What Does Espresso Mean? How to Extract Perfect Espresso? What's the Difference Between Ristretto and Lungo?

Understanding the Three Versions of Espresso

As everyone knows, there are three versions of espresso: the standard Normale (regular espresso), the short-extraction Ristretto, and the long-extraction Lungo.

Because the three differ distinctly in extraction rate and concentration, we pull a different version according to need. For lattes and cappuccinos, we use regular espresso; for flat whites, we use the short-extraction Ristretto; and when we want to drink straight espresso at a lower concentration, we choose Lungo. (From left to right: Ristretto, Normale, Lungo.)

FrontStreet Coffee often hears from friends at our stores that they have tried making Ristretto and Lungo at home, only for the former to turn out sharp and thin and the latter to become unbearably bitter — not as good as simply pulling espresso and then removing some liquid weight or adding water.

FrontStreet Coffee can guess why: these friends assume all three versions can be extracted with the same set of parameters. In other words, they use the same dose and grind size as their espresso to pull Ristretto and Lungo. This is a common mistake many people make, and one FrontStreet Coffee has addressed in our article on concentrated espresso. Because many bloggers, FrontStreet Coffee included, describe the differences between the three by saying "Ristretto has less liquid than espresso, while Lungo has more liquid than espresso," it is easy for people to believe that both can be adjusted simply by changing the liquid weight on the base of an espresso — pulling a little more or a little less.

That approach, however, only leads to under-extraction and over-extraction. Espresso parameters are determined by the coffee-to-liquid ratio, so if we change that ratio without adjusting anything else, the coffee will become hard to swallow through insufficient or excessive extraction. In other words, to pull a delicious Ristretto and Lungo, it is best to set extraction parameters suited to each one according to its own liquid weight. It sounds difficult, but it is actually quite simple. Just as with a good espresso, we only need to fix a few key parameters at the start to find a workable recipe quickly.

Standard Espresso Extraction

FrontStreet Coffee starts with regular espresso as the example. Since many factors affect espresso extraction — time, dose, grind, liquid weight, pressure — FrontStreet Coffee chooses to fix the liquid weight and time first (setting them at the start is enough; they can be adjusted later to taste), then adjust the grind according to extraction time, and finally make fine adjustments to taste. That way we can find a suitable recipe quickly.

For example, the portafilter FrontStreet Coffee uses recommends a 20g dose, so we use 20g of grounds to extract 40ml of coffee liquid, with extraction time set between 28-35 seconds. If extracting 40ml with that dose does not fall within 28-35 seconds, we adjust the grind size according to the time difference. When the time is far under 28 seconds, we extend it by grinding finer; if it exceeds 35 seconds, we shorten it by grinding coarser to reduce resistance in the coffee bed. Once the time falls within 28-35 seconds, we judge whether the coffee is properly extracted by tasting. If we taste over-extracted flavors like bitterness and harshness, we can lower the extraction rate by reducing liquid weight or increasing dose; if we taste under-extracted flavors like sharpness and thinness, we can raise the extraction rate by increasing liquid weight or decreasing dose. That way a delicious espresso with high concentration and a high extraction rate can be made quickly.

SCA requires espresso concentration to be between 8%-12% and extraction rate between 18%-22%.

Short-Extraction Ristretto

Ristretto's liquid weight is roughly three-quarters to one-fourth less than espresso. With the same 20g of coffee, an espresso yields 40ml while a Ristretto yields about 30ml. Because its intended character is high concentration, low extraction rate and rich coffee without bitterness, the liquid weight is limited to reduce the leaching of bitter compounds while raising concentration. This is also where the name comes from: Ristretto means "restricted" in Italian.

If we use espresso parameters to pull a Ristretto directly, it will suffer from under-extraction because extraction efficiency is low — after all, less water and less time both reduce efficiency. The correct approach follows the same logic as espresso: first fix the dose, liquid weight and time, then adjust the grind according to extraction time, and finally fine-tune to taste. For time, we can reference the espresso range of 28-35 seconds. For Ristretto's coffee-to-liquid ratio, we set 1:1.5 (adjustable as needed), meaning we use 20g of grounds to extract 30ml of coffee liquid within 28-35 seconds. The remaining operations follow the same logic as espresso, so FrontStreet Coffee will not elaborate further here. As long as the Ristretto we taste lacks sharpness and does not feel thin, it is close to a qualified Ristretto.

Long-Extraction Lungo

In Italian, "Lungo" means "long" or "extended," so in coffee terms we can understand it as extracting more liquid weight over a longer time. Its liquid volume is therefore the highest of the three espressos, while its concentration is relatively lower — which, in turn, makes it easier to drink.

Generally, Lungo's coffee-to-liquid ratio is around 1:5. If we use espresso parameters to pull a Lungo, the coffee will inevitably carry intense bitterness and rich off-flavors, because the extraction efficiency is simply too high: too much time and too much liquid extract both the good and the bad compounds from the grounds. So, to pull a delicious Lungo, we follow the same logic as the two above — fix the dose, coffee-to-liquid ratio and time first, then adjust grind and taste according to extraction time. It is worth noting that, because Lungo's liquid volume is much higher than espresso's, the grinder setting should be adjusted at least 4-5 levels coarser than the original base to extract 100ml of liquid in 30 seconds (FrontStreet Coffee's example uses 20g of grounds completed in 30 seconds).

Of course, FrontStreet Coffee is only providing examples here. No one needs to replicate them exactly; what matters is the thinking process during extraction. Once you understand the fundamental logic, extracting any coffee deliciously is truly not difficult at all.

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FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Ristretto is exactly the base a flat white is built on, and FrontStreet Coffee's espresso blends are matched to the job. FrontStreet Classic Blend is our first choice: it is designed specifically for espresso and moka pot, and its greatest strength is outstanding crema. Even a beginner on a modest home machine can pull dense, fine crema from it, and its traditional Mamba recipe — Mandheling and Brazil — gives a full, gentle body that seasoned drinkers and newcomers alike accept easily. Home or commercial, it is the safe pick.

For a smaller, more coffee-forward milk drink, FrontStreet Signature Blend and FrontStreet Classic Blend both fit the bill. FrontStreet generally favors beans with a high flavor signature for a flat white, because milk is there to support rather than dominate. FrontStreet Classic Blend is full-bodied and low in acidity, with rich, fine crema and an excellent richness alongside milk; for drinkers who chase fruit and floral notes, FrontStreet Strawberry Candy Espresso Blend has very low bitterness and delivers generous grape and blueberry flavors when extracted, with balanced acidity and sweetness that turns a flat white into something close to a strawberry milkshake.

Milk matters as much as the beans. Too thin and the flat white tastes meager; too strong and it masks the coffee. FrontStreet recommends chilled fresh milk, which, once steamed, brings out more milk aroma and sweetness and makes an ideal partner for espresso. In FrontStreet signature blend's own recipe, only the front and middle sections of a Ristretto are used as the base — 20g of grounds extracted to 32g in 22-25 seconds — then paired with 160ml of fresh milk.

As with a latte or cappuccino, flat white foam should be smooth and fine, but it must also be thin. Foam thickness is governed by how long the steam wand draws in air. Because flat white foam must be light and thin, the air intake time must not run long, or the drink slides toward a latte and you lose that first-sip hit of coffee oils. To serve a flat white that is creamy but not watery, FrontStreet sets a standard foam thickness of 0.3cm. That normally means only 1-2 seconds of air intake — a couple of "squeaks" — before submerging the steam wand into the milk and creating a vortex to texture it, until the temperature reaches 50-55°C. Because so little air is drawn in, the process sounds fairly sharp; if the bubbles turn to a reflective sheen when you swirl the pitcher, the foam is ready.