Then I became an adult. I’m pretty sure my whipped cream conversion started at Cheesecake Factory, where (forgive me for this confession) I was far more taken by the whipped cream on top of the cheesecake than the cake itself. How do they get it so thick, I ask you? This was around the time my interest in food was becoming more about the knowledge and experimentation and less about the necessity. So one day I looked at a tub of Cool Whip and was shocked at what was inside. High fructose corn syrup? (Ok – that’s in almost everything so I can’t fault it for succumbing to peer pressure) But hydrogenated vegetable oil? Seriously? There’s just no excuse. And where is the milk? The cream? The sugar? Nope. Nowhere to be found.

Now, if you are in a hurry the whipped cream in an aerosol can is ok. But listen, making homemade whipped cream is like the easiest thing ever, particularly if you have a stand mixer. It goes something like this:

Heavy (whipping) cream
Sugar
Vanilla (or your choice of) flavoring

Combine, mix to soft peaks, eat. For every cup of cream, add one teaspoon of flavoring and two tablespoons of sugar. Soft peaks are when you lift up the beater and the cream stays on, but folds over a bit.

My apologies to my sister-in-law Jenny who thinks Cool Whip is the greatest thing ever. We’ll just have to call a truce on this one.

Which all got me to wonderin’ – what makes espresso think it’s so special, anyway?

Here’s a rundown.

Regular Coffee
Traditional coffee beans come in a variety of roasts from light to dark, the variations affecting the depth and flavor. For regularly brewed coffee, the beans are ground coarsely, placed in a pot, and the water drips through the coffee grinds, through a filter, and into the carafe or cup. The water is (in relation to brewing espresso) cooler, and in contact with the beans longer.

Espresso
Espresso beans aren’t a special type of coffee bean, but they are roasted dark and ground finely. Very hot water – steaming – is forced through tightly-packed espresso grinds and into the carafe or cup. The water is in contact with the espresso for a shorter amount of time.

The Caffeine Issue
So which one has more caffeine – espresso or drip coffee? Ounce for ounce, espresso has more caffeine than drip coffee. But espresso is traditionally served as shots (a 3 oz portion, typically) and drip coffee served by the cup (a Tall at most coffee shops is 12 oz.), so by serving size espresso has less caffeine than coffee.