Photo By Valeria Aksakova
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Coffee lovers rejoice because November 23 is National Espresso Day! You might wonder what’s the difference between espresso and plain coffee, well, according to professional baristas, it doesn’t really matter what kind of bean you use, or how it’s roasted — it all depends on how the beans are brewed. When pressurized water runs through finely-ground coffee beans, it produces a concentrated brew with a delicate foam containing sugars, caffeine, and oil from the coffee beans, adding a light sweetness that helps balance out the bitterness.
Now, espresso is commonly used as a base in for delicious coffee creations, although some coffee shops still make it available for the customers to order it in a one-shot kind of way, This modern view of the espresso is due to the advent of the espresso machine.
The History
Although coffee was already going big in Italy, espresso made its debut only in the early 20th century. This is through Italy’s Luigi Bezzera, an owner of a manufacturing plant who wanted to speed up the time in making coffee and that he wanted to decrease his employee’s coffee break and increase their productivity, In 1901, Bezzera was able to invent the coffee machine, using steam pressure to force hot water through finely-ground coffee. With the invention, Fast Coffee Machine, coffee was prepared quickly and on-demand and was served with higher caffeine concentration giving it a stronger flavor and body. That coffee was later termed as espresso which means fast in Italian.
However, Bezzera wasn’t as talented at marketing and sales as he was at engineering. A few years later in 1905, Desidero Pavoni purchased the rights to the machine from Bezzera and had it patented. It is due to Pavoni’s marketing genius that espresso grew in popularity. He then began commercially producing and distributing the espresso machine throughout Europe. And then, in the early 1940s, Achille Gaggia created a piston-based espresso machine that improved the taste by eliminating the burnt flavor and giving espresso a thicker consistency. Nowadays, the espresso machine is now available to use in the comfort of your own home.
How to celebrate
What is espresso? Today, espresso is a popular drink in cafés all around the world. Celebrate National Espresso Day by purchasing a cup of espresso at your favorite coffee shop. It’s as simple as dropping by your local caffeinating station, be it a Starbucks, Tim Horton’s, or whatever your local flavor of coffee shop is.
Moreover, celebrating this day with your friends, families, or colleagues will make it more special. Aside from drinks, you can also try something new with espresso-based snacks and desserts!