In Espresso, How Much Coffee Do a Shot and Single/Double Servings Refer To?

In a coffee shop, you might hear someone order like this: "An iced Americano with an extra shot, please" or "A double espresso, thank you."

From the context, we can easily guess that "shot" or "份" refers to the unit of espresso served. But if asked how much coffee is in a shot, you might not know.

What Does "Shot" Mean?

Regarding the origin of the word "shot," FrontStreet Coffee has researched and found multiple explanations with many differences. The "shot" we know today is primarily used as a unit of measurement in drinking culture, referring to a small glass of spirits. Traditionally, one shot equals 1 ounce, about 30ml. The use of shot glasses became popular in the mid-20th century, with establishments offering these small glasses of spirits that could be "downed in one gulp," aiming to provide customers with a faster, more affordable, and convenient way to consume alcohol.

Similar to its usage in bars, "a shot" in coffee shops refers to a single espresso - a small cup of concentrated coffee liquid of about 30ml.

Why Does Espresso Use "Shot" as a Unit of Measurement?

In Italian, "espresso" means "fast," and a barista can prepare a cup of rich, crema-topped coffee in just one minute. After paying, customers would receive their coffee and finish it in two or three sips while standing at the bar, allowing for efficient caffeine intake. Since advanced equipment like electronic scales wasn't available at that time, baristas could only estimate by eye, using a spouted portafilter to divide the coffee liquid into two 1-ounce shot glasses, relying on the cup's capacity to determine if extraction was complete. Additionally, the espresso of that time had a heavy, intense flavor similar to spirits, so using "shot" to describe it seemed fitting.

Of course, this approach certainly had room for error and made it difficult to maintain consistency in every serving. That's why today's baristas typically use liquid weight as the standard for espresso extraction. (The volume and weight of coffee crema are not equal, so a shot with rich crema actually contains less liquid than one with thin crema.)

How Much Coffee Is in a Shot of Espresso?

As a unit of measurement for espresso extraction, for a long time, pulling shots followed the barista's standard of the time, forming an espresso extraction formula: a single shot used a single basket, extracting 30ml of espresso from 7 grams of coffee grounds; as for a double shot, the extraction formula was: using a double basket, 14 grams of coffee grounds to produce 60ml of espresso.

Later, with upgrades to pressure-based coffee machines and the adoption of weight-based measurements, the judgment of extraction volume shifted from the volume of coffee liquid to the actual weight of the espresso, making precise control of coffee extraction possible. With continuous improvements in coffee bean quality and roasting techniques, the ratio range for pulling shots has also narrowed. When using a double-capacity basket, whereas previously a single espresso used 14g of grounds to extract 60ml of coffee liquid, today a single espresso typically uses 18g of grounds to extract 36g (approximately 50ml) of coffee liquid.

So How Much Coffee Is in One Shot Today?

If you order "a shot, please" at two different coffee shops, you might receive a small cup with only about twenty milliliters of espresso, while another barista might serve you a portion of forty to fifty milliliters. Why is there such a big difference?

Today, most coffee shops default to using double baskets (double shots) when serving. Baristas develop unique extraction ratios for their specific beans, using particular amounts of grounds to extract the best-tasting coffee liquid in a single extraction. Because different coffee shops have different blending philosophies and extraction ratios, the resulting espresso can vary from ten to dozens of grams, with each shop having its own standard.

For example, FrontStreet Coffee uses a 20-gram capacity basket with 19.8 grams of coffee grounds, extracting 38 grams of espresso liquid in 29 seconds, making this "double shot" 38 grams. If a customer only wants a single shot, the barista will use a spouted portafilter to split the extraction into two cups, giving only one cup to the customer, where one shot is approximately 19 grams.

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