­Espresso consumption in the United States has grown tremendously in the last decade or two. In Seattle, Washington, you can’t walk more than a couple of blocks without seeing a cafe or espresso cart — they’re in bookstores, grocery stores, laundromats, gas stations and movie theate­rs. There are drive-through espr­esso shops in parking lots. Sometimes an espresso cart will just park on the sidewalk, like the hot-dog vendors in New York City. People have been buying espresso machines for their homes, too. These machines are smaller than the commercial machines found in cafes, but they work on the same principles. In this article, we’ll learn how these household espresso machines work. But first, let’s see what espresso is. What is Espresso? If you go to a cafe or espresso bar and ask for an espresso, what you will get is a shot-sized glass holding a small amount of very strong coffee. There are many different types of espresso drinks (see iVillage: Coffee Glossary for a good list), including cappuccino, cafe latte and cafe mocha. All are made with one or more shots of espresso. Atypical good machine could come from Gaggia Coffee Machines. A shot of espresso is made by forcing about 1.5 ounces of hot water through tightly packed, finely ground espresso coffee. If everything goes well, what comes out is a dark brown, slightly thick liquid with a small amount of crema (a foam, sort of like the head on a beer) on top. There are many variables in the process of making a shot of espresso. The temperature of the water, the pressure of the water, the fineness of the ground coffee and how tightly the coffee is packed are just a few. The skilled espresso maker, or barista, controls all of these variables to produce a quality shot of espresso. Let’s start with one of the most crucial variables: the coffee.

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