.
On the other hand, finely ground beans of coffee are used while brewing coffee by using an espresso machine. The quality of espresso depends upon how well it has been extracted from the finely ground beans of coffee.
This process can brew coffee more efficiently even with short time infusion with hot water as more surface area of coffee beans is exposed to hot water when it is ground finely.
Is Having Espresso Everyday Bad?
There are many health benefits associated with having espresso, however having espresso everyday is not necessarily a bad thing for your diet. Actually, like black coffee, espresso offers several benefits for your health than drawbacks.
Health benefits of espresso
- Basically, a cup of espresso offers coffee low in calories and high in antioxidants which makes it more beneficial for your health.
- Moreover, a long run use of espresso shows positive effects on your concentration, mood, and memory.
- It has also been revealed through various studies that the risk of diabetes type2 and stroke reduces by drinking espresso regularly.
- It can also help in improving your performance during workout sessions.
So it can be said that it is safe to drink espresso every day as it is not going to make any harm to your health. But the presence of caffeine is the biggest drawback for consuming espresso daily.
Though caffeine can improve the level of your energy still you should drink a limited amount of espresso coffee.
Is Espresso Just Really Strong Coffee?
Yes, espresso is really a strong coffee than regular coffee because of its high concentration. The taste of espresso can be bitterer than brewed coffee but its taste is controlled without affecting its strength by roasting the coffee beans before grinding them.
Coffee beans are roasted at different temperatures to provide you light roasted, medium roasted, and dark roasted coffee beans by different brands.
Generally speaking, it is presumed that espresso will have more flavors if more roasted coffee beans are used. You can certainly get a cup of strong espresso coffee than regularly brewed coffee by using different types of roasted coffee beans.
An espresso made from the grounds of dark roasted beans will be the strongest one.
Related Article: How to Make Black Coffee at Home
Final Thoughts
So, is black coffee stronger than espresso? We'll as you discovered in this article espresso is actually much more stronger than regularly brewed coffee and it boils down to the concentration of caffeine within it.
An espresso usually tastes bitterer than black coffee because it extracts more coffee from finely ground particles of coffee beans as it exposes more surface area of coffee beans to the hot water shot provided by the espresso machine.
However, the bitter taste of espresso does not imply that it contains more caffeine than black coffee. It is a wrong myth that coffee gets bitter due to more amount of caffeine in it.
The taste of dark roasted coffee will be bitterer than light or medium roasted coffee. The level of caffeine reduces by roasting the coffee beans for a longer time.
So, in our opinion, it is safe to drink espresso coffee by using grounds of dark roasted coffee beans as they have less caffeine.
