Stop the Confusion: Ristretto, Normale, Single & Double Shots Demystified

As a barista trainer, one of the most common points of confusion I (Jimmy Evans) encounter revolves around espresso extractions: specifically, the difference between a ristretto and a normale, and how that relates to "single" and "double" shots. It can be incredibly confusing, but in this guide, I'm going to break it down into simple, easy-to-understand terms.

By the end of this post, you'll have a clear grasp of these essential espresso recipes and how they impact the flavor of your coffee.

Jump straight into the video.

Understanding the Ristretto: A Concentrated Burst of Flavor

Let's start with the ristretto. Our recipe for a ristretto is simple and focuses on a 1:1 ratio of coffee to liquid.

Here's how we achieve it:

1. Dose: We'll start with 22.5 grams of ground coffee in our portafilter.
2. Extraction: Pull your shot, but here's the crucial part: we're aiming to catch exactly 22.5 grams of liquid in the cup.
3. No Time Constraint: At this stage, we're not worried about the extraction time. The focus is purely on the liquid weight.

What to Expect from a Ristretto:

Because the water has less time to flow through the coffee, a ristretto is a more concentrated extraction. It's known for being:

• Thicker and Syrupy: Less water means a richer, more viscous texture.
• Sweeter: Many of the sugars in the coffee break down and extract early in the brewing process, usually within the first 20 seconds.
• Bolder Flavor: The concentrated nature leads to a more intense and impactful taste on your palate.

A ristretto is fantastic when you want the espresso to cut through milk, like in a latte, providing a robust coffee flavor and body.

The Normale: Your Traditional Double Espresso

Next up is the normale, what most people, especially here in Australia, would consider a traditional "double shot." This extraction uses a 1:2 ratio of coffee to liquid.

Here's the process:

1. Dose: We use the same 22.5 grams of ground coffee in the basket.
2. Extraction: Again, pull your shot, but this time, you'll turn the shot off when you reach 45 grams of liquid.
3. Twice the Liquid: This means you're extracting twice the amount of liquid compared to the ristretto (22.5g coffee to 45g liquid).

What to Expect from a Normale:

The normale is designed to be a more balanced and traditional espresso experience. With more water flowing through the coffee, you get:

• Balanced Flavor Profile: It offers a beautiful balance of sweetness, acidity, and those desirable traditional coffee bitterness notes.
• Different Mouthfeel: It will be less thick than a ristretto, offering a smoother and more refined experience.
• Ideal for Short Blacks: This is the extraction we aim for when serving an espresso or a short black, allowing the nuances of the coffee to shine.

Dispelling the "Shot" Confusion: It's All About the Ratio!

One of the biggest pet peeves as a barista trainer is the common teaching of "one shot" and "two shots" based on machine buttons alone. It's a significant source of confusion, and I'm here to help clear it up.

Machine Buttons Are Programmable!

Whether your machine has two, four, or five buttons, don't get too caught up in what the button pictures imply. Those buttons are simply indicators and can be programmed to deliver whatever volume you desire. On a home machine, they can be programmed entirely differently from a cafe setup.

For our purposes, we program our buttons to represent our desired output:

• One button for our ristretto extraction (22.5g liquid).
• Another button for our normale extraction (45g liquid).

The Critical Difference: Experience vs. Liquid Volume

Here's where the "shot" confusion really comes into play. When someone teaches "this is my small coffee and my large coffee" based on the button, it can be misleading. While a ristretto might technically yield 22.5g of liquid, and a "single shot" could also be 22.5g, the experience for the customer is vastly different.

A normale extraction (our 1:2 ratio) provides a balanced, longer experience. If a customer receives a "single shot" that is actually a double ristretto, they're getting a far more intense and less balanced product than they might expect from a "traditional espresso."

Remember: Ristretto is about a 1:1 ratio, Normale is about a 1:2 ratio.

Applying This to Your Home Machine

The beauty of understanding these ratios is that you can apply them to your home espresso machine, regardless of your basket size.

For example, if you use 18 grams of coffee in your basket:

• Your ristretto would be an 18-gram liquid extraction (1:1 ratio).
• Your normale would be a 36-gram liquid extraction (1:2 ratio).

It's all about simplifying the logic to these core ratios. Different coffees and equipment will require slight adjustments, but the underlying principle remains the same. By understanding these ratios, you'll be able to:

• Make better-tasting coffee: You'll avoid running shots longer than your ideal 1:2 ratio, which can lead to over-extraction and bitterness.
• Understand flavor profiles: You'll know what to expect from a concentrated ristretto versus a balanced normale.

Personally, I love drinking a ristretto in a 220ml latte. Its body and sweetness cut through the milk beautifully. But if someone serves me a short black, I truly hope it's a normale. It's far more balanced, doesn't coat my tongue, and allows me to appreciate the full flavor profile of the coffee.

Hopefully, this explanation has clarified the world of ristrettos and normales for you. Go forth and brew better coffee! Check out our Barista Training Manual.