Coffee lovers always worried about one question: how to drink this drink daily, but without any harm to health. The Italians figured out how to solve this problem, and offered the world aromatic ristretto coffee. They drink about 10 cups of this drink and at the same time feel great. Despite the fact that it is too concentrated, strong and bitter, it is completely safe for health, since it does not contain caffeine.
The whole secret lies in the technology of its preparation: for the first 15 seconds of processing coffee beans, harmful caffeine does not have time to get into the drink, and it is saturated exclusively with essential coffee oils.
Ristretto coffee can be safely called "a drink of one sip." After all, his portion is only 15, a maximum of 30 ml.
What kind of coffee with the name "Ristretto"?
Ristretto coffee is considered a truly noble
Italian drink. It differs from other
types of coffee in the following features:
- is the strongest;
- welded in a minimum amount of water;
- very concentrated;
- has a dense film without white spots;
- It has a rather thick consistency.
This drink has many names: double espresso (because of strength), semi-espresso (because of volume), corto, shot, shrank, lightyrelli. It does not contain caffeine, because after 15 minutes of ristretto extraction, the above alkaloid does not have time to stand out. He needs more time for this. Only essential coffee oils get into coffee.
This drink is necessarily prepared in a special coffee machine, which turns on a little faster than necessary for making, for example, espresso. Making ristretto coffee in a Turk is quite difficult, and in most cases this does not always work.
Brief historical background
Ristretto is an incredibly delicious coffee drink. If you translate the meaning of this word from the Italian language, then it means "strong, thick, limited." This is true since this coffee:
- the strongest coffee drink;
- has sufficient density;
- boiled in a limited amount of water.
One serving of ristretto is half the standard expresso. They drink it in one or two sips, without even crouching at the table. It is undesirable to add sugar to this drink, because it will only spoil the real taste of this drink.
Italians drink a lot of coffee per day. Sometimes this amount is 7-8 cups per day. Ristretto coffee is a real find for connoisseurs of this drink, since it does not contain caffeine.
How to choose the right grains?
Professional Italian barists claim that dark or medium roasted grains are ideal for ristretto coffee. The horn of the coffee maker must be dry, so it is important to wipe it first from moisture or water droplets.
For a coffee machine, grains of medium grinding, if it is arabica, or fine grinding, if it is robusta, are best suited . Sometimes gourmets experiment and mix the two above varieties to get an unforgettable aromatic drink.
Ristretto coffee: how to brew properly?
For this ristretto, only freshly ground grains are indicated. This drink has the following features:
- has a fairly dense film;
- there are no white spots in it.
This indicates, first of all, that coffee does not contain caffeine.
In addition, this type of coffee drink also has a special serving. It is presented in small glass cups, with a glass of cold drinking water. Although many experts argue that still to avoid problems with tooth enamel, you need to take water at room temperature. It is water that helps to reveal the real and unique taste of this aromatic coffee.
Ristretto: recipe for cooking
This drink is made from the following ingredients:
- fresh coffee beans of medium grinding - about 8-9 g;
- drinking water - about 30 ml;
- granulated sugar is added to taste.
Yield: 30 ml ristretto.
Another recipe provides the following amounts of ingredients:
- ground coffee - 10 g;
- drinking water - 15 ml.
Yield: 15 ml of this coffee.
So still, how to make a ristretto in a coffee machine? First, coffee beans must be ground evenly in a coffee grinder. Then the horn of the coffee machine is wiped dry and the coffee moves there. It must be properly tamped with a tamper. For the desired temperature, it is important to first pass hot water through the coffee into the cup for a few seconds. This will warm it up. After that, fix the horn in the coffee machine and turn on the water strait for 3 seconds. This time is enough to soak coffee well. Some coffee makers have a special soaking function. If you do not do this, the coffee will not be so aromatic and will not open well.
The extraction of coffee emulsion takes only 15 to 30 seconds. The result should be a delicious coffee with a volume of 15 to 30 ml.
It is the time of extraction of coffee beans that the ristretto differs from espresso.
Proper coffee brewing
This delicious coffee is served as follows:
- in a small cup without handles;
- in an espresso cup.
Since this drink is highly concentrated, has a rather bitter and rich strong taste, it is imperative that a glass of cold drinking water is attached to it.
Before the first drink of ristretto, foodies drink some water. It is believed that in this way taste buds are cleansed and dehydration of the body is prevented. Drinking water before each new sip of ristretto will allow you to enjoy the aroma of this drink with every next drop.
Experts say that this method of using this coffee has one drawback: hot ristretto and cold water can damage tooth enamel. But it should be noted that Italians do not think about this for a long time and drink their strong, delicious coffee.
This drink is often used to make cocktails, cappuccino, latte.
Also, the rule of bad taste is the addition of sugar to this drink. This supplement, according to Italians, only spoils the taste of real ristretto coffee.
The above drink is a real find for the coffee gourmet. The unrivaled taste and aroma of ristretto surely win the hearts of many coffee lovers.