Soup Shot

A soup shot is a modern, espresso-style shot pulled at very low pressure, under 2 bar and by some accounts never above 1, with a much coarser grind, paper filters around the puck and a ratio of about 1:3. It runs quickly and tastes clear, closer to a pour-over than a syrupy espresso, with foam but no crema. Aftermath reports it began on the Espresso Aficionados Discord, and the coffee YouTuber Lance Hedrick brought it to wider attention in 2025. Here’s what it is, how to pull one and how it compares with a classic espresso.

The short version

• Very low pressure, under 2 bar, compared with about 9 bar for espresso.
• A much coarser grind, with paper filters around the puck.
• About 1:3, coffee to drink.
• Quick: about 20 seconds in one guide.
• Clear and light-bodied, with foam but no crema.

Soup shot vs classic espresso

	Soup shot	Classic espresso
Pressure	Very low: under 2 bar, some say 1 bar at most	About 9 bar
Grind	Much coarser, with paper filters	Fine
Ratio	About 1:3	1:1.5 to 1:2.5 (SCA training)
Time	About 20 seconds in one guide	20–30 seconds (SCA training)
Top	Foam, no crema	Crema

Recipes vary a lot, and the style is new, so there’s no standard. Aftermath describes it as calling for even lower pressure than a turbo shot, never above 1 bar, and a grind with twice the burr gap of a turbo shot. In a Home-Barista discussion, it’s described as a roughly 3:1, very low-pressure shot, under 2 bar with 20–25 g doses.

What do you need?

Low pressure is the hard part on a normal espresso machine, which is built for about 9 bar. Soup shots are usually pulled on:

• A manual espresso press, such as a Flair, where you control the pressure by hand
• A machine with flow or pressure control
• Low-pressure brewers such as the AeroPress or the OXO Rapid Brewer

How do you pull a soup shot?

1. Grind coarser than for espresso.
2. Dose and prep the puck as usual, with a round paper filter under the coffee (and often another on top).
3. Keep the pressure very low, under 2 bar, or 1 bar at most by some accounts.
4. Run it to about three times the dose, quickly; one guide’s brew takes about 20 seconds.
5. Taste and adjust: finer if it’s thin and sour, coarser or gentler if it’s harsh.

Soup shot vs turbo shot

Both are modern styles that grind coarser than a classic shot and taste lighter. A turbo shot keeps fairly normal espresso pressure, sometimes a little lower, and runs fast. A soup shot drops the pressure much further and usually runs to a longer ratio.

General guidance only. Espresso machines and manual presses work under pressure and with hot water, so always follow the instructions for your equipment.

Soup shot vs other shots

• Espresso: the classic, high-pressure shot.
• Turbo shot: a fast, coarser modern style.
• Lungo: a long shot at normal pressure.
• Manual espresso press: the kind of brewer soup shots were designed around.

Explore every pressure method in the pressure chapter.