Ristretto

A ristretto – Italian for “restricted” or “narrowed” – is an espresso made with the same amount of coffee as a normal shot but only about half the water. The result is a very small, very concentrated shot: roughly 15–20 ml from a single dose, or about 20–30 ml from a double basket.

Because the shot stops early, the cup holds mostly the compounds that dissolve first – sugars, acids and aromatic oils – and fewer of the slower, harsher ones that come at the end of a long extraction. That is why a good ristretto tastes bolder and heavier than an espresso yet often sweeter and less bitter, with notes of caramel and dark chocolate and a long aftertaste.

In Italy you can ask for un caffè ristretto at any bar. In speciality coffee, especially in Australia and the US, ristretto shots are also used as the base for small milk drinks such as the piccolo and many flat whites, where the concentrated coffee cuts through the milk without tasting harsh.

The ristretto grew out of everyday Italian bar practice rather than a single invention: once lever and pump machines made modern espresso possible after the Second World War, customers could ask for their coffee shorter (ristretto) or longer (lungo) than the standard shot. No inventor or date is recorded.

Outside Italy, the ristretto gained a following in speciality coffee from the 1990s. David Schomer of Espresso Vivace in Seattle is often credited with championing the short double shot in the US, aiming to keep the sweetness and aroma of the roast while leaving behind the bitter tail of the extraction. Australian cafés adopted ristretto shots widely, particularly for small milk drinks such as the piccolo.