What Is a Long Black and How Does It Differ from Americano?

A Long Black is the Australian take on espresso plus water. In Australia, black coffee is called Black Coffee, coffee with milk is White Coffee, espresso alone is Short Black, and a Short Black with water added becomes a Long Black. The coffee itself is simple: espresso and an appropriate amount of water.

The widely repeated difference is the order of assembly. A Long Black calls for water in the cup first, then espresso extracted into that water, so the crema stays intact on the surface and gives the drink a fuller body. Americano coffee has no such rule, so espresso first or water first both count, which is why the pouring order separates the two drinks rather than any difference in ingredients.

Americano is arguably a world-renowned coffee drink. Its composition is very simple: espresso diluted with an appropriate amount of water.

In Australia, there is also a locally distinctive coffee called "Long Black," which is likewise made from espresso and water. After the Australian version of latte, Flat White, became hugely popular in China, some cafés directly introduced Australian espresso products as a whole and integrated them into their existing espresso menus. As a result, for a time, we could see Americano and Long Black coexisting.

Although Americano and Long Black are both made from water and espresso, Australians are full of individuality, so there must be a difference between the two. Front Street Coffee learned that a widely circulated claim online says the difference lies in the order of preparation: Americano is made by putting espresso first and then pouring in water to dilute it, while Long Black is made by adding water to the cup first and then pouring in espresso.

This sounds very reasonable, but this is not the difference between Americano and Long Black. That is because the preparation method of Americano does not specify whether water is poured first and then coffee, or coffee first and then water. Therefore, Americano can be made either way. But Long Black has a particular requirement regarding the order of water and coffee: water is first placed in the cup, and then espresso is extracted into the water. Front Street Coffee suspects that this rumor about the difference being in the pouring order spread in order to find a distinguishing point.

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