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See why.The Best Espresso Powder
This bold ingredient is a secret weapon of cooks and bakers. Does it matter which one you use?
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See Everything We TestedWhat You Need To Know
Just a dash of espresso powder enhances the rich dark-chocolate notes in our favorite brownies, cookies, and cakes. We also use it when we want desserts to taste like coffee. Plus, it adds depth and richness to rubs, barbecue sauces, and other savory foods. Given that there are many ways to use espresso powder as a kitchen ingredient, we wanted to know which product is best. We rounded up six products and sampled them in Chewy Brownies and Easy Coffee Buttercream before mixing them with hot water and sipping them as espresso drinks.
How It’s Made and Coffee Terminology
Espresso powder is made by spray-drying or freeze-drying brewed espresso. The dried crystals look similar to ground espresso beans, but they’re water-soluble, which means that they dissolve fully when mixed with liquid. Some are called "espresso powder" while others are labeled "instant espresso coffee," and they can be marketed for baking, for drinking, or for both uses. But as far as we're concerned, they're the same thing. We’ll refer to them all as espresso powder for simplicity.
For Chocolate Desserts, We Found That Any Product Will Do
Although our tasters loved every one of the six brownies they tasted, they especially loved one and liked another one a bit less than the others. While most tasters didn’t detect any noticeable coffee flavor in any of the brownies, they described them all as being “rich and flavorful” with “pronounced chocolate flavor.” Tasters also noticed some subtle flavor differences: One sample was noted for having “a little raisiny sweetness,” while another had an underlying caramel flavor. Because we standardized all the other variables, we know that these subtle differences were due to the espresso powders.
Differences between the products became more pronounced when tasters sampled them in coffee buttercream—a recipe that relies on espresso powder for the bulk of its flavor. All the buttercreams were acceptable, but some tasted more strongly of coffee than others. The buttercream that rated the highest was made with the same product that we used to make our winning brownie. When describing our favorite buttercream, tasters compared it to “a fantastic cup of coffee” with “strong espresso flavor.” While tasters preferred the assertive coffee buttercreams, the milder buttercreams were still delicious.
One espresso powder produced a buttercream with a slightly “smoky” and “bitter” aftertaste, which was most likely due to slight differences in how the beans used to make this powder were processed and roasted. We still liked its flavor enough to recommend it. We had a favorite, but our determination is that any of these product...
Everything We Tested
Highly Recommended
The brownies and buttercream we made with this espresso powder tasted just a bit better than the rest. The brownies were “just a notch above the other brownies” due to their “more pronounced chocolate flavors.” The coffee buttercream tasted “buttery and warm,” like a “fresh brewed,” “fantastic” cup of coffee with “complex flavor.”
Recommended
Brownies made with this espresso powder were “rich,” with “deep chocolate flavor.” Tasters liked its “very strong coffee flavor” in the coffee buttercream, finding it pleasantly “assertive.” One taster picked up on some sweet caramel notes, too.
This espresso powder gave us brownies that were “rich,” with a “raisiny sweetness,” which we liked. When used in the coffee buttercream, it contributed a pleasant “mild coffee flavor.” Though the buttercream wasn’t as espresso forward as some of the others we prepared, tasters enjoyed it.
Brownies made with this espresso powder tasted deeply of chocolate. One taster said she “would eat [this brownie] again and again.” The buttercream we made with it was slightly less intense than some of the other samples, but that “light coffee flavor allowed the butter to come through.” Tasters didn’t seem to mind that the espresso powder was “not as powerful or assertive” as some of the other samples.
This espresso powder, which is available by mail order and at retail stores in the Midwest, made “really delicious, fudgy, deeply chocolaty” brownies. It had a “very strong espresso” flavor and a slightly bitter aftertaste, but overall tasters still liked this espresso powder. Coffee buttercream made with it had “good espresso flavor” that a taster compared to “a nice coffee hug.”
Available for purchase at: www.thespicehouse.com
Brownies made with this espresso powder tasted "a bit more chocolaty" than other samples. However, tasters picked up on “a little smoky, bitter aftertaste.” The buttercream had similar notes of bitterness and was “not as complex” as other samples. The subtle bitterness is most likely due to differences in how the coffee beans used to make this espresso powder were processed and roasted. Tasters still liked this sample enough to recommend it.
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The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing.
Carolyn Grillo
Carolyn is a senior editor for ATK Reviews. She's a French-trained professional baker.