Coffee you can eat with a spoon

From Spanish molecular gastronomy mastermind Ferran Adria, comes Espesso. This "mousselike, cold solid sprayed right out of the canister" premiered in the US this week in Chicago. (A fitting location for it, given that most of America's own molecular gastronomist masterminds - Achatz, Cantu, Bowles - are located there.)

Espesso -- a play on the Italian word "spesso," meaning thick -- is essentially "taking coffee and solidifying it," said Joerg Oberschmied, vice president of operations for Lavazza, the 111-year-old Italian coffee company that is offering Adria's coffee creation.

Lavazza's three Chicago stores -- the company's only U.S. locations -- will be pouring or, rather, spraying espessos starting today. A serving costs $2.49.