"expresso" news and stories

I love most kinds of coffee and I love espresso. There is one misconception about it - whether you like the taste or not - that bugs me. It has to do with the caffeine content and I know otherwise sane adults who shudder at the very thought of having an espresso-based drink while happily downing cups of regular brew. They think that the strong flavor of espresso directly correlates with an exponentially high caffeine content.

Espresso has plenty of caffeine in it and, ounce for ounce, it has more caffeine in it than drip coffee. Here's the thing: one serving of espresso is 1-2 ounces, while a serving of drip coffee ranges from 6-12 ounces. To approximate, as the exact brewing method and quantity of beans used can affect caffeine content, one serving of drip coffee will have 100-200mg of caffeine (17mg/oz). A serving of espresso, which we'll say is 1.5 ounces here, has approximately 50 mg of caffeine (30mg/oz). So, if you only drink one ounce of coffee, you would get less caffeine than with one ounce of espresso. Otherwise, it is likely that you are drinking both more coffee and more caffeine with a regular drip than with a drink that uses one or two shots of espresso, like a latte.

The moral of this story? If you're that concerned with caffeine, order the smallest available size of a drink or ask for decaf. Otherwise, you can relax and enjoy your latte without having to worry that you'll be kept up for the next week.

[Photo by Nicole Weston]

The Slate wonders why the best cappuccino you can get is not on the menu board at Starbucks. Their reasoning follows economic lines and boils down to a fairly old business premise: charge whatever people are willing to pay and don't give them a cheaper option, lest they be inclined to take it. This is sound business advice and surely part of the marketing strategy of Starbucks. But there is another reason that they don't offer a short, 8-ounce cappuccino on their menu board: a lot of Starbucks customers don't know what a cappuccino is.

Based on my own personal experience, combined with the input of several friends who are currently or have been baristas, there are many, many people who order "no-foam cappuccinos" at Starbucks. A cappuccino is espresso with foamy, steamed milk topping it off. It should have equal parts coffee, milk and foam. Eliminating the foam and demanding that it be filled with milk instead (because the inevitably irate customer is "getting ripped off!" by the lack of milk) makes the drink a latte. I wouldn't be surprised if, at least in some small way, Starbucks simply wanted to avoid the hassle of having yet another size to argue over. This really only applies to the cappuccino issue, of course. People will argue over any size, regardless of how small or large it is.

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