Espresso - Etymology and Usage of The Term

Etymology and Usage of The Term

The origin of the term "espresso" is the subject of considerable debate. Although some Anglo-American dictionaries simply refer to "pressed-out", "espresso," much like the English word "express", conveys the senses of "just for you" and "quickly," which can be related to the method of espresso preparation.

The words express, expres and espresso each have several meanings in English, French and Italian. The first meaning is to do with the idea of "expressing" or squeezing the flavour from the coffee using the pressure of the steam. The second meaning is to do with speed, as in a train. Finally there is the notion of doing something "expressly" for a person ... The first Bezzera and Pavoni espresso machines in 1906 took 45 seconds to make a cup of coffee, one at a time, expressly for you.

The spelling espresso is widely considered correct while expresso appears as a less common variant. Italy uses the term espresso, substituting most x letters in Latin root words with s; x is not considered part of the standard Italian alphabet. Italian people commonly refer to it simply as caffè (coffee), espresso being the ordinary coffee to order; in Spain, while café expreso is seen as the more "formal" denomination, café solo (alone, without milk) is the usual way to ask for it when at an espresso bar.

In Slovakia and Czechia, espresso is commonly referred to as preso, and is served with milk (either 10%-fat "coffee cream" packaged in small plastic cups, or milk in a tiny bucket in better cafés) on the side by default. Espresso lungo is also still more common than normale (usually referred to as piccolo), let alone ristretto. This is referred to as "presso with milk" (preso s mliekom in Slovak, preso s mlékem in Czech). The practice is slowly changing (especially under the influence of specialty coffee shops and international coffee chains).

Modern espresso, using hot water under pressure, as pioneered by Gaggia in the 1940s, was originally called crema caffè, in English "cream coffee", as can be seen on old Gaggia machines, due to the crema. This term is no longer used, though crema caffè and variants (caffè crema, café crema) find occasional use in branding.