(okay, I realize “joe” doesn’t usually refer to espresso, but I couldn’t resist this. Saint Joe by Ken Brown.)
Here are some interesting facts about espresso.
Which has more caffeine, espresso or coffee?
Ounce by prepared ounce, espresso has more. The Mayo Clinic says that 1 ounce of espresso has 64 grams of caffeine, while an 8-ounce cup of coffee has 95. A single shot of espresso typically has 1.5 ounces. Therefore, your single espresso drink may have slightly more caffeine than coffee, while a double-shot drink will have significantly more.
Espresso can be made with any kind of bean. In Italy it is typically made with a lighter-roast bean than in North America—especially the West Coast. The darker-roasted beans often used in, say, California, typically have a lower caffeine content than lighter roasts. This may be one reason for a belief that espresso has less caffeine than coffee.
There is technically no such thing as an “espresso bean.” This name is often used for marketing purposes to refer to a dark-roasted coffee bean, sometimes covered with chocolate! Again, the beverage can be made with any kind of bean.
An Italian businessman invented the first espresso machine in 1901, thinking that a faster way of making coffee would increase his workers’ productivity.
At about the same time, an American Admiral named Josephus Daniels was Secretary of the U.S. Navy. He banned the consumption of alcohol on board all American ships. A “cup of Joe,” became the favorite ship-board beverage. (Once again, this probably doesn’t really go with a post about espresso, but I need to justify my inclusion of the image on top of the post. That’s the beauty of having your own blog. You can be illogical, and—Hey? What’s anyone going to do about it? Fire the writer?)
One more factoid about espresso. This doo-dad, called a Moka, does not make “real espresso” because it doesn’t achieve the necessary pressure for producing it. Lots of people use these pots for a home-brewed, espresso-like beverage.
I am not one of them. I’m a coffee luddite who does not care for espresso or espresso-like beverages. I prefer hot, coffee-flavored milk with sugar. For you aficianado/as, please visit my friend Lola at Aglio, Olio and Peperoncino. From her blog-quarters in Rome, Lola has written extensively on the real deal.
