Espresso

The third wave is upon us. Not familiar with the third wave? It’s a term food snobs such as myself use to describe the latest wave in coffee innovation in America. The first wave was Folgers and all that crap, the second wave was Starbucks, Pete’s, etc., and the third wave is what we are seeing now, including independent roasters, fair trade beans, pour over drip coffee, latte art and perfect espressos.

Espresso is an interesting thing. In much of the world, if you order a coffee at a cafe or bar, you’ll get an espresso. Most Americans, however, are afraid of the little cup of sweet nectar, with its bold flavor and strange size (isn’t bigger always better in the good old USA?) As someone who drinks almost exclusively espresso, and who really only got into drinking coffee when I discovered the shot, I find it odd that anyone wouldn’t want to drink this stuff. It has so much more flavor than drip coffee.

The idea that coffee is something to be sipped over a long period of time, at a cafe, or while drifting through the morning routine, seems like one of the biggest barriers. Since I never did that, it was easy for me. But Ido see the appeal; it’s almost a romantic idea. Still, the difference in flavor between the two options is more than enough to make up for the loss of this ideal. And Europeans have learned how to linger at a cafe for hours while still drinking espresso!

Others fear the supposed strength of espresso. Did you know that a shot of espresso has less caffeine than the cup you probably drink? It has more per ounce, yes, but considering the volume of liquid consumed, drip coffee has far more (a Starbucks double espresso has 150mg of caffeine, while a Tall brewed coffee has 260mg).

Another misnomer is that espresso is a type of bean or roast. This isn’t true, despite the widely available bean blends named “Espresso”. Espresso is a way of making coffee, so any bean can be used. Like lightly roasted beans? They make an excellent espresso. In fact, I’d argue that those close-to-burnt Italian and French roasted beans make some of the worst espresso, which is in part why so many people don’t like it.

The other problem with espresso is that so few people know how to make it. Chicken or egg, reslly – nobody orders it so nobody perfects it. “you want just a shot?” with.a strange look. Have good coffee, good beans, terrible espresso.

Thankfully that is starting to change.