The Espresso to Milk Ratio Problem
The perfect espresso drink is as much about math as it is about coffee. And for decades the coffee world has been trying to tackle the vexing problem of maintaining the proper ratio of espresso to milk across the various available cup sizes. In fact, no one we know of offers different sizes with the same ratio of espresso to milk in each.
Starbucks attempts to solve the Espresso to Milk Ratio Problem led to the following unfortunate results:
- one shot in its 12 oz. cup for a ratio of espresso to steamed milk of approximately 1:1
- two shots in its 16 oz. cup for an approximate ratio of 1:7 and
- two shots again in its 20 oz. cup for an approximate ratio of 1:9.
We don’t understand their math, on a number of levels. First of all, we believe that the optimal ratio of espresso to milk is much higher, between 1 to 4 and 1 to 4.5. But not being so good at math ourselves, we needed help figuring out how to keep this optimal ratio across all of our paper cup sizes. So we enlisted some of the brightest mathematical minds in the country to help us out. We told them that we pull our shots extra short (or ristretto) to keep our espresso strong yet sweet, with each shot being 3/4 of an ounce. Then we told them about the available cups sizes, which run in even numbers from 6 oz. to 20 oz.
Here’s what they come up with: Two shots in an 8 oz. Three shots in a 12 oz. And four shots in a 16 oz. The answer was simple, elegant! In each case, the ratio of espresso to milk was 1:4.33, just where it should be! It was now possible to get the same great espresso drink whether you were in the mood for a small or a large! We jumped for joy! And we used exclamation points wherever we could!!!!
Needless to say we heartily adopted the recommendations of our mathematically-inclined friends. And while it may be true that you’ll get less total volume in your cup, the full, round, complex flavor of our espresso won’t get lost in all that milk. From the first sip of cream off the top of one of our lattes right down to the bottom of the cup, we think you’ll appreciate the difference that using the correct ratio of espresso to milk will make.
Photo by Cora Lambert.
