Actually interesting history of the spelling. Perhaps I am just old school and going back to the Latin routes of the word.
"Contrarians have pointed out that expresso is the norm in France, Portugal, and Spain. Admittedly the art of making the drink was invented and perfected in Italy, so it’s understandable that the terms used in that country should get favored-nation status. But Italian corrupted the Latin root, which has … wait for it … an x."
Whatever the source of its appeal, 'expresso' has had a long and not entirely disreputable history. The Oxford English Dictionary lists it as an acceptable variant. Between 1945 (date of the OED’s first citation) and 1960, it was permitted in The New York Times, with 43 uses compared with 122 for espresso. The paper noted in 1947 that “the Bazaar Francais has some new single-cup pots, one of the expresso style from Italy,” and in 1954, “Expresso coffee has been familiar in New York’s numerous Italian restaurants for many years.”
The spelling was also widely used in Britain, especially in references to the coffee houses popular with the bohemian set in Soho. The Spectator in 1958 referred to “the expresso poet with his impeccable Oxford accent, grovelling in dirt.”
Since the 1970s, espresso has reigned, an apparent consensus one can see evidence of in Garner’s entry and in Weird Al’s finger-wagging.
Only a crazy Latin/French recluse would call it expresso.
It is a very valid point and you almost had me accepting either spelling. But I'm more inclined to stick to the "S" as language does change in spelling and meaning and new things need adopting.
Yes Agreed . I am with the Italians and they can spell it however they want as it was their baby after all. I was just retrospectively covering my tracks for my mistake which turned out to perhaps not be a mistake depending on your point of view !