Can I use espresso coffee in an automatic coffee maker?

by Amy
(Miami, FL usa)

QUESTION:

Can I use espresso coffee in my automatic drip coffee maker? It is much cheaper!

ANSWER:

Amy, hi

First off, my apologies for the very slow response. No excuse really, other than being super-busy.

Anyway...

You have a couple of questions here. One about using espresso coffee in a drip brewer. And one about the price of coffee.

Let’s tackle the price issue first. If you’re talking about espresso coffee being cheap, I’m guessing you’re looking at the blocks of ground espresso coffee like the one you see in the picture above.

And yes, you can often find these at a surprisingly low price.

But generally, “espresso” coffee is the same price as any other coffee. And as with regular coffee, you’ll usually pay more for the whole bean than for pre-ground.

Keep in mind, there is no such thing as an “espresso bean”. Espresso is made with coffee beans, just the same as drip coffee. When a bean from a particular origin, or in a particular blend, is described as being for expresso, it’s just that the roaster figures that bean or blend would make good espresso.

Just to confuse things, if you are shopping in a supermarket, you’ll often find the word espresso used on packaging to describe a coffee that is dark-roasted. This implies you should use only dark-roasted coffee to make espresso. Not true. But I digress.

Back to your question...

Put simply, other than deals on particular brands, coffee for an espresso machine is no cheaper than coffee for a drip brewer.

As for the question about using espresso coffee in a drip brewer... no and yes.

No, you should not use coffee that has been ground for making espresso. This is a much finer grind than you want for a drip brewer. In fact, your filter paper or screen will likely clog up and overflow if you use an espresso grind in a drip brewer.

But if you are buying whole beans which have been described as “espresso” in some way, and you grind them yourself, to a medium grind, then yes, that would be fine.

I hope this helps answer your question!

Best wishes,

Nick

Comments for Can I use espresso coffee in an automatic coffee maker?

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Espresso is great in drip
by: Anonymous

Espresso gives a different flavor and I think a better flavor than regular ground coffee, with more nutty notes of flavor. The coffee filters don't seem to get clogged. The savings are almost 50% but that is only $4 or $5 over about a month so if you prefer the taste of regular coffee it's not worth the savings to drink espresso. I prefer the nutty espresso flavor so I save a few pennies at teh same time.

Yes You can
by: Heidi

I buy whole bean coffee at Costco and use their grinder on Turkish grind, which is even finer than espresso grind, and use in my drip coffee maker with no problems of overflow. You use less coffee and tastes better. I encourage you to just experiment. I am amazed at how many posts are our there discouraging this...I think writers are copying and pasting other posts and actually have no direct experience.

Espresso grounds are just fine. Pun intended.
by: Anonymous

I grind and extract a good espresso every morning. This afternoon I ground a double Italian Roast straight into a single Melitta filter which made a completely great mug of drip coffee in about 30 to 40 seconds. No idea about automatic makers or dangers to clogging equipment etc. and I probably wouldn't intentionally get an espresso grind with drip in mind but with coffee, if you're curious, try something. It's your mouth.

Espresso in percolator
by: Anonymous

Replying to the above comment: Yes, I've used espresso ground coffee in a percolator for years. There is an issue with overflow though. I have a percolator that should support 12 x 6 oz of coffee, but using espresso ground coffee, it only safely handles half of that capacity. But, if you have one of these larger percolators and don't need to make coffee for an army, then there's no issue using espresso ground coffee in a percolator.

Cafe Bustelo works great in Mr Coffee Maker
by: Anonymous

Yes you can use espresso in a drip coffee maker. We've been doing it for years too and won't be going back to regular coffee. We had tried many different brands of coffee and would eventually get burned out on the icky after taste (I clean my Mr Coffee machine once a month as part of my monthly cleaning routine so the weird taste is not due to a scale build up issue). While Cafe Bustelo is not a true espresso and is in fact a blend of coffee beans with Latin origins that are blended together. It's a much finer grind and is very rich and complex. It has no weird after taste but you will have to experiment with the ratio of grounds to water until you get the strength of flavor you prefer. We have never had a situation where the grinds clogged or made a huge mess and overflowed. We have noticed that you don't need 1 tablespoon of coffee for 6 oz of water. We use 3 tablespoons for 10 cups of water and it's the right strength for us.

Espresso in auto drip
by: Anonymous

Yes you can been doing it for years it might not taste exactly like a good expresso but it's fine and TOTALLY do able it won't clog the filter at all just at first it might take a minute to start to drip as the water works it's way down

Espresso ground coffee in drip coffeemaker
by: Mary

I have been using espresso ground coffee in my drip machine for years Ethel great success. I’ve been considering a percolator but can’t find any info on if I can use espresso ground in the percolator. Has anyone ever tried it?

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