Coffee Concentrate vs. Espresso: What's the Difference?

If you're a coffee connoisseur, you're no doubt at least familiar with espresso. However, you may not have encountered coffee concentrate or understand exactly what it is. Both come with quite the caffeine kick, but they're quite different otherwise. Here's an overview of the two drinks, including how they're made, how they taste, and how to drink them.

What is Espresso Coffee?

Espresso is a highly concentrated form of coffee made by forcing hot water at high pressure through finely ground coffee beans. It originated in Italy, and the name itself refers to the process of pressing out the coffee's flavor. A typical espresso shot is about one ounce of liquid. Espresso is the base used for a variety of coffee drinks, including cappuccino, caffè latte, and americano. If you've ever wondered, "What color is espresso?" the answer is anywhere from a light golden brown to a deep, almost black.

Espresso vs. Coffee

If you're now asking yourself, "What is the difference between espresso and coffee?" you're not alone. The key difference lies in the brewing method. The espresso-making process results in a drink that's thicker than conventional brewed coffee, as it has a higher concentration of suspended and dissolved solids. Most espresso brews result in an approximate ratio of coffee to water of 1:2. Conventional brewed coffee, meanwhile, has a ratio closer to 1:16. Espresso also contains more caffeine by volume than brewed coffee. If you're wondering how much caffeine is in a shot of espresso, it averages 63mg per ounce.

What is Coffee Concentrate?

Although espresso is a concentrated type of coffee, coffee concentrate is something else entirely. The latter is a brewed type of coffee with a low coffee-to-water ratio. The result is a particularly intense brew. However, coffee concentrate typically has less caffeine than espresso. On average, it will contain around 30mg of caffeine per ounce. Coffee concentrate is often used as a base for cold-brew drinks. However, you can also dilute it to customize the strength and intensity of the resulting drink.

There are generally two ways to make liquid coffee concentrate. The hot brew method is like how you'd make an ordinary cup of coffee. However, it relies on either steam or extremely hot water to produce the concentrate. It results in a slightly acidic, caffeine-rich brew. The cold brew method involves steeping coarsely ground coffee in room-temperature water for up to 24 hours. That produces a mellow, low-acid, slightly sweet brew, like what you'd get from our Classic Cold Drip Concentrate.

Coffee Concentrate's Taste

Like other types of brewed coffee, coffee concentrate comes in a variety of flavors. For example, our Classic Cold Drip Concentrate offers a rich blend with notes of dark chocolate, caramel, and cherry. Meanwhile, our Blue Magic Cold Drip Concentrate offers a lighter taste with hints of orange zest, milk chocolate, and vanilla.

Unlike espresso, however, coffee concentrate isn't typically consumed in its undiluted form. So, not only can you find brews with different flavor profiles, but you can also dilute them to suit your particular taste. They also work well when blended into cocktails, mocktails, smoothies, and more!

Choose Your Ideal Coffee Form

If you're thinking you must choose between espresso and coffee concentrate, why not choose both? Espresso offers a great way to kick-start your day with a fast, caffeine-rich shot. It's also excellent as an after-dinner drink. And you can readily turn coffee concentrate into a variety of drinks to enjoy throughout the day. You can take them to work, to school, or anywhere else where you might need a tasty pick-me-up. So, don't limit yourself to just one or the other. Not when there's more than enough room in your day for both.