What Separates Long Black From Americano?

The order of pouring water is not what separates an Americano from a Long Black. Americano is espresso diluted with water, a drink that grew out of American soldiers adding water to strong espresso after World War II. Long Black, popular in Australia, puts water in the cup first and espresso second, keeping the crema and layers intact.

Cup size and ratio matter more than sequence. Long Black uses a smaller cup and stricter proportions, while Americano is flexible and can be served hot or iced. Using one shop's serving parameters as an example, hot Americano, iced Americano and Long Black differ in extraction yield, water temperature and coffee-to-water ratio, so each diluted espresso ends up tasting distinct.

Many people believe the difference between Americano and Long Black lies in whether water or espresso is poured first, but is that really true? Starting from a conversation at a Front Street Coffee shop, this article takes a deep dive into the essential differences between these two black coffees in terms of preparation logic, cup volume ratios, and flavor goals. Americano originated from the need of American soldiers during World War II to dilute espresso; it is flexible in method and can be served hot or iced. Long Black, beloved by Australians, emphasizes pouring water first and espresso second to preserve the crema and layers of flavor, with a smaller cup size and stricter ratios. Using Front Street Coffee's serving parameters as an example, the article also explains the practical differences among hot Americano, iced Americano, and Long Black in extraction yield, water temperature, and coffee-to-water ratio, helping coffee enthusiasts truly understand these two black coffees that seem similar but each have their own particularities.

Not long ago, a friend brought a companion to a Front Street Coffee shop to taste coffee. When I introduced Long Black, he shared a widely circulated claim: "Americano is made by putting espresso in first and then adding water to dilute it, while Long Black is made by adding water to the cup first and then pouring in espresso, so to tell them apart you only need to see whether water or coffee is poured first." Is this claim accurate?

In fact, the order of pouring water is not the core factor that distinguishes Americano from Long Black.

Americano, made only of espresso and water, is a standard drink in almost every coffee shop and the black coffee most familiar to the public. It is said that this globally popular beverage originated after World War II, when American soldiers found it hard to accept the strong taste of espresso and added water to dilute it until the flavor suited their preferences, and from then on the name "Americano" came into being.

In Australia, coffee on the menu is generally divided into black coffee and white coffee with milk. Locals call Espresso Short Black, and after adding a certain amount of water to Short Black, it is called Long Black, sometimes translated in China as 长黑 or 澳黑. Between Short Black and Long Black, in fact, there is only the difference of the word water.

In the early days, due to the serving habits of coffee shops, cups were usually placed on the espresso machine to preheat. When making Americano, people would conveniently take the cup from the machine, place it under the portafilter to catch the espresso, and then fill it with hot water to dilute it. To this day, Americano has no strict rules regarding preparation order, cup size, or ratio; it is made however is convenient, and it can be served hot or iced.

But Australians, who prefer strong coffee, have their own preparation standards. They want Long Black, this "water-added coffee," to be only slightly diluted espresso, meaning that while reducing concentration, it still retains the smooth mouthfeel brought by the coffee crema.

Therefore, when Australian baristas make Long Black, they always pour hot water into the cup first and then extract espresso above it. The purpose of doing so is to keep the crema more completely on the surface of the liquid. In addition, to better appreciate the coffee's flavor, the cup size of Long Black is often smaller than that of Americano, with the ratio of espresso to water controlled at about 1:3, and it is served only hot.

For example, when Front Street Coffee recreates Long Black, it first takes a 150ml coffee cup, pours in 120ml of hot water at 80°C, and then, according to the shop's parameters for the day, directly extracts 40ml of Warm Sun Blend Espresso above it. At the first sip, you can feel a rich and intense coffee aroma, with the dense texture of the crema and the solid bittersweet flavor presented at the same time. As the temperature gradually drops, you can also experience the rich layers brought by the beans.

By contrast, Americans are used to drinking drip coffee, which is very low in concentration, and as long as it has some coffee flavor, that is enough, so they add more water to reduce the bitterness of espresso. Therefore, Americano is usually served in a larger cup, with the ratio of coffee to water generally between 1:5 and 1:8.

Take Front Street Coffee as an example. To avoid overly diluting the coffee flavor, when serving hot Americano it chooses a 250ml coffee cup, with the ratio of espresso to water controlled at 1:4.5, roughly composed of 40g of Espresso plus 180g of hot water; while iced Americano uses a 1:4.5 coffee-to-water ratio, that is, 40g of coffee liquid mixed with 180g of ice-water mixture.

In addition, in the serving process, because people have found that adding water afterward directly disperses the Crema, and the visual effect is far inferior to that of coffee floating with golden foam, when making Americano there is also a conscious emphasis on the detail of adding water first and then pouring in the coffee liquid.

- END - Front Street Coffee

No. 10, Baoqian Street, Yandun Road, Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.