A God shot can be described as a perfect shot achieved from an espresso machine, where the recipe and all of the parameters that go into espresso brewing such as bean type, roast, grind size, dose, water volume and temperature, as well as properly maintained and clean machinery all align to produce a coffee shot that is considered to be perfect by the taster, barista or customer.
A God shot is traditionally a double ristretto shot that is brewed using the same amount of ground coffee as a double espresso but which only yields a volume of 1 oz, the same as a single espresso. In recent times the term is used in every day vernacular, which can refer to a well pulled standard espresso shot. The God shot will always be served in a 2 oz demitasse.
The God shot is viewed by many baristas in speciality coffee culture as the holy grail of coffee making. As a barista becomes more experienced, their standards for what qualifies as a God shot will naturally get higher. Therefore, an inexperienced barista might claim to pull a God shot quite regularly, whereas an experienced barista might only experience pulling a true God shot very rarely, as their brewing and tasting standards are much higher and they can taste imperfections in espresso brewed coffee that more novice coffee makers cannot.