What Is Espresso?

To answer the question, it is a concentrated coffee beverage that is brewed by forcing extremely hot water (but not boiling) under very high pressure through finely ground coffee beans. The coffee is ground so small, it's almost a powder. It was invented in 1843 by Edward Loysel de Santais and premiered at the Paris Exposition of 1855.

People in Milan, Italy perfected espresso in the early 1900s. That said, it was made with steam pressure until the mid 1940s. When the spring piston lever machine was invented, commercial success was huge as it pertained to espresso machines. The same type of spring piston lever that was used in the late 1940s to make espresso is the same one that is used today.

There are several differences between espresso and coffee. For example, espresso is thicker. Also, there are more dissolved solids in espresso than there are in coffee. Furthermore, a standard cup of coffee is 8 fluid ounces while a standard cup of espresso is just one ounce.

Espresso is a chemically complex fluid and is comprised of three different parts: the body, the heart and the crema. The latter is the most distinguishing characteristic of espresso, and is a reddish brown foam that floats on top. Made out of proteins, sugars and vegetable oils, crema has elements of foam colloid and emulsion.

Essentially, espresso is a more concentrated form of coffee. The flavors are stronger than coffee because of the finely grated beans and the high pressure used during brewing. Because it is so intense and concentrated, it mixes well with other liquids to form different coffee based drinks.

When mixed with milk, hot water, sugar or chocolate, you can turn espresso into lattes, mochas, cappuccini and macchiati. It turns out, the question of "what is espresso?" is one that takes a longer amount of time than expected to answer.

What is Cappuccino?

Many people confuse this coffee drink with a caffe latte, another form of Italian coffee found at most coffee houses in America. The main difference between the two is that a caffe latte has twice the amount of milk (usually whole milk, but one can order it with 2 percent or even skim) and no milk foam.

The milk foam that floats on top of a cappuccino is what distinguishes it from most other coffee drinks, in fact. Served traditionally in a porcelain cup, the foam acts as an insulator and keeps the drink hotter longer. Additionally, the porcelain acts as another heat retainer. Paper and glass cups tend to allow the heat to seep out faster.

A cappuccino starts out with a shot of espresso. The barista then steams the milk, which is the second most important ingredient. If the texture and temperature of the milk is wrong, the drink won't be as good as it should be.

When the milk is properly steamed, it will be velvety and sweet. The barista will then float one centimeter of the foamed milk on top of the espresso. If one prefers their cappuccino to have more or less milk, the order would be for a wet or dry cappuccino, respectively.

Until the mid 1990s, Americans didn't really enjoy cappuccino. Whether it was because people didn't know what the drink was or because it wasn't quite cool enough to drink isn't known. However, when upscale coffee houses started sprouting up en masse, more and more people began ordering the beverage.

Traditionally, cappuccinos in Italy are served with breakfast. Typically speaking, Italians exclusively drink them in the morning, although in other countries it is customary to drink them after dinner. Hopefully, now that you've learned the question to "what is cappuccino", you'll be able to impress your friends with the new found knowledge.