Use These When You Don't Have Espresso Powder

The coffee simmering on the stove and you are eager to add that bit of espresso powder and whip up the Italian flavor in your beverage. But to your dismay there is less than a pinch. Don’t worry; for substitutes, use these(mentioned below)  when you don’t have espresso powder, especially when you are rushing like the expressway of a high-speed bullet to work.
Espresso powder is a precious culinary utility, because not only for coffee, but also it can be used in cakes, desserts and others of the like, where the rich flavor of coffee simply draws you in, to the food you are going to savor. So when that precious ‘kitchen-mate’ of yours is not handy, there is no need to run amok, or freeze with “what now” because our tips on what to use when you don’t have espresso powder will simply rein the situation in, under your control. Here is how:
•    Instant coffee: If your recipe calls for instant espresso powder for the preparation, which is not available you could opt for instant coffee, preferably one, which is dark-roasted. The instant coffee powder yields similar results, with a slight difference in the flavor and aroma of the deep roast of espresso powder. Though one point to keep in mind is that espresso powders are finely ground, whereas normal coffee is more coarse in texture, so mix the coffee powder in boiling water and then use or, grind it more finely. The equivalent measure would be 50% more of instant coffee powder.
•    Brewed espresso :  When you don’t have espresso powder, brewed espresso is a fine choice but you have to be wary of the other liquid ingredients used in the recipe, which have to be proportionately adjusted according to the liquid quantity taken in for brewing.
•    Espresso grounds : Though a bit time consuming, the result will be worth the effort. Fresh espresso beans ground, brewed, dried and ground once again with a mortar and pestle to yield a very fine texture; the home-made powder from espresso grounds will definitely add to the fresh ‘n’ fragrant ‘n’ flavorsome factor. This works as a topping substitute when you don’t have espresso powder, and also have the time to start from the scratch.
•    Unsweetened cocoa Powder : Cocoa and Coffee could have been cousins tracing their ancestry(evolution lays that all of us have the same zero-point origin, before our ancestors branched out). A similar flavor though not the same, unsweetened cocoa powder will work fine for an immediate requirement when you don’t have espresso powder, though the richness and thickness of the flavor may not be a perfect ‘mimic’ of espresso.

Well with our tips above on what to do when you don’t  have espresso powder will keep you going with your preparation without applying brakes or stalling your progress.

Photo Courtesy : gourmetsleuth.com