Espresso coffee guide

Size The size can be a single, double, or triple, using a proportional amount of ground coffee, roughly 7, 14, and 21 grams; correspondingly sized filter baskets are used. The Italian multiplier term doppio is often used for a double, with solo and triplo being more rarely used for singles and triples. The single shot is the traditional shot size, being the maximum that could easily be pulled on a lever machine. Single baskets are sharply tapered or stepped down in diameter to provide comparable depth to the double baskets and, therefore, comparable resistance to water pressure. Most double baskets are gently tapered (the ""Faema model""), while others, such as the have straight sides. Triple baskets are normally straight-sided. Portafilters will often come with two spouts, usually closely spaced, and a double-size basket – each spout can optionally dispense into a separate cup, yielding two solo-size (but doppio-brewed) shots, or into a single cup (hence the close spacing). True solo shots are rare, with a single shot in a café generally being half of a doppio shot. In espresso-based drinks, particularly larger milk-based drinks, a drink with three or four shots of espresso will be called a ""triple"" or ""quad"", respectively. Length The length of the shot can be ristretto (or stretto) (reduced), normale/standard (normal), or lungo (long):[citation needed] these may correspond to a smaller or larger drink with the same amount of ground coffee and same level of extraction or to different length of extraction. Proportions vary and the volume (and low density) of crema make volume-based comparisons difficult (precise measurement uses the mass of the drink). Typically ristretto is half the volume of normale, and lungo is double to triple the normale volume. For a double shot, (14 grams of dry coffee), a normale uses about 60 ml of water. A double ristretto, a common form associated with artisanal espresso, uses half the amount of water, about 30 ml.[citation needed] Ristretto, normale, and lungo may not simply be the same shot, stopped at different times[citation needed] –