Espresso Anatomy – The Ristretto Shot

The ristretto shot has had a wild ride...

over the past ten to twenty years in the specialty coffee industry.  In the early 2000's it was called the future of espresso.  You'd find it in many cafes, and some who were even pushing the envelope and innovating in the industry. Espresso Vivace is the first that comes to mind.  Even the World Barista Championships had to ban using it in competition. It was considered a bit of an unfair advantage because it's so easy to get a flavorful shot with very little attention paid to the dose, tamp, and other preparations. But just a few short years down the road, the industry fell out of love.  In 2011 LA Weekly even wrote an article calling it the "Lame Duck of Coffee".  Many cafes ditched the short ristretto shot in favor of the longer pulls as single origins grew in popularity.

Yet those of us on the never ending espresso journey are always looking at new (and sometimes old) ways to make even more coffee than we already do, or should.  So in this video I'll be deep diving into the most popular ways to make both single and double ristretto shots.  From there I'll taste and talk about each of the methods and choose (in my opinion) the best of the group.  As a bonus I'll give some tips on how to avoid blowing out your taste buds, and maybe even toss in a bit of humor.


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6 Comments

  1. […] in this brand new entry to the Espresso Anatomy series I'm going to break down the taste and explain each layer in detail. It may not be an exact […]

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  2. […] is the globally popular flat white. Some claim it is all about the addition of the legendary ristretto shot of espresso. Others say it is just a basic wet cappuccino, while others say it is just a small […]

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  3. […] the notorious ristretto, or misunderstood lungo, the standard double shot doesn't have burning debates behind it. You won't […]

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  4. […] out there, and in my espresso anatomy series I've covered a lot of them. The standard double, ristretto, lungo, and (true) single shot have all made an appearance. So in the spirit of completionism I […]

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  5. Pietro
    December 9, 2021

    Hi, The one that you liked best 20g of coffee 15 sec- 15 ml or 15g? I understood good ?

    Reply
    1. TheRealSprometheus
      December 14, 2021

      Yep that is correct!

      Reply

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