Espresso

Espresso is originally an Italian method. It is drunk worldwide nowadays, both at home and out-of-home.

The term 'espresso' is often used for a type of coffee, but it is actually the term for the brewing procedure. Espresso means coffee that is made at the moment when it is requested and it refers to a quick infusion of water through coffee grounds using either a stovetop or an electrical machine. The difference with other brewing systems is that the water is forced under pressure through finely ground coffee packed tightly over the filter. With an espresso machine a cup of coffee can be ready in around 25 seconds.

Moka express or Neopolitan

In the stovetop version, also called Moka express and sometimes Neopolitan, water in the bottom chamber is heated, the resulting pressure (max. 1.5 bar) forces the water up through a filter containing packed ground coffee, at the end the coffee brew arrives in the upper chamber.

Electrical espresso

The electrical models inject hot water through the ground coffee directly into a cup. In this machine, pressure is built up by a pump in combination with the coffee bed and the sieve and should be at least nine bar. To build up this pressure the grind should be perfect, which not only means very fine but also with a certain particle size distribution. For espresso usually a dark roast is used, which is, however, not essential.

Usually the espresso coffee has a high dry solids content, but really discriminating is the richer flavour and aroma, more body and a pleasant aftertaste and last but not least a beautiful, stable, creamy layer on top.