# What Is an Espresso Shot?

> Single, double, ristretto and lungo explained by volume and ratio — plus how many shots are actually in a latte, cappuccino and americano.

Topic: Espresso  
Published: 2026-08-30T09:05:00-04:00  
Updated: 2026-08-30T09:05:00-04:00  
Author: Mical Robert, Editor (https://trysix.online/author/mical-robert)  
Canonical: https://trysix.online/what-is-an-espresso-shot

## The short answer

One serving of espresso: about 30 ml pulled from roughly 9 g of grounds in 25 to 30 seconds, carrying around 63 mg of caffeine. A double, which most cafés actually serve, uses 18 g and yields 60 ml.

## Key takeaways

- A single is ~30 ml from ~9 g; a double is ~60 ml from ~18 g. Most cafés pull doubles by default.
- A single shot carries about 63 mg of caffeine — less than an 8 oz cup of drip coffee.
- Ristretto and lungo change the yield, not the dose: same coffee, less or more water through it.
- A latte and a cappuccino contain the same espresso. Only the milk differs.

Single, double, ristretto, lungo, doppio. It is a lot of vocabulary for what is fundamentally one thing measured out in different amounts. Knowing which is which is genuinely useful at the counter, particularly if you are trying to drink less caffeine without drinking less coffee.

## The definition

A shot is one serving of espresso. The numbers behind it: about 9 g of finely ground coffee for a single, water at roughly 9 bar for 25 to 30 seconds, yielding about 30 ml of liquid — a ratio of roughly 1:2 by weight.

In practice almost nobody pulls singles. Double baskets extract more evenly, and the economics of a café favour one 18 g double over two 9 g singles. When a menu says espresso, you are usually getting a double.

**The four shot types, by dose, yield and ratio.**

| Shot | Dose | Yield | Ratio | Character |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ristretto | 18 g | ~25 ml | 1:1 | Thick, sweet, short finish |
| Single (solo) | 9 g | ~30 ml | 1:2 | Standard, rarely served |
| Double (doppio) | 18 g | ~60 ml | 1:2 | The café default |
| Lungo | 18 g | ~110 ml | 1:3–1:4 | Lighter, more bitter, more caffeine |

> **Ristretto and lungo are not different coffees** — Same beans, same dose, same grind. The barista simply stops the shot earlier or lets it run longer. A ristretto is more concentrated but contains slightly less total caffeine; a lungo is more dilute but contains slightly more, because more water passed through the same grounds.

## Caffeine per shot

A single shot averages about 63 mg of caffeine and a double about 126 mg. That is less per serving than an 8 oz cup of drip coffee at roughly 95 mg — the shot is far more concentrated but far smaller.

**Figure: Caffeine by shot type**

| Item | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Ristretto (mg — slightly under a single) | 60 |
| Single espresso (mg — the standard figure) | 63 |
| Double espresso (mg — the café default) | 126 |
| Lungo (mg — more water, more extracted) | 140 |

_Approximate figures for arabica at standard doses. Robusta-containing blends run considerably higher._

Those are averages across a wide real-world spread. Measurements of espresso from different outlets have found several-fold variation between samples of the same nominal drink, driven by dose, bean species and grind. [How much caffeine is in a cup of coffee](https://trysix.online/how-much-caffeine-in-a-cup-of-coffee) covers the ranges properly.

## How many shots are in each drink

**Standard shot counts. Chains vary, and sizes above medium usually add a shot.**

| Drink | Shots | Added | Caffeine |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Espresso | 1–2 | Nothing | 63–126 mg |
| Macchiato | 1 | A spoon of foam | ~63 mg |
| Cortado | 1 | Equal steamed milk | ~63 mg |
| Cappuccino | 1–2 | Milk and foam in thirds | 63–126 mg |
| Flat white | 2 | ~120 ml steamed milk | ~126 mg |
| Latte | 1–2 | 200 ml+ steamed milk | 63–126 mg |
| Americano | 1–2 | Hot water | 63–126 mg |
| Mocha | 1–2 | Chocolate and milk | 63–126 mg, plus cocoa |

The important pattern: milk adds volume, not caffeine. A 16 oz latte and a 8 oz flat white made with two shots each contain the same caffeine. If you want less caffeine, order fewer shots — ordering a larger milky drink does the opposite of what people often assume. [Types of coffee drinks](https://trysix.online/types-of-coffee-drinks) has the full menu with milk ratios.

## Crema, and what it tells you

The reddish-brown foam on a fresh shot is crema: carbon dioxide from roasting, emulsified into the liquid under pressure and stabilised by coffee oils. It sits for a minute or two, then collapses.

- Thick, lasting crema generally means fresh coffee still holding roasting gases.
- No crema usually means stale beans or too coarse a grind.
- Robusta produces markedly more crema than arabica, which is why many traditional Italian blends include some — see [types of coffee beans](https://trysix.online/types-of-coffee-beans).
- Crema tastes bitter on its own. Stir the shot before drinking rather than sipping through it.

> **Crema is not a quality grade** — It indicates freshness and gas content, not whether the shot was well extracted. A stale-tasting, badly channelled shot from very fresh beans will still have generous crema. Judge the shot by taste and by whether it hit 25 to 30 seconds.

## Ordering, and what the words mean

### Getting what you actually want

1. **Ask for a single if you want less caffeine** — The default is a double almost everywhere. Asking for a single roughly halves the caffeine in any espresso-based drink without changing anything else about it.
2. **Ristretto for sweetness, not strength** — A ristretto is more concentrated per millilitre but slightly lower in total caffeine, because less water passed through the grounds. People order it for the sweeter, denser character.
3. **Lungo, not americano, if you want a longer black coffee from the machine** — A lungo runs more water through the same grounds during extraction. An americano pulls a normal shot and adds hot water afterwards — a cleaner result, because the extra water never touched the coffee bed.
4. **Say the size in shots, not in cup size** — Cup sizes vary between shops; shot counts do not. 'A flat white with one shot' is unambiguous in a way 'a small flat white' is not.

If you want to pull these at home, the dose-yield-time framework is the same one used in [how to make espresso at home](https://trysix.online/how-to-make-espresso-at-home), and the underlying method is explained in [what is espresso](https://trysix.online/what-is-espresso).

## Frequently asked questions

### How much caffeine is in one shot of espresso?

About 63 mg for a standard single. A double, which most cafés serve by default, is roughly 126 mg. Both figures are averages — real measurements of espresso from different outlets vary several-fold depending on dose, bean species and grind.

### How many shots are in a latte?

One or two, depending on the shop and the size. Small and medium lattes usually have one or two; large sizes often add a third. Milk adds volume but no caffeine, so a large latte with two shots has the same caffeine as a small one with two.

### What is the difference between ristretto and espresso?

A ristretto uses the same dose of coffee but is stopped early, yielding about 25 ml instead of 30 or 60. It is more concentrated and tastes sweeter and denser, and it contains slightly less total caffeine because less water passed through the grounds.

### Is a double espresso two shots?

Yes — a doppio is a double, made from about 18 g of coffee yielding roughly 60 ml. It is pulled as a single extraction through a double basket rather than as two separate singles, which extracts more evenly.

## Sources

- [Caffeine Content of Specialty Coffees](https://doi.org/10.1093/jat/27.7.520) — Journal of Analytical Toxicology (2003) (DOI 10.1093/jat/27.7.520). Supports the measured variability of caffeine content in espresso served commercially.
- [Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine is Too Much?](https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/spilling-beans-how-much-caffeine-too-much) — U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Supports the reference caffeine figures for espresso and brewed coffee servings.
- [Systematically Improving Espresso: Insights from Mathematical Modeling and Experiment](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matt.2019.12.019) — Matter (2020) (DOI 10.1016/j.matt.2019.12.019). Supports the dose, yield and time parameters that define a shot and the effect of changing them.

## Related articles

- https://trysix.online/what-is-espresso
- https://trysix.online/how-to-make-espresso-at-home
- https://trysix.online/types-of-coffee-drinks
- https://trysix.online/how-much-caffeine-in-a-cup-of-coffee

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