I would say that the cinnamon restores some of those floral top-notes that have likely evaporated from older ground coffee, and hides some of the mustier, oxidized flavors.
It IS the roast that is the difference. The only real difference in the beans is that some beans taste better at a higher roast than others, so they are more appropriate for espresso. Your Italian grocery coffee company may be using the espresso label for marketing purposes, but in general, espresso coffee beans can be the same beans that are used for "regular" coffee, but roasted to a French or Italian roast level, which is darker than City or Full City.
Since the advent of Starbucks, many roasts are much darker than they used to be. Dunkin' Donuts coffee, which is a Full City roast, used to be the norm, but now a French seems to be what you can buy.
I roast my own coffee and take it to just into the second crack which is, generally, a Full City roast...a point where the character of the coffee predominates rather than the flavor of the roast. There is more information about roasts at Sweet Marias where I buy my green beans, and reading through the site will give you way more of a coffee education than you probably ever wanted.
So, yes, you can use the coffee you have to make brewed coffee. It will probably be roastier than you would normally have, unless it is just a marketing ploy, in which case it will taste normal. Consider how long you have had this coffee; if it has been shelved for a while "normal" probably won't be all that great, since freshly roasted coffee is, generally, way better than old coffee. But as long as the oils aren't rancid, it is more likely just going to be bland.
Best Answer
No, you don't strictly have to, although having a pot with a similar shape helps. For people who want to have a clean pot of the right size at all times, it makes sense to have a dedicated pot. Whether to use a traditional one or not is a matter of taste.
Nowadays, it is likely that you have a smallish pot in your kitchen which is clean (not soaked in old grease like the typical clay cooking pot in a medieval Ottoman kitchen), so there is no pressing need to dedicating a copper pot to the task.
What is convenient to have is a pot with one long grip, because you can pour the coffee through the strainer easier than when you have two small handles like on a soup pot. You also want the surface to not be too large. The coffee should be at least 2-3 cm deep, else too much water will boil out during preparation, and the coffee may overheat and scorch. If you are drinking small cups, you will need a smaller pot. The material is not important, as long as it is suitable for boiling water on stovetop.
But as long as the pot allows you to have your coffee deep enough, and you feel comfortable enough with pouring, any pot will do. My father has been using a smallish saucepan for decades and has always been happy with the results.