Espresso Pods

Espresso Pods

The Difference Between Espresso and Regular Coffee

When talking about the difference between espresso and regular coffee, it's important to point out that espresso is coffee. Espresso is made from coffee beans, but it is prepared in a particular way. That being said, in many countries around the world, espresso is simply called coffee; and, in fact, what we call coffee here is known there as "American coffee," and it may or may not even be available for purchase.

In America and Canada, on the other hand, the tables are turned. Espresso refers to coffee that is made by forcing a high pressure shot of hot water through very finely ground coffee. Regular coffee (regular according to North Americans, anyhow) utilizes drip coffee makers. Instead of water being forced through the coffee grinds, drip coffee makers use gravity. Hot water pours through the grinds more casually, creating a much lighter coffee.

Contrastingly, espresso is heavy and intense. Espresso is thicker, stronger, and darker than regular coffee. In spite of this, regular coffee has a higher concentration of caffeine. But perhaps the biggest difference between the two is that espresso is used in a number of specialty coffee drinks.

Espresso is used as an ingredient in drinks such as the Americano, latte, cappuccino, mocha, and macchiato. When making a latte, for instance, a shot of espresso has steamed milk poured over it. A cappuccino is made almost the same way, except that a cappuccino has all of the foam from the steamed milk added (and a latte only adds a bit of the foam, at the end of pouring). The reason espresso is used for so many specialty drinks is because of its concentration; very little espresso is required to flavour a drink.

Making an espresso requires a bit more work than making regular coffee. The coffee grinds need to be tightly, neatly, and evenly packed into a metal filter. And, unlike with drip coffee, the filter is not disposable and it must be cleaned afterward. Also, unfortunately, espresso machines are much more expensive than drip coffee makers; they generally cost a few hundred dollars, if not more.

Drip coffee makers are much cheaper. Additionally, regular coffee can be made in other ways. For example, instant coffee, which replicates the taste of drip coffee, requires only hot water and a spoonful of instant coffee mix (however, instant coffee is not actual coffee, and regular coffee drinkers will taste the difference). Another alternative is single-serve Coffee Pods. Individual Coffee Pods consist of ground coffee inside of a filter; they look very much like a teabag. Coffee pod makers are relatively cheap, and they can make real coffee in under a minute, with minimal mess.

And on the subject of coffee pods, it should be mentioned that espresso coffee pods can also be bought. A more recent invention, they do require a machine built for espresso pods specifically-but they're still one of the more affordable, and easy, ways to make espresso at home.

Besides being available in pod form, another thing espresso and regular coffee have in common is that they can be made from any type of bean; both light and dark roasts are suitable for espresso. Despite this, there is an "espresso roast" that is sometimes sold in America-generally, it's a dark roast. In reality, these beans can be used for drip coffee as well. That's another thing these two coffees have in common: How you drink one is just a matter of preference.

About the Author

Carson Adley is a coffee and tea specialist at Coffee Marvel. We specialize in
coffee pods
and
coffee grinders
. Committed to the environment, we are pleased to offer many environmentally friendly and sustainable products. We offer free shipping on all orders over $50. For more information, please visit our website at
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Rossana Pod espresso machine