The Chicago Sun-Times reported today that that mad alchemist of the culinary world, Ferran Adria, has made an, um, improvement on the traditional espresso. Adria’s new coffee thingy is known as espesso (note the missing “R”), and it’s more like a custard than a cuppa.
Sez the Sun-Times:
Espesso consists of espresso and an ingredient the company won’t divulge, combined in a pressurized canister and left to set for 12 hours. The result is a mousselike, cold solid sprayed right out of the canister.
Oooohkay. Should you want to try this unusual treat, you’ll find it any of the three branches of Chicago coffeehouse Lavazza’s —and nowhere else. You can, however, order variations on the espesso theme: espesso cappuccino or espesso macchiatto, both with solidified milk served in the same cup as the espesso. Anyone tasted it yet? It sounds sort of intriguing, but the name alone makes me want to punch a wall.
the name actually makes sense in Italian — “spesso” means thick.
I guess so — but we’re in America, and the name makes spellcheck ping me like 900 times to ask me if I really meant to type “espresso.” NO! NO! A thousand times no!
I tried it – and blogged about it – http://www.movable-feast.com/2006/09/espesso.html – and really quite liked it. My sister and I split a straight Espesso and a cappucino – which actually has the milk mixed in before it’s “solidified” – it’s really Ferran’s famous foam which is like whipped cream so it’s not quite solid. The macchiato’s served with the Espesso and foamed milk side-by-side in the same cup. The flavour’s intense, texture light, and whole experience just damn fun.