Luxury or Economy?

Happy Father's Day to all the dads, and boy do I have something special for you today! If there's one thing dads like, it's a good bargain. What dad doesn't want to save a little money? I know I do. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm one of the cheapest guys around, so take it from me--I would not be encouraging you to be lovers of espresso and espresso-based drinks if there wasn't a cost-effective way to do it. So how do we enjoy a luxury such as fine espresso in a cost-effective manner?
By far the most economical way to enjoy espresso and espresso-based drinks is to make it and drink it at home. A quick calculation reveals that a $3 latte purchased daily outside the home five days per week will cost you $60/month or $720/year to consume. That's a fairly conservative estimate. If you buy yourself a machine (a company like Nespresso makes a very easy-to-use, automatic machine) for $300 and make espresso in your home for $.70/day, your yearly total is $482, and that's just the first year including the price of the machine. Your second year of drinking espresso at home costs only $182. So it's clear that doing it yourself is the way to go for cost, but wait there's more! Then there's the benefit of dazzling your friends with a beautifully frothed cappuccino served in your living room. Imagine the glory, the prestige, the elegance. You: "Can I interest you in a cappuccino or perhaps a macchiato?" Your guest: "I would love a cappuccino...(pause)...would you like to have our season tickets to (insert favorite sports team or performance space). That's a just a small example of the power of fine coffee. Try it for yourself. You won't be disappointed. So this is my gift to you dads of the world--I offer you the possibility of remaining true to your penny-pinching principles without sacrificing your classy self. You CAN have it both ways. Tightwad and Man of the World. The world is your oyster. Slurp it up.

What Jimmy Says About Coffee

I don't need you to tell me how f------ good my coffee is. I'm the one who buys it--I know how good it is. When Bonnie goes shopping, she buys s---. I buy the gourmet expensive stuff, 'cause when I drink it, I wanna taste it.

-Jimmy

Coffee Consumption Worldwide

Per capita, the greatest coffee drinkers in the world are from Finland and Sweden; however, the United States imports/consumes more coffee than any other country--24 million bags (60 kg) per year. That's a lot of espresso, or is it? It's actually not. Here in the States, we drink mostly drip coffee, often in very large cups and with milk or cream and sugar. We don't really have espresso culture here the way they do in, say, Italy, France or Spain where drinkers consume espresso shots (at an espresso bar or at home) straight without any kind of dairy product and perhaps even without sugar. In recent years, coffee habits have begun to change in the United States, as the rise of Starbucks has done much to introduce Americans to espresso and espresso-based drinks. Nonetheless, drip coffee is still king here at home.

What is crema?

In very simple language, the crema is the foam that sits on the top of your espresso shot. At coffeegeek.com, James Hoffmann has given us a very detailed and scientific description of crema, which I highly recommend. For our purposes here, I will just say that you can not have a good espresso without a thick, full crema, just like you can't have a good pint of Guinness without a thick, full head. If your Guinness has no head, then there's something wrong with it--maybe it's been sitting around for a while and went flat, for example. I know I've had a good shot of espresso when, after I've finished my espresso, there's still a coating of crema at the bottom of my cup, and because the shot was so delicious, I find a small spoon, and I scoop up the remaining crema. If you're a cappuccino drinker, you understand the desire to spoon out the frothy milk still sticking to the sides and bottom of your cup, even after the liquid portion of your beverage has been consumed. Sometimes, you try to pour out that sticky froth by turning your cup upside down over your upturned mouth, but you're denied--it just won't pour. You need a spoon. It's the same with good crema--it just won't pour because it's so thick and sticky...and delicious.

Espresso at Home

The following statements come from Wikipedia. As a coffee specialist, I stand by their accuracy, and since they were well written, I see no need to add anything further to them.

Espresso is not a specific bean or roast level but rather a method of making coffee. Any bean or roasting level can be used to produce authentic espresso. A darker or lighter roast will translate into a bitter or acid flavor respectively. Mixtures where there are several roast levels are common.


In Italy, the birth country of espresso, roast levels can vary quite a bit. In Southern Italy, a darker roast is often preferred, but the farther north one goes in the country, the trend moves towards lighter roasts.

Preparation of espresso requires an espresso machine. The act of producing a shot of espresso is often termed "pulling" a shot, originating from lever espresso machines which require pulling down a handle attached to a spring-loaded piston, forcing hot water through the coffee at high pressure. Today, however, it is more common for the pressure to be generated by steam or a pump.


This process produces an almost syrupy beverage by extracting and emulsifying the oils in the ground coffee.

The first espresso machines were introduced at the beginning of the 20th Century, with the first patent being filed by Luigi Bezzera of Milan, Italy, in 1901. Up until the mid-1940s, when the piston lever espresso machine was introduced, it was produced solely with steam pressure.

Initially espresso machines were not available for home use (1948–1970s), domestic machines only developing in the 1970s, and remaining expensive, bulky, and requiring skill to operate. In recent years the development of easy-to-use home espresso makers based on coffee pods has increased the quantity of espresso consumed at home.

Caffeine

A shot of espresso, roughly 40 millileters or 1.35 ounces, contains about as much caffeine as half a cup of drip brewed coffee (anywhere from 40-60 milligrams of caffeine).
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