Espresso cup size: ristretto, espresso and lungo in ml

Most guides blur the two. Here, the middle column is what you drink and the right one is what the cup holds.

Nespresso and Lavazza pages checked 28 September 2026. Ranges are quoted as published.

Nespresso's 25, 40 and 110 ml are the volumes the brand pairs with its Original capsules (Nespresso FAQ).

The Italian figure comes from somewhere else entirely. The certified Italian espresso spec (INEI, certified in 1999) targets about 25 ml including crema (ViniPlus, 2010), and Beverfood (2009) gives 25 ml ± 2.5 from 7 g ± 0.5 of coffee. Both are second-hand reproductions, because the institute's own site doesn't show the numbers, at least not anywhere we could find.

The same spec sets extraction pressure at 9 bar ± 1, which is a different figure from the pump pressure printed on machine boxes. And the 2026 World Barista Championship rules define espresso as around 30 ml (1 fl. oz.) without setting any cup size.

Ratio definitions count in grams instead. La Marzocco Home (2014) puts a ristretto at 1:1 to 1:2 and a lungo at 1:3 to 1:4, while Wikipedia gives roughly 1:1 for a ristretto, 1:2 for an espresso and 1:4 for a lungo. So the final volume depends on your dose, and our espresso brew ratio guide walks through the maths.

One more trap: a lungo isn't an Americano. A lungo pushes more water through the coffee, while an Americano adds hot water to an espresso that's already been pulled (Malongo). In French, "café allongé" usually means the lungo, which is probably where a lot of the confusion starts.

Novebar hasn't tested any cups. The effects below come from manufacturers, or from the only two sources we found with actual data.

Material and preheating

Lavazza describes its 60 ml porcelain cup as narrow enough to concentrate the aroma and thick enough to hold the temperature (Lavazza). That's a manufacturer claim with no published measurement behind it.

The one measurement we found comes from Glew Engineering (undated page): 3 oz of espresso in a preheated ceramic cup dropped from 78.6 °C to 41.7 °C over about 23 minutes. One test, and no comparison of wall thickness. The same test also measured a Styrofoam cup, which cooled by about 3 °C less than the ceramic one, and a paper cup, which cooled more than both. The engineers still recommend ceramic, citing reuse and the environment.

For ceramic, the seller's listing calls the cups thick-walled and gives a capacity inside Lavazza's range: Cosumy – 6 tasses espresso en céramique 70 ml avec soucoupes.

Shape, and glass

A study by Carvalho and Spence (2018) with 276 participants found aroma rated stronger in a tulip-shaped cup. It looked at how specialty coffee is perceived, not at crema or temperature.

Double-wall glass isn't measured by any of these sources. If you'd still like to see your shot, here's a glass listed at the same capacity as the espresso cup in Nespresso's TOUCH set: Bodum Pavina – 2 verres espresso double paroi 80 ml.

A cup for the lungo

Nespresso itself pairs its 110 ml lungo with a 170 ml cup (TOUCH set). A double-wall glass with a handle, listed at 15 cl (that's 150 ml), falls between the two (a comparison of published figures, not a measurement): Bodum Bistro – 2 tasses double paroi en verre 150 ml.

To find out what a cup you already own really holds, fill it to the brim with water and pour that into a measuring jug. Then you'll know whether your lungo is going to overflow. (Milk drinks change the scale: Lavazza gives 150 to 200 ml for a cappuccino cup, and the size of the milk pitcher comes into play too.)

To pick an espresso cup size, remember the gap between drink and cup above all. At Nespresso, a 40 ml espresso goes into an 80 ml cup (TOUCH set).