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Whats the difference between a short black and a long black coffee?

7/6/2013

Espresso shot

Are you sometimes questioning the difference between a latte and a flat white? Are you unsure of the difference between a short black, an espresso shot, and a long black coffee? Its not just you, some of the confusion comes from different countries in the world referring to the same coffee by a different name.

I was surprised to learn that;

A Latte, ordered in Ital will get you a glass of steamed milk, and no coffee! You need to ask for a 'Caffe Latte' if you want your regular Latte coffee.

So, here is a description of each of the popular coffees that you would see on a blackboard at a cafe in Australia. These descriptions are my survival guide only, and are open to interpretation depending on the cafe etc.

Espresso Shot - a 30ml shot of espresso coffee. made from 7grams of coffee, straight from the machine served in a 60ml porcelain cup
Short black - exactly the same as a Espresso Shot
Double shot Espresso - exactly the same as an Espresso shot, but two shots are made into the one cup - doubling the size to 60ml
Long black - 120 to 180mls of water with an espresso (or double espresso) shot poured on top of the water. Its incorrect to add the water to the espresso shot for risk of dissipating the crema.
Caffe Americano - same as a long black, but the espresso shot is added first, and the water on top to intentionally disipate and disturb the crema
Flat white - start with an espresso base, in a 250ml porcelain cup, add steamed frothed milk, but hold back the froth.
Latte - same as a flat white, but more milky (ie: less coffee). served in a tall glass (not ceramic) and topped with a small amount of foam
Cappuccino - as for a Flat White, but introduce some extra froth and dust chocolate powder on top for presentation and flavour.

A few that you might not see too often;

Single Origin espresso - same as an espresso shot, but using a single coffee bean origin, rather than a expertly blended coffee from various regions. (can also be ordered as a double shot machiato)
Picollo Latte - an espresso shot with 90ml of steamed milk (can also be ordered as a double shot machiato)
Machiatto - an espresso shot with a teaspoon of milk froth to 'stain' the espresso. (can also be ordered as a double shot machiato). Some people refer to this as simply a 'mach'
Ristretto - same as a espresso shot, but only using the first half of the espresso shot (15ml) which is sweeter. Can be ordered as a double ristretto totaling 30ml.

NOTE: A single shot is 30ml of espresso coffee extracted from a single basket of coffee holding 7g and etracted in 30 seconds. A double shot can be acheived by repeating the single shot, or using a double basket (holding 14grams of coffee) but extracting in the same timeframe (30 seconds) and producing 60ml of coffee. Same with a tripple shot - repeat a single again, or use a tripple basket (21grams of coffee). Generally, I never ever use the single shot basket and standardise on the double shot basket.

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Get the edge with this delicious full flavour coffee bean

27 Comments

Adrian Shiel

31/1/2014 01:50:36 am

I havwe drank Espresso most of my life but just recently in both Melbourne and Sydney of I order a short black or Espresso I am getting a ristretto. No amount of explaining seems to be getting me a 30ml shot that I can enjoy for longer than 4 seconds. Don't get me started on how the piccolo had some how become a slightly shorter normal latte.

Greg

6/11/2023 02:56:23 pm

Adrian, the simple answer is, they don't know how. Baristas of the current crop are only capable of dispensing what the machine (volumetric) they are using is set to do. The correct short black should be 30ml including the crema and the shot should take aprox 30 seconds from the time the button is pressed. Piccolo is another they cant get right, it simply means small so if someone orders a piccolo they need to say what style they want, but some cafes have 1 style and they call it piccolo. Barista has gone silly with people making up nonsense recipes and others following suit like sheep. Traditional espresso is still the right way of doing it. Cheers.

James Axisa

31/1/2014 02:05:05 am

Hi Adrian. I'm seeing the same thing out and about too. My take on it is there are using lower quality coffee beans and so to compensate are under extracting to not make it too bitter. What do you think? Are your espressos bitter, when you get them?

Peter Holland

4/11/2014 04:12:26 am

I found this to be a very informative article. It has helped me understand what to order at a cafe (e.g. espresso shot or short black) and what nespresso accessories to acquire (e.g. glasses). I assume a nespresso lungo is the same as a long black.

James Axisa link

13/3/2017 11:02:55 am

A Nespresso Lungo is a little different in that it just extracts a single shot for longer. Some coffees don't do well under a longer extraction and end up being bitter, but others are fine. For a true long black with a Nespresso machine extract a capsule as normal, and then an extraction with no capsule installed, so it dispenses just hot water. That last bit is a little hack, so it's possible not all machines are compatible.

Foresst Hill

25/2/2015 10:58:17 pm

Thank you for this helpful summary. Next time, I'll order with more confidence :)

Kiwi Thom

7/6/2015 11:01:52 pm

Great succinct article on the similarities and differences between the terminologies. Ka pai for saving me when the barrista said short black... when I had ordered an espresso. I was reading this and then jumped to my feet to confidently get my coffee when she used these once daunting colloquialisms.

Don ames

26/3/2016 08:01:04 am

Thanks. I thought long black would be double short. Nope. It is just adding water to short black. Thanks again.

Ant

20/9/2016 08:32:50 pm

I am Planning to start my Own Coffee Cart Once i get back from my travelling next year :):)Great Article Helped me a lot

bernadette

13/3/2017 10:49:07 am

I ordered a long black today. It was half a cup. Isn't a long black a full cup. $3:70 for half a cup of water and half a cup of coffee seems a bit much.

13/3/2017 10:57:22 am

It should have been 240ml, made with a double shot of espresso. At least you have the recepie now, so you can ask for whatever suits you best, or question it with confidence. For me, as a customer, when I didn't really understand the differences I would accept whatever was handed to me and think the disappointment was a result of me ordering the wrong thing.

16/3/2017 10:30:47 am

Thanks James, That makes me feel better. Unfortunately James, I am not like you. I never think I am wrong and scuttle out of the shop. I stand my ground till I convince whoever I am right. It is partly my personality and partly my responsibilities in life. I am very happy to receive this response. Thank-you Bernadette

Amir Marafi

20/5/2017 07:03:45 am

Thanks for the great info about coffee. I travelled all over the world and tried lots of different coffees but now I am sure I'll be ordering my coffee with confidence. I recently stayed in the great city of Melbourne, Australia and I enjoyed the long black coffee which I thought it was the Americano coffee. But now I know the exact difference. Great job man

Ian Lloyd

21/5/2017 08:23:56 am

Thank you!

Neville

23/6/2017 09:51:15 am

I need a name for a short long black ... double espresso over a dash of water. Any ideas?

23/6/2017 10:02:20 am

I see the dilemma - A long black is espresso over much more hot water than you describe, and a short black is simply an espresso shot with no water added. Maybe ask for a double shot espresso and a 1/4 cup of hot water in ceramic as a complimentary side order, then mix it yourself? Maybe even a triple shot long black in a 180ml cup, which will naturally affect the ratio of water (90ml of espresso with 90ml of water, because they cant fit any more water in)...

Actually, I've got it! "Double Shot Long black served in a piccolo glass" - that Piccolo glass is 90ml, so with 60ml of Espresso, you're at your target.

Neville Yates

23/6/2017 10:34:27 am

Yeah, but we need a name for it :-)

23/6/2017 10:41:11 am

Lets call it the "Double Trouble on Warmed Ice" ;-)

Rob

7/11/2017 08:39:07 pm

It's called a shlong!

cathy

28/3/2018 03:49:43 pm

ha ha .... I have this problem - I order a double espresso with hot water on the side, and nine times out of 10 they bring a dble espresso with a mug of hot water...? Frustrating :)

Jo stephen

28/6/2017 10:24:52 pm

Glad I just order a weak skim cappuccino😀

Liebo

17/9/2017 02:45:10 am

I usually order a " Sammy Davis " and get met with a blank face . Then I suggest " a short black " and still get the blank look . Many of the baristas are too young !

17/9/2017 10:39:03 am

You'll need to ask for a Sammy Davis Jr.

Rex

18/7/2019 09:37:51 am

Any suggestions for getting the best results from a stove top espresso maker?

James axisa link

18/7/2019 09:48:52 am

Great idea! I’ll put something together.

Jane

10/7/2020 01:26:00 pm

Hey, I have a question in terms of long black:
Option 1: 4 Ristretto (15 seconds each, overall 60 seconds) on top of 60ml hot water.
Option 2: 2 shots (in a single basket * 30 seconds, then change to new beans and do another single basket * 30 seconds, so overall 14g * 60 seconds) on top of 60ml hot water.
Option 3: 2 shots (in a double basket * 60 seconds, doesn't change the bean in the middle) on top of 60ml hot water.
What's the differences in terms of taste among these 3 options? And if I need a name for each of them, any suggestions?
Thanks!

10/7/2020 01:56:22 pm

So the common part here is all the shots are on hot water, so that will preserve the crema of all of these long blacks. Now, onto the variables;
1. 4x Single Ristretto (using a total 4x 7grams, yield = 60ml) -vs-
2. 2x Single (using 2x 7grams, yield = 60ml) -vs-
3. 1x Double (using 1x 14g, yeild =60ml)

I'd say the first option, the Ristretto will be the sweetest by a factor of x2 - you're using twice as much coffee, but discarding the second part of the yield. If this was extracted normally, the yield would have been 120ml, but it is now only 60ml.

In the second example, it is essentially the same as the third example, except that the third example has removed the need for a basket change, and regrind, tamp extract process. Removing that extra step by introducing a double basket has reduced the preparation time, resulting in aslightly hotter coffee, a better presented crema and if this is in a cafe environment, imporoved efficiency for the barista and less wait time for the customer (and anyone else waiting in line).

For the fun part, to name these, I'd name them;

1. The Better Half
2. The Apprentice

and.......

3. The Boss

- James.

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