Coffee and Espresso are not that much different from each other. Both drinks are made with grounded coffee beans and hot water. The difference in these drinks come from the processes used, the equipment used and the resulting drink.

The Processes

Equipment

Coffee can be referred to as drip coffee because no pressure is used when the hot water extracts the brew from the beans. With that being said, most coffee machines use a drip function where as espresso machines use pressure from manual cranking, steam, or an electric pump. Coffee machines tend to be a lot cheaper than espresso machines because they use a lot of less complicated technology. Actually, you don’t need a coffee machine to make mediocre coffee. You just need a filter, a rubber band and a cup for a crude setup. Take this quiz to figure out which espresso machine is for you.

To successfully generate an espresso shot, the machine has to push hot water at a pressure rate of at least 9-bar. A lot of machines come with at least 15-bars of pressure. Normal coffee machines use gravitational pressure to drip the brew. Gravitational pressure is experimentally 0.5 bar.
Coffee Machine vs. Espresso Machine

Resulting Drinks

Coffee tends to have more water per caffeine ratio where as espresso has less caffeine but also much less water. Espresso machines often have two spouts and can make about 2 ounces of espresso at a time. To give you an idea of how concentrated espresso is, know that coffee usually takes 2 tablespoons per 6 oz. of water where as espresso takes 7 grams of ground coffee beans and 1.5 oz. of water. Espresso takes a few seconds to brew where as coffee can take a couple of minutes. You should try both and see which drink is right for you. If you’re the type of person that enjoys a tall drink and the taste of coffee, you might opt for a normal drip coffee. If you’re on the go an you only need stimulation and no frills, you may opt for the shots instead.

Source: (http://brewedition.com/difference-coffee-espresso/)