Whats the Point of Espresso | 4 Amazing Facts
How about a world without espresso? For sure, you will have all the nuances and fascinating drinks missing from the coffee business. Whats the point of espresso ? There are actually many.
Espresso is a style of coffee preparation and like any other popular brewing style such as drip and pour-over, espresso, too, has a cult status among coffee lovers.
While other types of coffee brewing are more popular with domestic users, espresso has a strong commercial persona. Espresso bars are a common feature in many countries where coffee is popular.
There are good reasons for this. Apart from other greatness of espresso that we will talk about later in this article, it takes very little time, under 30 seconds, to get brewed and it can be presented in a wide variety of concoctions.
What's the point of espresso?
As long as espresso is there, you can believe there are always good things to expect from the world!
Espresso brings the best of what coffee has to offer in terms of taste, texture, and flavor. But that's a subjective take and some coffee lovers may find their filter coffee no less glorious. So, whats the point of espresso?
Espresso has flexibility and variety in the way it can be made it a more palatable drink and has become a very popular type of brew because of the extraction process that can fully capture the texture, aroma and taste. There are different types of espresso coffees such as Doppio, Ristretto, Lungo, and Macchiato.
Similarly, there is a wide array of drinks where the base is espresso shots. These are the popular coffee drinks that you love ordering at your regular coffee shops.
Cappuccino, Affogato, Breve, Mocha, Con Panna, Flat White, Latte are all made with espresso shots mixed with steaming milk, cream, and other ingredients.
You will notice, we have mentioned the most popular drinks from the world of coffee. All of them owe a great deal of their popularity to espresso.
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The way it is prepared!
So, what's so unique and special about espresso? It's unique in the way espresso is prepared. The process involves heated water put through finely ground coffee beans like most other way of brewing coffee.
But here water penetrates the coffee bed at an extremely high pressure. In less than 30 seconds, when using an espresso machine, when this brewing process is complete, you get an espresso shot that combines the best of taste, texture, and flavor that coffee can have.
This coffee concentrate can be converted into popular drinks such as Cappuccino, Breve, Mocha, Latte, and more. Without espresso, you may have none of these drinks.
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Is Espresso stronger than regular coffee?
Espresso is a clear statement that good coffee is not just a strong coffee. There is more to it! It is not exactly stronger that makes espresso taste stand out. It's the taste profile that has differing initial, middle, and finishing notes that make people reach out to their espresso.
It can taste sweet, spicy, fruity, floral, and more. A stronger coffee such as your regular filter coffee may not give such nuanced taste. How is this possible? The secret of espresso's great taste lies in the way it is brewed.
When the hot water interacts with finely ground coffee powder at high pressure, it is able to dissolve and extract the fragrant coffee oils and acids that finally land in your cup in the form of foams and bubbles.
A stronger coffee is the result of heated water interacting for long with coffee powder and bringing the bulk rather than the flavor into your cup. So, espresso can be stronger if you want to use this term, but at the same time, it can be much more than just that.
For espresso more than Arabica, Robusta is used which already has a little bitter taste profile than Arabica. So, even in terms of bitterness, espresso is not shy of any other coffees.
Is Espresso worse for you than coffee?
Espresso is a coffee but not all coffees are espresso and the idea of the espresso is different from normal coffee. It is sipped more for energy and stimulation that come from its unique taste and flavor. That's why it is usually served in smaller cups.
Your ordinary coffee may have sugar and cream and you if you drink it multiple times a day, you end up consuming lots of sugar and cream. This may not be a good thing for your health.
On the other hand, espresso is more of the original black coffee. The cup is small and the distinctive coffee feel is long-lasting. You don't tend to go for too many espressos in a day anyway.
Then, espresso has many health benefits. It tends to strengthen your long-term memory, improves your mood, helps with your diabetes, improves digestion, lowers the risk of stroke, and boosts physical activity.
It's high in antioxidants and low in calories. Espresso drinking is also believed to prevent dementia and Parkinson's disease. So, your espresso is not worse than your coffee.
Is it OK to drink espresso every day?
Can there be a good day without your espresso? If this was a survey question, we know what the overwhelming answer would be! Yes, it is perfectly OK to drink espresso daily but you should not overindulge and drink an espresso every time you want to drink something.
There are some known side effects of drinking too much coffee. In moderation, espresso can offer a number of health benefits, but if you consume it mindlessly, it can become a source of some problems too.
For example, excessive drinking of coffee is linked to insomnia, osteoporosis, liver damage, and high blood pressure. It can also give you a sort of hallucination in which you will hear a noise that does not exist.
Caffeine is believed to be addictive so when you stop drinking your regular espresso you may exhibit withdrawal symptoms.
But all this is when you drink espresso in excessive quantities. If you drink only a couple of cups of espresso in a day, all you can expect is a rush of energy and stimulation that keeps you going through the day's hard work.
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Final Thoughts
Espresso is perhaps the finest brew of coffee and that's exactly why it is there. Whats the point of espresso ? The idea of the espresso is to bring out the best from the coffee beans.
When you have it in your morning cup, you know what magic it does. Espresso taken in moderation has only good things to offer. From boosting your long-term memory to preventing dementia, from preventing cancer and stroke to helping with diabetes and weight loss, it has many benefits.
However, if you consume espresso without any restraint, it may shoot up your blood pressure, make you irritable more easily, and cause you to stay up beyond your bedtime. But a few cups of espresso will do you no harm.
