Ristretto
Also short shot, corto
An espresso stopped early so that less water passes through the same dose of coffee. The result is thicker and more intense but has slightly less total caffeine than a full shot.
EspressoServed hotFrom Italy
- Volume
- 20ml0.7 US fl oz
- Espresso
- 1shot
- Caffeine
- 64mgderived, USDA FDC
- Glass
- Demitasse70 ml
The build
Watch it made, step by step- Espresso20 ml100%
- Volume
- 20ml
- Caffeine
- 64mg
- Espresso
- 1shot
Scales every component together, so the ratio holds; caffeine scales with the coffee.
Same dose, less water: roughly 1:1 to 1:1.5 coffee to beverage by weight, so the shot is sweeter and more syrupy with less of the late bitter fraction.
Caffeine
Derivedin a 20 ml ristretto
Derived per shot: USDA FoodData Central FDC 171891 (espresso, restaurant-prepared) lists 212 mg per 100 g; a standard 30 g shot is about 63.6 mg, times 1 shot(s). Real values vary with dose, roast and species (robusta roughly doubles it).
USDA FoodData Central record 171891 · read 2026-10-26
A derived figure: the reference food's caffeine per 100 g scaled to the coffee in this build. Real cups vary with the coffee, the dose and the shot.
Variants by country
No regional variants recorded.
History
Italian baristas have long cut shots short for a stronger cup; the word entered international café vocabulary with the specialty movement. We have not found a primary source for this account.
Italian for 'restricted'.
Related drinks
A tight, short espresso, the French name for a ristretto.
Espresso Caffè Romano 30 ml · 64 mgAn espresso served with a twist of lemon. The lemon oil brightens the shot; the drink is more common in American cafés than in Rome.
Espresso Café Cubano 30 ml · 64 mgA Cuban espresso sweetened during extraction by whipping sugar with the first drops into a foam. Small, sweet and the base of colada and cortadito.
Espresso Decaf Espresso 30 ml · 64 mgAn espresso pulled from decaffeinated beans. Every milk and iced drink in this list can be ordered this way with its caffeine reduced to a few milligrams.
Espresso Espresso 30 ml · 64 mgA small, concentrated coffee brewed by forcing hot water through finely ground coffee under pressure. It is the base of most café milk drinks and is served in a small thick-walled cup.
Espresso Pocillo 30 ml · 64 mgA small cup of strong black coffee, from the Spanish word for the little cup itself. Common across Latin American Spanish.