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Home espresso equipment is exploding onto the home gadget market in ever skyrocketing numbers and designs with ever more affordable prices, but what is the true definition and roots of espresso coffee and what are the crucial factors in a great home espresso ?

Cafe espresso or simply, espresso, as it is now commonly known, is a concentrated coffee libation brewed by forcing hot water under pressure thru finely ground coffee beans.

The term cafe-espress was first coined in the late 1880s, long before espresso machines were invented and simply means coffee made to order, expressly for the person ordering it.

The earliest espresso coffee machines were unveiled in the early 20th Century, and the original patent being filed by Luigi Bezzera of Milan, Italy, in 1901. However this early equipment used steam pressure not hot water to brew the espresso and it was not until the mid-1940s, when the design was updated to a piston lever home espresso machine.

Due to the pressurized water used in the brewing process, the flavors in a quality espresso become highly concentrated. This is why espresso is used as a base for other coffee beverages, e.g. mocha and macchiato, latte and cappuccino.

The main differences between a great espresso and either drip or coffee from other brewing processes are a thicker consistency, more dissolved solids and crema, a red or brown foam that floats on the top of the coffee which is a mixture of vegetable oils, proteins and sugars.

While it clearly depends on the particular coffee beans used and the maker or barista, as a rule of thumb there is usually 2 to three times the amount of caffeine in an espresso than in the same volume of drip brewed coffee. The expert operator of an espresso machine is a barista, the Italian word for a barkeeper.

Home espresso coffee machines have risen in popularity with the general rise of interest in espresso, mainly since the 1990’s and the explosion in the number of coffee houses and chains on every street.

We are currently experiencing a new wave of creativity as the electronics industry turns it’s attentions to home espresso machines and we will now find a large range of espresso equipment in expert kitchen and appliance stores, online vendors and shops.

Many are fully automatic, push button home espresso machines which can both grind and make a fresh cup with just one touch. They should make a better espresso than untrained folks, but generally not as good as the top trained baristas.

It could be that the success of the large coffee chains in educating the masses in the joys of espresso will be their downfall as more people now enjoy their espresso at home.