The Basics -
First and foremost, let's give a definition of what an espresso is. My personal definition is "1 to 2 ounces of liquid created by forcing hot water (190-203ยบ F) through a puck of finely ground coffee with great pressure (~9 Bars) over the course of 20-30 seconds." While there is some wiggle room with this definition, I feel it captures the essence relatively well. Basically, the goal of making espresso is making a small cup of coffee quickly, and having said cup highlight and accentuate certain flavors in the coffee. It is strong, yes, but if made properly you can taste espresso that has a flavor you might never associate with coffee. Now that we've covered what espresso is, let's tackle:
What espresso is NOT -
Tons of people think they know espresso, and most of them have no idea what they are talking about. Here are a few things that you should dedicate to memory -
1) "eXpresso"
This is not a word. It has never been a word. It is also not a beverage or component of any beverage ever! Please strike it from your vocabulary.
2) A roast style.
Some people think that "espresso" means really dark roasted coffee. This misconception at least has some logic behind it. Back in the first boom of specialty coffee in the U.S., people were roasting their coffee darker, especially for their espresso blends. Secondly, the most commonly consumed espresso in the U.S., that of Starbucks, is not only roasted very dark, but they identify their espresso blend as "Espresso Roast." They then put this on the shelf next to their reasonably named Italian and French Roast which most would consider to be indications of roast style. It is not hard to see where the concept came from.
The problem with this however is that not all espresso is roasted to that degree. In fact, many people (myself included) enjoy espresso roasted much, much lighter. So when you try to say something is roasted like espresso, you are covering a huge spectrum of what an ideal espresso roast is to a great number of people. In the end, it is also just easier to not use this term than to try and force a meaning on it.
3) A type of coffee bean.
There are two types of coffee, arabica and robusta. From here, coffees have a varietal such as bourbon, geisha, typica, etc. From there the coffee is shaped by its place of origin, the soil it is grown in, what is grown around it, and its elevation. Nowhere on this earth is there a varietal called "espresso." There is no "espresso" region in Africa, the Americas, or Asia. There is no such thing as an "espresso" bean. Any coffee can be used in the creation of an espresso blend, and any coffee can be used on its own to make espresso. There are varying degrees of success depending on what you use, but regardless there is not only one bean that creates espresso.
4) A caffeine bomb*
People have it in their heads that espresso is laden with caffeine. In some ways they are right. Espresso has a high caffeine amount for a beverage of its volume. However, I have heard many times, "Oh, I stick to my normal coffee. I couldn't take all of that caffeine from espresso!" Well, that is just silly. The average American drinks at least 12 ounces of coffee every morning. A 12 ounce cup of coffee yields somewhere between ~97 to ~180 mg of caffeine depending on type of coffee, roast, brew method. A single shot (~1 oz.) of espresso yields ~30 to ~50 mg of caffeine. Ergo, to get the same amount of caffeine from espresso as you would from your normal morning coffee, you would have to have three shots of espresso, and even then in some instances your morning drip could contain more caffeine.
Hopefully this has cleared up some misconceptions for you. As always, feedback is appreciated, thanks for reading!
*The statistics I quote here come from CoffeeChemistry.com, which is ran by the Director of Science at the SCAA.
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