Coffee beans VS Espresso beans

psycho supreme

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Jan 6, 2007
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Its seems as if every bag of "espresso beans" that I buy does not state the origin and is always a relatively dark roast (like a vienna or light french roast).

Why is that?

And also, what happens if you do try and pull lighter roasts or single origin coffee beans?
 

CCafe

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Aug 11, 2004
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Espresso tends to be a concoction of beans. Many roasters will not tell you what all is in the espresso because it is their trade secret. Granted even if you knew what was blended together you still wouldn't know amounts to blend. But in there lies the problem, it wouldn't take long to backward engineer their blend.

As for you other question, nothing will happen. You will get lighter pull, it may be more or less in flavor, could be bitter or sour. You will just have to try and see.

Single origin coffee beans will make good espresso too.
 

BaristaTrainer

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Some baristas do experiment with single origin coffee's as espresso. Kyle Larson from Stumptown Coffee Roasters used a 100% Guatemala Finca El Injerto for his espresso in this years USBC. I have sampled different single origin coffees as espresso, and you can really taste the highlights in the coffees. It sort of magnifies the coffees character, which can be good, or not so good. Most espresso blends are a blend of 3-5 beans, and are carefully constructed to provide a balanced overall taste.

NW Java is right, there is no such thing as an "espresso bean" , nor is espresso a level of roast ... it is simply the preparation method.

- Matt
 

davidsbiscotti

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Coffee Bean vs. Espresso?

NW JAVA said:
There is NO difference: espresso is coffee beans, processed via pressure. Coffee the drink is process via no pressure e.g drip.

Is this to say that espresso is coffee, or not? I just brewed some fresh Viennese espresso just as I would have brewed any coffee. Should I not have done that? I thought espresso was just a darker richer type of coffee bean. I'm confused, could you elaborate?
 

ElPugDiablo

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Espresso is a coffee beverage made by using an espresso machine which extract coffee at high temperature and high pressure. You can use any coffee, blend or single origin for espresso, although some are preferable than other, and most are roasted to be suitable for espresso extraction. You can roast bean light or dark for espresso. Below, for your reference, is a picture of an el cheapo espresso machine that is so cheap it only requires a second mortgage. Signs in blood.
mirage_duette_rear.jpg
 

davidsbiscotti

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Yeh, that's a fine looking machine.

When I start a coffee shop, remind me to not offer espresso until I can afford the second mortgage for the machine.

Anyway, I get it now after reading lots of old posts on the subject.

Thanks,
Eddie
 
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