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7 things you didn’t know about espresso
It might be a familiar part of your life, but how much do you know about your daily espresso? Here are a few little-known facts about this small but mighty drink.
Coffee has over 800 aromatic and flavour compounds, which is where its distinctive complexity comes from.
Crema, the distinctive hazelnut layer on top, is what distinguishes espresso from all other coffees.
The water used makes a big difference to how your espresso tastes. If the mineral content of the water is too high, or if the hardness too great, espresso doesn't extract properly, and will be dull and lifeless.
Intensity of flavour doesn't mean more caffeine. A typical filter coffee probably has more caffeine in it than an espresso due to the amount of coffee to water contact time. Caffeine is water soluble, so more caffeine's extracted the longer the coffee's in contact with water.
There are traditionally 4 m's that are required for making excellent espresso: macinazione (grind); miscela (blend); macchina (machine); mano (barista)
The calling card of a good espresso is when the crema folds back if you cut it with the back of a spoon.
Espresso is 90% water. If that sounds like a lot, filter coffees are 98.5% water, so espresso has 6 times more dissolved solids, hence it's syrupy mouthfeel.
