Coffee review

How to distinguish the meaning of Espresso and Ristretto espresso Test espresso double

Published: 2025-08-21 Author: World Gafei
Last Updated: 2025/08/21, Professional coffee knowledge exchange more coffee bean information please follow the coffee workshop (Wechat official account cafe_style). It is well known that Espresso is the base of many espresso and the soul of the espresso family. No matter which kind of beans, deep culture or shallow culture, can be used as Espresso. However, I believe many coffee lovers will notice that Espress

Professional coffee knowledge exchange more coffee bean information please follow the coffee workshop (Wechat official account cafe_style)

. It is well known that Espresso is the base of many espresso and the soul of the espresso family. No matter which kind of beans, deep culture or shallow culture, can be used as Espresso. However, I believe many coffee lovers will notice that Espresso has many "brothers", including Ristretto, Lungo, Doppio, Americano, and so on. After all, what is the difference between them?

1 | Espresso

Espresso, which means "fast" in Italian, is extracted by short time and high pressure. Generally speaking, it takes 18 to 20 grams of coffee powder, about 90 to 92 ℃ of water and nine atmospheric pressures to extract about 25 to 30 milliliters of coffee in 20 to 30 seconds. The shelf life of Espresso is very short, because if it is kept for too long, its grease layer will disperse and affect the taste, so Italians usually require guests to finish a cup of espresso within 25 seconds.

2 | Ristretto

The coffee powder and grindability used by Ristretto can refer to the practice of espresso, but its extraction time is shorter than that of ordinary espresso-the extraction time is concentrated to about 15 to 20 seconds, and the content is about 2 inch 3 of Espresso, which can be regarded as the younger brother of Espresso. Ristretto has fewer portions than standard espresso, its Body and sweet taste will be weaker than Espresso, but it will be more full-bodied and mellow than Espresso, and the finish will be more explosive.

3 | Lungo

Lungo means "Long" in Italian, because the extraction time is longer than Espresso, so it can be called Espresso's "brother". After lengthening the extraction time, in order to prevent excessive extraction, it is necessary to speed up the flow of water, so the coffee powder is usually ground a little thicker. Generally speaking, the extraction time of Lungo will be more than 30 seconds, and the extraction volume will reach close to 60 milliliters. According to coffee technical terms, it is a drink with "low concentration and high extraction rate" compared with Espresso, and it is also the cup with the most abundant oil among Espresso and Ristretto.

4 | Doppio

Doppio means double "Double" in Italian, meaning double espresso, which is what we often call double Espresso.

5 | Americano

American coffee originated during World War II, when the US military marched in Europe and could not get used to European Espresso. They thought it tasted too strong, so they added hot water. Amerciano came into being and can be regarded as a relative of Espresso. The usual Americano practice is to flush hot water into the Espresso to disperse the protective film Crema, resulting in a lighter flavor of coffee.

6 | Long Black

The last distant relative is from Australia and New Zealand. Long Black, like Americano, also adds water to Espresso, but the approach is a little different. Americano pours water directly into Espresso, but Long Black pours Espresso into water. In addition to retaining Crema, the ratio of water to Espresso will be maintained at 2: 1, so the flavor of Long Black is stronger than that of Amerciano.

Although a cup of espresso is also extracted in the form of pressure, the degree of grinding and extraction time alone can produce coffee with a completely different flavor and taste. I have to be surprised by the diversity of coffee. The next time you go to the coffee shop, try other "family members" of Espresso to see which one you prefer.

0