The Difference Between Espresso & Coffee Beans

Photo by Zarak Khan

One of the most asked questions we receive about coffee is the difference between coffee and espresso beans?  A valid question for sure, yet the answer may not be as exciting as much as you think.  Let's start with the beans. 

Commonly, coffee roasters will use specific beans for espresso and others for drip, pour-over, or pods.  This is partly because roasters can consistently extract the flavors and the characteristics they want for their blend.  This makes sense, especially if that cafe or coffee roaster has a signature blend they are best known for.  That said, they technically are the same beans.  The difference is in the roasting process.  Espresso beans tend to be a medium or darker roast because the beans become more porous during the roasting process, allowing flavors to be more easily extracted during the quick process of an espresso pull.   The darker roasts allow for the formation of what we all know and love: crema.     

​So being the coffee lovers or caffiends you are, you now know the difference between the two, or more how similar they are.