Espresso Variations

Alright everyone, as promised this one is all about espresso types that you can expect to see in cafes. To be honest, most of these drinks you will likely never see unless your in Italy, but these are still fun to know to show off your coffee intellect at parties.

Ristretto

A Ristretto, apparently meaning restricted (I don’t speak Italian so don’t hold me to that) is an espresso shot that’s been cut off early, this means its much smaller as there’s less water that’s been used in the extraction and so the shot is less diluted that a regular espresso, when accounting espresso as a 1:2 ratio, Ristrettos are usually seen at 1:1 ratios. These are prefect for those hardened people who find espresso too weak some how.

Lungo

The lungo is just a long espresso, it can yield anything above the 1:2 ratio as expected for espresso but usually is around 1:3/1:4. This is made by either continuing the flow of water past the espresso extraction or some places are making the grind size courser and allowing the water to flow faster allowing a fast shot with more water. perfect for the flat black enjoyer wanting more caffeine!

These following are very simple in comparison.

Macchiato

The Macchiato is just a double or single espresso with either a spoon of milk foam on top or sometimes some steamed milk to top it up, kind of depends on the country (sorry). Also for the people ordering a Macchiato and expecting a big drink of milky coffee, that’s a latte macchiato, just a normal Macchiato is a small drink as shown above.

Affogato

The Affogato is a double or single espresso with ice cream in the cup. Not much else to say here. Its great for pudding!

Espresso Con Panna

The Espresso Con Panna is a double espresso with whipped cream on top, the sweet cream takes away some of the bitterness of the espresso and so its a good option for those easing into espresso with a sweeter option.

Espresso Romano

The Espresso Romano is a double espresso served with a slice of lemon, this is commonly wiped around the lip of the cup to add flavour to the first sip. The citric acid is thought to enhance the coffee’s flavour. This is definilty one to try while abroad or when given the opportunity but personally id try this cold!

side note - cold brew and lemon sounds like a good combo

Conclusion

Now with this knowledge of these different espressos, I’d say definitely go out and try these wherever you can find them just as something new, broaden those horizons and lets us know how the testing goes in the comments on our Instagram!

Hope you’ve enjoyed reading, have a great week and some even better coffees.