How do I make a short black coffee?

Technically, a short black is the 25-30ml extraction of coffee beans ground finely for the espresso machine. Looking at a range pour time of 15-30 seconds, the short black is traditionally served in a demitasse, or small ceramic cup with a handle, which is preheated. This is the traditional way to serve it….at Black Market Roasters, we like to experiment!

There are so many variations you can do to the above recipe, which suits your taste. Personally I like a double ristretto short black first thing in the morning. A ristretto means to ‘restrict’ the pour or flow to a shorter time so you may only get 15-22ml of coffee in the demitasse. We love this in the morning as much of the oils from the bean come out in the first 10 seconds of the flow, which gives it that sweet punch!

Though, in contrast, we also love a demitasse half-filled with hot water, and then pour a short black on top of it to produce what we call a ‘Misty’. All we can say is experiment with different basket sizes pour time lengths, hot water and then of course…milk!

Black Market Roasters is an online coffee bean shop, which specialises in freshly roasted coffee sourced from some of the most exotic and remote parts of our globe. We roast and deliver to your home or office so you too can enjoy what the world has to offer.