Best Coffee Beans for Ristretto: Rich, Bold, and Smooth Espresso Picks

Same as espresso a ristretto is a short shot of coffee. Less water and fine ground beans are necessary to prepare a ristretto. But, who wants to drink less coffee? Most coffee lovers don’t want to see their mug empty.

Usually we want more coffee, but here has to do with better quality by compromising the quantity. When less hot water runs through the fine grounds, the outcome is more concentrated taste. Our coffee’s flavor is less bitter, and more sweet and balanced.

This happens due to the shorter period of extraction. In Italian language, the word ristretto means restricted. So, when you order a ristretto, actually you inform your barista to restrict the volume in your cup. 

So, if you prepare a ristretto at home you know that you should have less coffee voume in your cup. The rule of thumb is that a ristretto is a short shot of espresso and shouln’t have more than 1 oz of liquid volume.

Luigi Lavazza started his passion back in 1895. This passion made him search for special blends throughout the globe. He promised to deliver the best quality in every cup of coffee. This legacy stays alive for 4 generations. This famous brand remain the leading ambassador of Italian coffee.

This Super Crema Lavazza is 80% Arabica and 20% Robusta and it’s a medium roast. The origin is from Central America and Indonesia. The flavor is smoky, not bitter, with notes of fruits and nuts. This excellent blend is the best for both espresso and ristretto coffee.

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Check also our review on Lavazza Oro

This brand delivers strong coffee. They claim that its caffeine content is double from other brands. For this reason the company markets it as the world’s strongest coffee.

Death Wish is a dark roast and it’s best for preparing ristretto and espressos too. The flavor brings elements of cherries, chocolate, skoky like a classic dark roast. Another Arabica – Robusta blend that has a nice taste. The taste isn’t very bitter and with less acid content.

Your conscience remains clear since it’s Certified Fair Trade. For ristrettos is one of my best due to the taste, body and aroma. As mentioned, ristretto has to do more with quality. Death Wish organic is definitely a high quality coffee.

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Kicking Horse founders were two Canadian sharing their passion for coffee. The brand started when these two entrepreneurs began roasting coffee at their garage. After 20 years the company promise is to deliver high quality organic and fair trade coffee. A few years ago the brand name was Canada’s favorite, and it was fair trade coffee.

You could also find ground coffee from Kicking Horse from coarse to fine. Fine is good for espresso, but if you want drip, pour-over, or French press you could opt the coarse grounds.  This blend is a medium roast with several coffee varieties.

It includes coffee beans from South and Central America, Africa, and Indonesia. The aroma brings notes of chocolate, brown sugar, and black currant. The flavor is fruity with a cocoa aftertaste. It’s one of the best espresso beans for many coffee enthusiasts.

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Koffee Kult is another quality, fair trade, and organic coffee. It’s an ideal dark roast for preparing ristrettos due to its freshness. Raw coffee beans are being roasted in smaller batches. This happens right before packing to secure the best freshness.

Koffee Kult is an artisan blend of coffees. Coffee beans varieties come from Colombia, Guatemala, and Sumatra. The flavor is smooth and contains low content of acids.  I have picked it as one of the best coffee beans for ristretto due to its heavy body and spicy flavor notes.

Your nose will detect the cinnamon and chocolate notes. If you buy whole beans of Koffee Kult, you can select the grinding variation. So, apart from espresso, and ristrettos you can prepare French press, drip, or pour-over.

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Cafe Don Pablo is an artisan specialty coffee and founded by Darron and Eliana Burke. It’s an Arabica specialty coffee whereas coffee beans are coming from own trees. Cultivation of coffee trees in the area of South America delivers quality in your cup.

The soil of South America is popular for its volcanic and nutrient elements. Coffee aficionados around the globe know this very well. And it’s not a secret that this kind of soil brings some of the top Arabica coffee beans.

Cafe Don Pablo includes a lot of manual labor in harvesting to secure their quality. I prefer it for making ristretto due to its strong flavor, and aroma. You will sense a mild and complex flavor. You will feel the dark chocolate notes blended with earthy elements. This blend contains Colombian Supremo and Sumatra Mandheling coffee beans.

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For some coffee fanatics, a ristretto is a perfect pour. Some others believe that there is no reason for such a hype for ristrettos. Yet, most of the coffee lovers admit that a ristretto is the ultimate espresso experience.

We could say that the opposite of the ristretto is lungo. Ristretto isn’t stronger than espresso since it contains less caffeine than espresso. Since shorter time is needed for extraction, then less caffeine gets out from the grounds. Ristretto has less caffeine than espresso, americano, and lungo.

So, if you’re an espresso lover who likes to get 4-5 shots daily, you should reconsider the ristretto option. The reason is simple. You’ll get the best flavor, aroma, and espresso experience.  On top of that, you don’t have to mind about the increased caffeine content that may keep you up in the night.

The unique flavor of a ristretto is based on the procedure that involves less time of extraction. During this shorter extraction individual chemical elements extract at different stages. This is what makes a ristretto an exclusive coffee experience.

To experience the pure essence of a ristretto, you’ll need to skip your frothy milk. That’s because the way to drink a ristretto includes a short volume of a single shot of espresso.

Italians, drink their ristretto fast to taste all the elements of flavor to their palate. But, you can use a double shot of ristretto if you prefer more coffee in your cup. It’s important though to prepare every shot separately by using a new coffee part.

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