Ristretto

Ristretto is Italian for "restricted," and that is the whole idea: the same dose of coffee as an espresso, but the shot is cut short at roughly half to two-thirds of the water. What lands in the cup is a small, syrupy mouthful with concentrated sweetness, because the pull stops before the more bitter compounds come through. Order one when a regular espresso tastes too sharp, or ask for a ristretto base when you want a milk drink with a rounder, stronger coffee flavor. The piccolo, further down this list, is built on exactly that.