The reticent nature of our ancestors is attested to by the fact that express—the action of putting feelings into words—literally means to press out, as if our forefathers revealed their emotions only when hard-pressed to do so. (Long before it became the name of a device for publishing the news, the press was an instrument of torture used to extract confessions.) Similarly, the coffee known as expresso takes its name from high-pressure steam being forced or “pressed” through the grounds, resulting in a very strong brew. The Italians, who invented the process, call this coffee espresso, which is the spelling the name had when it was first used in English in the 1940s. Today, expresso and espresso are used interchangeably.