"The ristretto itself is a challenging drink to prepare, and not for the casual home espresso drinker. It is challenging, but is also sought after for one reason - where espresso is a concentrated, impactful form of a coffee beverage, the ristretto is even more so - it is almost the pure essence of the roasted coffee bean, in a liquid, digestible format.

"Here's where the God Shot comes in - if espresso is more intense and concentrated than brewed coffee, and ristretto is higher than that, the God Shot is the ristretto shot maximized to the point of achieving something that David Schomer (of Espresso Vivace) and many other espresso purists before him have sought: coffee that tastes as good as fresh roasted coffee smells.

"This is the fleeting thing. It really is.

"I've had many, many espresso shots that were good. I've had many that were great even. I've had a fair amount that were so good, I remember their taste, texture and smell.

"But I've had very few shots that were on a different level completely. I've had some precious espresso shots in my lifetime that are so memorable, if I close my eyes, I can not only remember the taste, mouthfeel and sensations from the shot, but I can also picture the surroundings, the atmosphere, and, where applicable, the people I was with or the people who made it for me.

"To this day, with literally 1,000s of quality espresso shots "under my belt", the God Shot count is maybe at best 30 or 40. And I'm pretty sure I can remember each and every one of them."

I posted this, not as some sort of manifesto ("I will achieve a God Shot before this decade is out! I am a jelly doughnut!"), but rather as an indication of the passion that some people have for this sort of thing. It's beautiful. No, not the coffee; the commitment. The constant refinement, the devotion, the dedication. It's all quite inspiring... His description of the memory of the shot was particularly compelling. I also posted it because the first description of the "God Shot": "coffee that tastes as good as fresh roasted coffee smells." It seemed that could pique some people's interest in coffee, as I constantly hear "It smells great... If only it tasted like it smells..."