Home espresso equipment is exploding onto the home appliance scene in ever increasing numbers and designs with ever decreasing prices, but what's the true description and roots of espresso coffee and what are the important factors in a perfect home espresso ?

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

The term cafe-espress was first used in the 1880s, well before espresso machines were invented and simply means coffee custom made, 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.

Thanks to the pressurised water involved in the brewing process, the flavours and chemicals in a good espresso become extremely concentrated. Because of this, espresso is employed as a base for other coffees like latte, cappuccino, mocha and macchiato.

The significant differences between a great espresso and drip coffee are a thicker consistency, more dissolved solids and crema, a brownish foam that sits on the surface of the coffee which is a mixture of vegetable oils, proteins and sugars.

Even though it clearly relies on the individual coffee beans used and the maker or barista, as a rough guide there is customarily two to three times the quantity of caffeine in an espresso than in the same amount of drip brewed coffee. An expert operator of an espresso machine is a barista, the Italian word for a barman.

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.

Maybe the success of the larger coffee houses in teaching the masses the joys of espresso will become their undoing as more and more people now enjoy their espresso at home.