What does 1shot and double shot mean for espresso? How much coffee powder is used to make one and two espresso coffees?

Today, I saw a very interesting topic on the street: "Should 36ml espresso extracted with 18g of powder be calculated as a single espresso/1 shot or double espresso/2 shots? "

There are not a few friends who participated in the discussion on this topic, because this is indeed a puzzle for many friends. The reason why there is such doubt is that today's espresso extraction method is different from the previous one, which leads to conflicts with the previous definition of "shot." So today Qianjie came to share how to "calculate" 36ml of espresso extracted with 18g of powder.

As we all know, the word "shot" was originally a unit of measurement in wine culture. It usually refers to an ounce glass of wine, which is about 30ml when converted into milliliters. Later, influenced by wine culture, this meaning was extended to the coffee industry. Like wine, the "shot" in the coffee industry is also a unit of measurement. As Qianjie has been sharing before, the early "1shot" in the coffee industry referred to "30 - 36ml of espresso extracted from 7 - 9g of powder in a single powder bowl", while "double shot" refers to "60 - 72ml of espresso extracted from 14 - 18g of powder in double powder bowls." This is the definition of shot in the coffee industry and is also the mainstream extraction solution for early espresso coffee.

Thanks to the advancement of technology, nowadays espresso machines have higher extraction pressure, and everyone has begun to pursue a more extreme experience, such as wanting to drink a more mellow taste and a more fragrant flavor from coffee. To this end, the mainstream extraction scheme for espresso coffee began to change. Among them, the most significant change is the powder-liquid ratio. As you can see from the sharing on Qianjie above, the powder-to-liquid ratio for extracting espresso was 1:4 in the past, but the powder-to-liquid ratio in the current mainstream extraction scheme is 1:2, and then the powder amount will also be 18g. Start, that is, use 18g of powder to extract 36ml of coffee liquor, which is the mainstream espresso extraction formula in China now.

The espresso extracted in this way will have a very high concentration, twice that of the previous one. The coffee made with this concentration will have a more mellow taste and taste. Take Qianjie as an example. Qianjie uses the Qianjie Italian classic mixture in the bean list to extract it according to the formula of 18g powder, 1:2 powder to liquid ratio, and 30 seconds. The final espresso concentration is 14%, just as Qianjie said that all kinds of coffees made with it as a base will have a more mellow taste. Especially for milk coffee, even if the amount of milk added is not small, you can still taste obvious coffee flavors such as chocolate, nuts, and cream. The taste is silky and mellow, and it is very good.

You must have already seen the reason for the conflict. The previous definition of a single concentrate/1shot was "30 - 36ml of espresso extracted from 7 - 9g of powder", and then "60 - 72ml of espresso extracted from 14 - 18g of powder" is considered a double concentrate/2 shot. Now, we use the previous double amount of powder to extract the liquid weight of a single portion, so should it be counted as double or single portion?

Publish the answer-it should be double. Although the word shot originates from wine culture, its measurement object in coffee culture is somewhat different from that in wine culture. The measurement object of shot in wine culture is "liquid", while the measurement object of shot in coffee culture is mainly "powder quantity." The reason why the amount of coffee liquid cannot be used as the measurement object of shot is that the amount of coffee liquid will change due to the extraction plan or purpose. Take espresso coffee, short extract and long extract, for example. Although the amount of powder is the same, their liquid amounts are completely different. If measured according to the liquid weight, there will be more contradictions.

Therefore, shot measurement in coffee culture is mainly based on the amount of powder. No matter how much espresso you extract, our measurement is based on the amount of powder in the end. In order to prevent customers from misunderstanding, many coffee shops will note the number of shots on the plus shot option on the menu. For example, if you add a "1shot" espresso or a "2 shot" espresso. It is simple and clear, so that misunderstandings and disputes will not easily arise ~

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