Coffee at Home
Home Espresso Coffee Makers are exploding onto the home gadget scene in ever increasing numbers and designs with ever decreasing prices, but what is the true description and roots of Espresso Coffee and what are the crucial factors in a great home espresso ?
Cafe espresso or just, espresso, as it is now commonly known, is a concentrated coffee drink brewed by causing Hot Water under pressure through finely ground Coffee Beans.
The term cafe-espress was first used in the 1880s, long before Espresso Coffee Makers were invented and basically means coffee custom made, expressly for the person ordering it.
The first Espresso Coffee Makers were showcased in the early 20th Century, and the first patent being filed by Luigi Bezzera of Milan, Italy, in 1901. However these original machines used steam pressure not water to brew the coffee and it wasn't until the mid-1940s, that the design was changed to the piston lever home Espresso Machine.
The important differences between a good espresso and either drip or coffee from other brewing processes are a thicker consistency, more dissolved solids and crema, a brownish froth that floats on the surface of the coffee which is a mix of plant oils, proteins and sugars.
Due to the pressurized water involved in the brewing process, the flavours and chemicals in a good espresso become very concentrated. For that reason, espresso is employed as a base for other coffees, such as latte, cappuccino, mocha and macchiato.
Although it obviously depends on the individual coffee beans brewed and the maker or barista, as a rough guide there's customarily two to three times the quantity of caffeine in an espresso than in the same volume of drip brewed coffee. An expert operator of an Espresso Coffee Makers is a barista, the Italian word for a barkeeper.
Home Espresso Coffee Makers have increased in popularity with the general rise of interest in espresso, largely since the 1990's and the big upsurge in the number of coffee houses and chains on every street.
We are at present experiencing a new wave of creativity as the electronics industry turns it's attentions to home Espresso Machines and we will now find a large range of Espresso Coffee Makers in specialist kitchen and appliance stores, online sellers and department stores.
Many are Fully Automatic, push button home Espresso Coffee Makers which both grind and make a fresh cup with only one touch. They sometimes make a better espresso than badly trained folks, but not as good as the best trained baristas.
Will this new wave of home Espresso Coffee Makers redefine what we call an espresso? It definitely could and that would not be such a bad thing.