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Espesso is here.
No, you're not reading incorrectly and I didn't make a typo. Espesso is a creation of El Bulli chef/alchemist Ferran Adria and it is solid coffee. It is not frozen, but is made by combining "espresso and an ingredient [Lavazza, the company offering the product,] won't divulge, combined in a pressurized canister and left to set for 12 hours." The product is then sprayed out into cups, where it is so thick that it can be turned upside down and needs to be eaten with a spoon, much like a mousse with a strong coffee aroma. It is available in espresso, espresso macchiato and cappuccino flavors and the latter two flavors use milk that is solidified in much the same way.
Espesso was introduced at some locations in Europe in 2002. For the moment, it is available in three Chicago-area coffee shops - the only stores that Lavazza runs in the US - but if it is successful, we could see it spread to other coffee shops around the country.
Update: Dominic Armato, one of our busiest commenters, said that he had a chance to try this already at one of his local coffee shops. He noted that the espresso flavor "was POTENT. It had sort of a dense, wet mousse consistency" and that the macciato version, made with half-milk, half-espresso, was the best of the three espessos he tasted. Take a look at his full report, with great pictures of the product.
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9-13-2006 @2:09PM Miranda said... Keep us updated on how this turns out. I like coffee but this sounds nasty.
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9-13-2006 @4:10PM Robyn said... yeah, sounds like they add some kind of fat thing. gross. it seems like just making espresso-flavored pudding or ice cream or... slush or something would be better. this process sounds creepy.
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9-13-2006 @3:38PM Mike G. said... Oooh... the Lavazza store is down the block from me in Chicago. Gonna go check it out. It may be the closest I ever get to El Bulli.
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9-13-2006 @3:40PM Andrew M. said... There's just something about coffee in non-coffee forms which I find utterly irresistible. Hope this makes it to my neck of the woods.
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9-13-2006 @5:55PM moonablaze said... I find that to be rather frightening.
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9-13-2006 @5:26PM Dmnkly said... I had an appointment this afternoon by one of the Lavazza locations, so I stopped in to give it a try.
It's... interesting :-)
The cappuccino was very much like a coffee mousse, so it didn't seem so unusual, though it had a much stronger flavor than you'd expect from a traditional mousse, I expect because the texture is achieved without an excess of dairy. The espresso version, however, was quite odd. It was POTENT. It had sort of a dense, wet mousse consistency except with no dairy whatsoever, and the flavor was extremely intense. It was overly sweet for my tastes, but they've only been serving it for two days, and I get the impression they're still working out the kinks. The fellow working the counter also gave me a third to try... a cup that was half espresso and half skim milk that had been given the same treatment. Probably my favorite of the three.
It's fun. I support it. I intend to do a full writeup with photos late tonight if anybody's curious to see.
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9-13-2006 @11:30PM rachel said... sounds good. i want to try it. where in chicago? i live in chicago. is it sweet? and cold?
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9-14-2006 @8:30AM JavaMoose said... What I wonder is, if I figured out a way to mfg. my own version and sell in my coffee shop - would LavAzza come after me? Could one patent the idea of an espresso mousse?
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9-14-2006 @2:36PM Dmnkly said... JavaMoose...
My completely uninformed suspicion would be that while the concept of thickened espresso mousse isn't protected, the specific process by which LavAzza's is produced may very well be. In short, if you were to reverse-engineer the stuff using your own process, I can't imagine how that'd get you in trouble.
Post with photos is up, BTW.
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9-16-2006 @10:21AM Chissenefrega said... Hi, i'm Italian, and i smile when i read that Lavazza is trying this kind of "experiments" in other countries... I think that this "Espesso" won't ever be sold in Italy, because we like too much the taste of the original "Espresso", the one with the "R" inside...
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9-16-2006 @10:20PM GL said... It sounds pretty good. I'm usually up for all things coffee, and if the flavor's even more intense than you'd expect from mousse, it sounds perfect. Wish I lived near Chicago - I'd love to try it.
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