![]() They block receptors in the mouth for bitterness. The extracted coffee oils also have another benefit. In addition, the extraction of oils from the coffee-high-quality arabica coffee beans used in espresso contain up to 18 percent oil-creates an emulsion not unlike mayonnaise. You won't see an artificial espresso flavor as an ingredient, for example, merely espresso extract. This is more than three times what can be discerned in wine, says Illy.Īccording to Kenneth Davids, author of Espresso, Ultimate Coffee ( see story, page 143), espresso is such a complex beverage it has yet to be fully duplicated in the laboratory. ![]() Add what the tongue can decipher (albeit a very finely tuned tongue), and the component number jumps to 1,500 or more. These finely dispersed particles-called colloids-as small as one to three microns, contribute more than 700 different components to espresso. When brewed properly, it's an enormously complex beverage, what Illy calls multiphasic, meaning it is not just a liquid obtained from grounds, but minuscule solids and gases trapped in liquid. Simply put, espresso is coffee brewed one cup at a time by quickly forcing hot water under pressure through finely ground, densely packed, dark-roasted beans. If you thought espresso was just strong coffee, think again. And a study done early last year by the National Coffee Association showed that the rise in specialty coffees has reversed a 30-year decline in general consumption by pushing up overall per capita daily consumption to 1.87 cups. Indeed, while overall daily per capita coffee consumption decreased from 2.68 cups in 1969 to 1.75 cups in 1989, specialty coffees (the kind of high-quality coffee used in espresso) increased in sales from $44 million in 1969 to $1.5 billion in 1989, with projected sales of $3 billion by 1999, according to the Specialty Coffee Association of America. The main thing is that mediocre coffee is losing ground, and espresso is going up." "We have to follow consumers, not give them orders. Purists like Patrick Main, coffee-bar quality manager for Peet's Coffee & Tea, the legendary Bay Area coffee company, fervently hopes that cappuccino and latte drinkers will gravitate to "the real thing," much like white Zinfandel drinkers move up to Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon. It also acts as a coffee-and-espresso consultant to Au Bon Pain, the rapidly expanding bakery chain. Boston-based Coffee Connection has 21 outlets and plans a half dozen more this year. ![]() Starbucks, the Seattle espresso-café juggernaut, recorded 265 outlets at the end of last year and hopes to open an additional 152 this year alone, according to Laura Moix, a spokeswoman for the company. Now, the java flood is spreading to other cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston, and lately, even New York has gotten on the espresso-bar bandwagon. It's a circuitous route through a milky haze of espresso drinks like cappuccino and caffè latte, but the espresso craze is taking hold.Įspresso drinks with all their endless permutations-decaffeinated coffee, skim milk, extra foam, a spritz of syrup-have been the rage in coffee meccas like Seattle and the San Francisco Bay Area for several years. The United States isn't yet an espresso-drinking country the way Illy hopes it will be, but Americans are getting there. Having espresso with Illy is as if, after drinking wine coolers for a generation, you are sitting across from Robert Mondavi, who says, "OK, you want to drink real wine? Here's a glass of Opus One." President of the eponymous Illycafe, Illy is one of the most knowledgeable coffee experts in the world.Įven after two decades of countless cappuccinos and caffè lattes, not to mention numerous straight espressos, this espresso seems an altogether different drink-a thick, frothy head, or crema, a rich and immensely satisfying flavor and a surprisingly long finish. Sipping espresso with Ernesto Illy of Trieste, Italy, is like tasting espresso for the first time.
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