Cocktails with Espresso coffee
Espresso is a concentrated coffee shot brewed by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground coffee.
Substitutes for Espresso coffee
Cold brew is smoother, less acidic and will not foam the same way. Strong filter coffee covers the flavor at lower intensity and needs more volume. Instant dissolved in a little hot water is the emergency answer and is better than stale espresso.
Often confused with
Cold brew
Steeped cold for hours: rounder, less acidic and without crema. It suits a batched drink and makes a flatter Espresso Martini.
Coffee liqueur
Sweetened, alcoholic and much weaker in coffee; most espresso drinks want both, and neither replaces the other.
Storage
There is no storing it. Espresso is stale within minutes, bitter within an hour, and a batch made at the start of service is the usual reason an Espresso Martini tastes ashy. If volume demands it, cold brew is the honest substitute.
