Espresso Day

20th November 2019

On Saturday 23rd November it is Espresso Day. Espresso is a thick, bold Italian style coffee which is the base ingredient for other popular coffee drinks such as cappuccino, latte and macchiato.

With over 500 billion cups of coffee consumed globally each year, and espresso being a high proportion of these, it’s certainly worth sipping into something special to celebrate!

Espresso Origins

Espresso made its debut in Italy in the early 20th Century – even though coffee was already well established in the country. The Italian Luigi Bezzera is attributed with creating espresso. Luigi was an owner of a manufacturing plant who wanted to speed up coffee production time. He realised that by adding steam pressure to the coffee making process, it produced a stronger and richer cup of coffee.

The machine initially used for this process was called ‘Fast Coffee Machine’. This later became known as espresso – meaning ‘fast’ in Italian.

Espresso Trivia

Some espresso trivia to fill you with beans:

  • Any kind of coffee beans can be used to make espresso, but it’s the preparation of them that makes them into an espresso
  • The optimum brewing time for one shot of espresso is 25-30 seconds
  • An espresso is served at 71 degrees centigrade
  • A 60ml shot of espresso has the same amount of caffeine as a 180ml cup of filter coffee

General Coffee Trivia

  • Coffee is the second most traded commodity on earth. The number one is oil
  • Coffee was the first food to be freeze-dried
  • The majority of coffee is produced in Brazil
  • Coffee is actually a fruit. Coffee beans are the pits of a cherry-like berry that are grown on bushes
  • There have been five attempts to ban coffee throughout history
  • Coffee drinkers have a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease
  • George Washington invented instant coffee

The Pantiles

There are a variety of cafes, eateries, bars and pubs in The Pantiles where you can indulge in a tip top espresso this Espresso Day. From The Pantiles Café to The Tunbridge Wells Hotel and Hattons and to The Cake Shed, achieving your caffeine-fix is a piece of cake! On the subject of cake, why not indulge in a sweet treat too?!

For a full list of coffee venues, click here.

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