Among the many coffee categories, black coffee is often seen as less appealing than a latte—it lacks the visual allure of latte art, and its flavor is hard to put into words. But Front Street believes that black coffee is an important bridge from milk coffee to espresso. A well-extracted cup of black coffee can overturn your preconceived impression of coffee as bitter and harsh. This article focuses on three drinks that are also made from espresso and water: Americano, Long Black, and Lungo, sorting out their origins, brewing methods, and taste differences. It also introduces the characteristics of Front Street's classic espresso blend beans, as well as the calorie advantages and home brewing methods of Americano, helping you understand the world of Italian-style black coffee more comprehensively.

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Compared with lattes, black coffee always seems to be a thankless effort. For a cup of espresso, no matter how hot water is added, there are many variables to consider, and it lacks the visual impact of latte art. No matter how detailed the flavor description is, in the end you can only look at it, not drink it. But Front Street still believes that black coffee is a bridge for the public to move from milk coffee to espresso. Any of the above cups of properly extracted black coffee may change your perception of coffee's original burnt and intense impression.

It should be noted here that in a broad sense, Americano can serve as a general term for all black coffee. Coffee made with a French press or drip method can also be called Americano. Therefore, in this article, we are discussing the type of drink made by adding hot water to espresso.

From the name Americano, it is clear that it is quite popular in North America. The broad definition of Americano also reflects two things: first, in the United States, drinking coffee is extremely common and is an everyday beverage available at any time; second, no matter how it is made, it is called Americano, and this simple preparation method shows to some extent that it leans more toward "drinking" than "savoring." That is indeed the case. In North America, especially during breakfast time, it is common to see people on their way to work holding huge takeaway cups filled with about 300 ml of black liquid. Of course, in China, Americano black coffee is also familiar, with Starbucks and Costa seen everywhere.

This leads to its two other brothers: Long Black and Lungo. Yes, they are also black coffee, also made by mixing espresso with water, and nothing else is added. So what exactly is the difference between them?

However, Front Street needs to emphasize that whether it is Americano or Long Black, since both are made only of espresso and water, the overall taste will depend on the coffee beans used. Here, Front Street Classic Espresso Blend is used. This is a recipe combining beans from three origins: Brazil, Indonesia, and Vietnam. It uses a dark roast, which can maximize the rich aroma of the coffee and also allow everyone to easily extract abundant and dense crema. It is very suitable for making both Americano diluted with water and lattes paired with milk. It can be purchased at the Front Street Taobao store or the Front Street Tmall flagship store.

"Americano" (English: Americano, Italian: Caffe Americano) is black coffee made with a drip coffee maker. Because the general extraction time is relatively long (about four to five minutes), its caffeine content is relatively high. Americano is simple to make, emphasizing convenience, speed, and a free and easy style. Compared with espresso, Americano has a relatively fresher taste and can better restore the original flavor of the coffee beans.

Espresso with hot water added—Americano:

Americano, also seen everywhere in convenience stores, is actually made by adding hot water to espresso to dilute it. Americano originated during World War II. American soldiers who came to Italy were not used to drinking Espresso, so they added a large amount of hot water to dilute the taste, and afterward this way of drinking was called "Americano." However, some Europeans do not agree with this practice. The French even call Americano "us de chaussette," meaning: sock juice.

Taste characteristics of Americano:

The taste of extracted Americano is mainly bitter, and this kind of black coffee has the highest purity. If you want to taste the flavors of different kinds of coffee beans, Americano is a very good choice.

How to make Americano:

With an Americano coffee machine, making Americano is simpler than you might imagine: add water to the 1 mark—add 1 level scoop of ground coffee—start—in about two minutes, a cup of fragrant Americano is ready.

Several ways to make Americano:

Americano, Long Black & Lungo

Here we can introduce its two other brothers. Americano is made by adding hot water to Espresso; Long Black is just the opposite, adding Espresso to hot water. The order is different, and the resulting taste is also slightly different. It is relatively famous in Australia and New Zealand, and now it is also becoming popular in London, England.

What about Lungo? It is quite special. It is obtained by changing the grinder setting to make the flow rate for extracting espresso faster. In terms of volume, Americano is served in a larger capacity than Long Black (250 ml vs 150 ml), while Lungo is the smallest, only about 60 ml. Usually Lungo is ground coarser to speed up extraction and shorten the time. Among these three, the coffee brewed as lungo has the richest crema.

【Ristretto】is exactly the opposite of 【lungo】. It is Espresso made using half the normal coffee-to-water ratio, with the only difference being the grind size of the coffee powder.

Because coffee extraction is first strong and then weak, within a unit of time, the flavor of Ristretto is stronger than that of Espresso.

Drip Coffee Marker

With a drip coffee machine, making Americano is simpler than you might imagine: add water to the 1 mark—pour in 1 level scoop of ground coffee—start—in about two minutes, a cup of fragrant Americano is ready.

Benefits of drinking Americano:

As a relatively neutral coffee, its popularity is basically the same among male and female customers. This is not only because of Americano's approachable taste. As a pure coffee, its coffee strength (which for most consumers can simply be understood as bitterness) suits the public taste, and it retains the dark-roast aroma unique to espresso as well as its bitter-sweet mouthfeel, refreshing and comfortable. After a heavy meal, drinking an Americano can help cleanse the palate.

On the other hand, and very importantly, Americano has extremely high cost-effectiveness. Usually Americano comes in a larger amount, while the price is only slightly higher than espresso, or about the same price as a cappuccino.

Front Street Americano recipe:

Use a double dose of 20 grams, control the time at 28–33 seconds, prepare a 250 ml ceramic cup, pour in hot water at 80 degrees Celsius to 8/10 full, and finally pour the espresso over it. Done.

Iced Americano: Put 3 large ice cubes into the cup, then add direct drinking water to 9/10 full; another method is to fill the cup with ice cubes, add espresso, and after the ice cubes melt, the flavor of the espresso will become lighter and the taste much more refreshing.

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