A “God shot” is a perfect shot of espresso, as if made by God. “I have to work *hard* to get a ‘god shot’ out of it” was cited on alt.coffee on November 28, 1999. “I’m guessing is what some people call the ‘god shot’ (I’m borrowing that word from someone else’s post that I liked)” was cited on alt.coffee on May 19, 2000.
 
The following description appeared on alt.coffee on May 20, 2000:
 
“A ‘God-shot’ is that espresso which pushes your senses through the experience of the coffee, past any consideration of technicalities, slamming you willy-nilly into the white noise that is contemplation of the indescribable. All attempts to remain dispassionate fail as you are are transported beyond passion to powerless acceptance of a lesson taught in silence by a power far greater than yourself.”
 
CoffeeGeek.com, on November 12, 2002, said that a “God shot” is a double ristretto, or a double shot of espresso. “It is almost the pure essence of the roasted coffee bean, in a liquid, digestible format,” CoffeeGeek wrote.
 
   
Google Groups: alt.coffee
Best Commercial Expresso Machine?
Simpson
11/28/99
Both Brian and Mark have made fine points. My limited experience with a commercial machine has me lusting after one most seriously. I make good espresso at home. My little Gaggia preinfuses (manually) (Thanks, Al!), has a plumbed in drip tray and has been tweaked to fare-the-well and I have to work *hard* to get a ‘god shot’ out of it.
 
Google Groups: alt.coffee
Okay…... let’s DEFINE the “god-shot” 😊
Fizzyglist
5/19/00
Admittedly, I lurk here a lot, but rarely post anything, so hello. 😊 I live in the cultural periphery and have to drive a good 30 minutes just to have what I guess I shouldn’t be considering a great doppio at a Barnes and Noble Starbucks. I have to tell you that I like Starbucks espresso a lot (at this shop anyway) because their machine makes that great rich shot with a light amount of crema at the top every time, which I’m guessing is what some people call the “god shot” (I’m borrowing that word from someone else’s post that I liked).
 
Google Groups: alt.coffee
Okay…... let’s DEFINE the “god-shot” 😊
Thom Bradley
5/20/00
(...)
> A ‘God-shot’ is that espresso which pushes your senses through the experience of
> the coffee, past any consideration of technicalities, slamming you willy-nilly
> into the white noise that is contemplation of the indescribable. All attempts to
> remain dispassionate fail as you are are transported beyond passion to powerless
> acceptance of a lesson taught in silence by a power far greater than yourself.
>
> Its real, real, real, real good.
 
Google Groups: alt.coffee
‘God Shot’ defined…. for me at least
CoffeeKid
1/16/01
Just a short note on the fabled ‘god shot’ of espresso. For me, a god shot is a double ristretto I can drink without any sugar and enjoy it immensely.
 
Since I take 1.5 demitasse spoons (less than a teaspoon total volume) of sugar in my 1.5-1.75 oz ristretto as a norm to enjoy it fully, a god shot is one that can go without. The intensity of the beverage and its inherent sweetness are enough to compensate.
 
CoffeeGeek.com
Defining What is the God Shot
Posted: November 12, 2002
There’s a phrase that’s been in use only for the past few years, and one that was started in the newsgroup alt.coffee: the God Shot.
(...)
A God Shot, by nature has to be the double ristretto. This is a double shot of espresso that is specially prepared to produce a 1 ounce (give or take a quarter ounce) beverage using the same amount of grinds as a normal (3oz) double, in the same rough time as a normal double (25-30 seconds). How do you achieve this?
(...)
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.
 
Urban Dictionary
God shot
The word “God shot” refers to the perfect, devine espresso shot. According to some it is the unreachable utopia, while others claim to be able to pull one or two for every hundred espresso’s they make.
Paolo, the Barista from that espresso bar, pulled me an absolute God shot yesterday.
by cruzlee October 28, 2007
 
The Guardian (UK)
In pursuit of the ‘God shot’
Determined to make perfect espressos at home, Tim Hayward squandered absurd amounts of time and money on gadgetry most of us have never heard of, only to produce cup after cup of average coffee
Tim Hayward
The Guardian, Tuesday 18 March 2008
(...)
A reasonable person might assume that coffee obsessives would gather in coffee shops, but these days they lurk in the labyrinthine OCD souks of internet chatrooms. In pursuit of the perfect home espresso - what they call “the God shot” - I gleefully joined their ranks, kicking off the most expensive and pointless addiction of my life.
   
the kitchn
January 5, 2011
Word of Mouth: God Shot
God Shot, noun: The most perfect shot of espresso you’ve ever made or tasted.
 
This is no mere shot of espresso grabbed and gulped on your way to work. This is the one espresso that is so perfect that it changes the way you think about coffee. Have you ever had one?