Hi All

Continuing my research to shake the bitterness from my shots, I've noticed that the cafés serving tasty espresso are invariably serving ristrettos.

Taken from wiki:
"Straight ristrettos-shots that are traditionally drunk from a demitasse and not diluted into a larger cup containing milk or water-could be described as bolder, fuller, with more body and less bitterness."

Do ristrettos exhibit significantly less bitterness than espresso in your experience?

I've tried a few with my double basket and they do seem less bitter. Will continue exploring.

I think it is a mistake to think of ristrettos as more or less bitter. What they are is more concentrated; everything else depends on how the shot is executed. If you stop a shot flowing at a normal rate too soon, you'll get a ristretto volume that is underextracted, and it will be more sour than bitter. If you dial the grind way down to extract a ristretto over the course of a minute, you might find it more bitter than sour (although some machines can execute this style very well, most especially open-boiler level machines). You can also adjust heat to adjust the sour/bitter balance. But ultimately, a good barista using a high quality, well-roasted coffee, should be able to pull a balanced shot at any brew ratio; it is just a matter of technique.

I was once told by an Italian friend that I should try ordering ristrettos because they are less bitter than a normal espresso. Unfortunately, I always forget to try this experiment when I am in Italy.

Edit addition: It occurs to me that this theory may apply to the Italian blends served in Italy, which often include robusta, and not to the single-origins and blends many of us drink in English-speaking countries.

Matt

This doesn't surprise me at all and it's true.

My theory is that it has more to do with varying concentrations of flavor components. Other flavor components (eg. sweets, sours, salts) take dominance at higher concentrations. Furthermore I presume there would be a double the concentration of oils and fatty acids (that which is responsible for crema) which may a dominant affect in smell and flavor perception over bitters, at higher concentrations.

Espresso_Monkey wrote:
Taken from wiki:
"Straight ristrettos-shots that are traditionally drunk from a demitasse and not diluted into a larger cup containing milk or water-could be described as bolder, fuller, with more body and less bitterness."

Do ristrettos exhibit significantly less bitterness than espresso in your experience?

My understanding of a ristretto differs from the description you quote above. A ristretto is essentially just a short shot of espresso. This type of extraction accentuates the flavors predominant in the early part of the shot which includes sugars, caramels, and intense flavors over the more bitter compounds at the end of the shot. So the answer to your question is yes ristrettos will be less bitter.

Read about the "Rule of Thirds" here: /espresso-g ... tions.html