Thursday, January 28, 2010

What Are Espresso Coffee Cups?

Espresso coffee cups are only sort of coffee cups. They're like a shot glass version of a coffee cup, which does make sense as they are not supposed to be used with coffee, but rather with espresso. Yes, they certainly look like little bitty coffee cups, but it'd be rather frustrating trying to get a caffeine buzz from a cup that was so tiny. After all, the purpose of coffee for most people is to get energized quickly, without sleeping.

Differences Between Espresso Coffee Cups And Other Coffee Cups

Normal coffee cups are obviously much larger than your average espresso coffee cups. Espresso coffee cups don't have any particular standard size, though. Many times, the only way to tell the difference between what a company calls their espresso coffee cups and their latte or cappuccino cups is by looking at labeling. Every one of these various little cups have matching saucers.

Why Espresso Coffee Cups Are So Tiny

The reason that espresso coffee cups are so very small in comparison to normal coffee cups is because the espresso that they are intended to hold is a lot stronger than normal coffee. As a matter of fact, espresso generally has about three times as much caffeine as normal coffee. Since how much caffeine is in any cup of coffee is highly dependent on the bean and the manner of grinding, this is just an estimate. If you try various brands and coffee blends, including espresso, you're sure to get different results from each one.

What People Put In Espresso Cups

Espresso is a type of coffee, but the difference isn't in the bean so much as the preparation. The biggest difference between regular coffee and espresso is density. To make espresso, a machine forces highly pressurized water through very fine coffee grounds, creating a denser, stronger coffee than normal. The result is almost like a coffee syrup and, when you experience it, it becomes very obvious why one would not want to drink a standard coffee cup of the stuff at once.

Are There Espresso One Cup Coffee Makers?

Although there are some facsimiles, one cup coffee makers can't really make true espresso. Espresso requires a lot of water pressure, and a one cup coffee maker isn't really designed for that. An espresso coffee pod will generally fit just fine, it just won't come out quite right. With K-Cups coffee, you can purchase blends that are labeled as espresso and are stronger than most. Although these solutions will produce stronger coffee, they're not really worth getting the espresso coffee cups out since you'll probably still want a regular coffee cup worth of the stuff. ESE coffee pods, ironically, usually don't work all that well with 1 cup coffee makers, preferring espresso machines with adapters instead.