title_body: Coffee Bean Vs Espresso Bean
upvoted_answer: First of all, there is no difference in the beans themselves. They all come from either Robusta or Arabica plants. The roast doesn't vary either. You can use any kind of roast for your espresso, it's up to preference.
  
  What does change is the grind. Espresso grind is very fine - much finer than other preparations of coffee.
  
  You may find packaged coffee sold as 'espresso beans' or 'espresso roast' being darker/bolder roasts, to emulate a darker, stronger coffee regardless of preparation, however it has little to do with real espresso (and you may even find 'espresso' ground coffees being sold with a large/inconsistent grind!).