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

Understanding the Three Versions of Espresso

As we all know, there are three versions of espresso! There's the standard Normale (regular espresso), the short-extraction Ristretto, and the long-extraction Lungo.

Because these three have distinctly different extraction rates and concentrations, we extract different versions according to our needs. For example, when making lattes and cappuccinos, we use regular espresso; for flat whites, we use the short-extraction Ristretto; and when wanting to drink straight espresso with lower concentration, we choose Lungo. (From left to right: Ristretto, Normale, Lungo)

FrontStreet Coffee often hears from friends at our stores that they've tried making Ristretto and Lungo at home, but the former turns out sharp and thin, while the latter becomes unbearably bitter—not as good as simply extracting espresso and then removing some liquid weight or adding water.

FrontStreet Coffee can guess why this happens: these friends believe all three versions can be extracted using the same set of parameters. What does this mean? They use the same dose and grind size for espresso to extract Ristretto and Lungo. This is also a common mistake many people make, which FrontStreet Coffee mentioned in our article about concentrated espresso. Because many bloggers, including FrontStreet Coffee, when comparing the differences between the three versions, mention that "Ristretto has less liquid than espresso, while Lungo has more liquid than espresso." This easily leads some friends to mistakenly believe that both can be adjusted simply by changing the liquid weight on the basis of espresso—extracting a little more or a little less.

However, this extraction method only leads to under-extraction and over-extraction. Because espresso extraction parameters are determined based on the espresso's coffee-to-liquid ratio, if we adjust the ratio without modifying other parameters, the coffee will become difficult to swallow due to insufficient extraction or over-extraction. In other words, if we want to extract a delicious Ristretto and Lungo, it's best to adjust extraction parameters suitable for each according to their respective liquid weights. This might sound a bit difficult, but it's actually quite simple. Just like extracting a delicious espresso, we only need to fix several key parameters at the beginning to quickly find a suitable extraction formula.

Standard Espresso Extraction

FrontStreet Coffee will start with regular espresso as an example: because many factors can affect espresso extraction (time, dose, grind, liquid weight, pressure), FrontStreet Coffee chooses to first fix the liquid weight and time when adjusting espresso (fixing them at the beginning is sufficient, adjustments can be made later based on taste), then adjust the grind according to extraction time, and finally make fine adjustments based on taste. This way, we can quickly find a suitable extraction formula.

For example, the portafilter FrontStreet Coffee uses recommends a 20g dose, so we use 20g of coffee grounds to extract 40ml of coffee liquid, with extraction time set between 28-35 seconds. If extracting 40ml with this dose doesn't fall within the 28-35 second range, we need to adjust the coffee grind size based on the time difference. When time is much less than 28 seconds, we extend extraction time by making the grind finer; if it exceeds 35 seconds, we reduce extraction time by making the grind coarser to decrease resistance in the coffee bed. Once extraction time falls within the 28-35 second range, we then determine whether the coffee is properly extracted through actual tasting. If we taste over-extracted flavors like bitterness and harshness, we can reduce extraction rate by decreasing liquid weight/increasing dose; if we taste under-extracted flavors like sharpness and thinness, we can increase coffee extraction rate by increasing liquid weight/decreasing dose. This way, a delicious espresso with high concentration and high extraction rate can be quickly made!

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

Short-Extraction Ristretto

Ristretto's liquid weight is about three-quarters to one-fourth less than espresso! With the same 20g of coffee, extracting espresso yields 40ml, while extracting Ristretto yields about 30ml. Because its intended characteristics are high concentration, low extraction rate, and rich coffee without bitterness, people limit its liquid weight to reduce the leaching of bitter compounds while increasing coffee concentration. This is also where the name Ristretto comes from, meaning "restricted" in Italian.

If we use espresso extraction parameters to directly extract Ristretto, this Ristretto will suffer from under-extraction due to low extraction efficiency, after all, reduced water amount and extraction time both decrease extraction efficiency. Therefore, the correct approach follows the same logic as espresso: first fix the dose, liquid weight, and time, then adjust grind according to extraction time, and finally fine-tune based on taste. For time, we can reference espresso extraction time, that is, the 28-35 second range. For Ristretto's coffee-to-liquid ratio, we set it at 1:1.5 (adjustable as needed), meaning we need to use 20g of coffee grounds to extract 30ml of coffee liquid within 28-35 seconds. The remaining operations follow the same logic as espresso, so FrontStreet Coffee won't elaborate further here. As long as the Ristretto we taste lacks sharpness and doesn't feel thin, it means it's close to being 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 with a longer extraction time. Therefore, its liquid volume is the highest among the three espresso types, but its concentration is relatively lower. However, because of this, it's easier to drink.

Generally, Lungo's coffee-to-liquid ratio is around 1:5. If we use espresso extraction parameters to extract Lungo, undoubtedly, this coffee will inevitably have 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 bad compounds from the coffee grounds. Therefore, if we want to extract a delicious Lungo, following the same logic as the two above, we first fix the dose, coffee-to-liquid ratio, and time, then adjust grind and taste according to extraction time. It's worth mentioning that because Lungo's liquid volume is much higher than espresso, 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 coffee grounds completed in 30 seconds).

Of course, FrontStreet Coffee is just providing examples here; everyone doesn't need to replicate them exactly, because the important thing is the thinking process during extraction. Once you understand the fundamental logic of extraction, extracting any coffee deliciously is truly not difficult at all.

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