What separates an Americano, a long black and a lungo?
All three start with espresso, but the order of water and the ratio change the cup. An Americano is espresso plus hot water, while a long black is water first, then espresso poured on top, which preserves the crema and keeps more intensity. A lungo simply pulls a longer shot from the same dose.
The Americano traces back to World War II, when US soldiers in Europe diluted espresso to match the drip coffee they knew. A diluted espresso served as a long black holds a firmer body because the crema survives. Italian blends are usually blends rather than single origins, built for consistency across milk drinks and black coffee alike.
They are all black coffee, yet Americano, Long Black, and Lungo are often lumped together; all are based on Espresso, but the order of adding water, the water ratio, and the extraction time differ, resulting in distinctly different strength and mouthfeel. This article will sort out the differences between Americano, Long Black, Lungo, and Espresso from the perspectives of origin, preparation method, cup size, and flavor performance, and explain why Italian blend beans are often blends, as well as the different positioning of Front Street Coffee's four Italian coffee beans in terms of stability, value for money, and flavor, to help coffee lovers choose according to taste.
Coffee brewing methods are quite diverse—French press, siphon, pour-over, espresso, cold brew, Americano, and more all have their followers; the names are also varied, and some regions even have local terms. Below, Front Street Coffee will talk about the differences between several common coffees, focusing on Americano, Long Black, Lungo, and Espresso.\n\n
\n\nAmericano\n\nAmericano and espresso are probably the two most commonly encountered types in daily life. The name Americano is familiar to anyone who knows English or drinks coffee; in Chinese it is simply called "Americano." Its origin is related to World War II: American soldiers in Europe were not used to the extremely strong taste of Espresso (at that time, drip black coffee was more popular in the United States), so they added water to dilute the coffee. In other words, the original purpose of Americano was to reduce the strength to the level Americans were accustomed to at the time. Later, when Italians immigrated to the United States and Italian cafés rose in America, Americano based on espresso also became widespread; regarding the act of "adding water," there was even an order of pouring coffee first and then water, used to express the idea of "diluting strong coffee." Today, Americano has little strictness in operational order; the only difference is whether the crema is retained or broken up.\n\n
\n\nThere are also two other drinks easily confused with Americano, namely Long Black and Lungo.\n\nLong Black\nLong Black = water + Espresso\n\nAmericano = Espresso + water. In Australia, a black coffee called "Long Black" is popular. As the name suggests, it is a cup of coffee without milk. Generally speaking, black coffee itself does not contain milk and is suitable for people who are lactose intolerant or do not like milk.\n\n
\n\nLong Black is made by first pouring hot water into the cup, then pouring in Espresso. Long Black (translated as long black coffee) is a specialty coffee native to Australia, also composed of espresso and water. After the Australian version of latte, Flat White, became popular in China, some cafés also directly introduced Australian espresso products as a whole and integrated them into their existing espresso menus.\n\nLong Black is translated as Australian black coffee, and it also has another name, "short black," which is what Australians call black coffee made by diluting espresso with water. Long Black originated in Australia; Australians prefer strong coffee, and Americano cannot satisfy their needs; espresso is also called Short Black in Australia, so Long Black can be understood as slightly diluted espresso, retaining crema and body while reducing strength. Long Black has a smaller cup size than Americano, about 150 ml, and is made by pouring water first and then espresso, thereby preserving the crema; because the dilution water is less than in Americano, both the mouthfeel and richness are superior.\n\n
\n\nWhen espresso spread to Australia, New Zealand, and other places, Australians greatly liked this strong coffee and also created many Australian-style coffee drinks based on local tastes, such as Starbucks' Flat White, which comes from Australia's Flat White. When Australians make Long Black, they extract two shots of espresso (40 g) and pour them into a cup containing 100–120 ml of hot water, keeping a rich layer of Crema on the surface. The Long Black made this way offers a strong coffee flavor and allows you to directly feel the texture of the coffee oils.\n\nFront Street Coffee also uses a double shot of espresso when making Long Black, at a ratio of 1:3: first prepare 120 g of hot water, then pour the extracted double espresso into the hot water.\n\n
\n\nThe most obvious difference between Americano and Long Black is the amount of water added. Americano usually has more water added, with a coffee-to-water ratio generally between 1:5 and 1:8. This is because Americans are used to drip coffee, which is very weak—just a bit of coffee flavor is enough. But Australians pursue a stronger coffee flavor, serve it in smaller cups, and use a smaller water ratio, so the strength is naturally higher. After the rise of espresso, Americano made with espresso as a base also needed a lot of water to reproduce that light coffee taste.\n\nFront Street Coffee believes there is no fixed ratio for how much water Long Black needs; it depends more on the barista's understanding of the flavor profile of the coffee beans and the amount of water added according to the flavor they want to express. For example, the Americano served at Front Street Coffee's store uses Front Street Coffee's own roasted Sunflower Warm Sun blend coffee beans; under ideal extraction, it should have flavors of wine, vanilla, cream, chocolate, and berries. To highlight these aromas, Front Street Coffee conducted many comparisons and finally settled on a 1:3 ratio.\n\n
\n\nLUNGO Coffee\n\nIn recent years, LUNGO has also accumulated a number of loyal fans in the market. LUNGO coffee is made by extending the extraction time of Espresso to about one minute, extracting about 50–60 ml of coffee liquid; this drink is called "lungo coffee"; some baristas even extract it to a full cup, such as 200 ml.\n\n"Lungo" means "long, extended" in Italian. Clearly, it is defined as a stretched version of espresso. Actually, talking about flavors in espresso is really something that has emerged only in recent years; in the past, coffee beans were generally roasted until black and shiny, and looking for flavor in them was like looking for colorful brilliance in blackness. A good espresso is satisfaction in mouthfeel, stimulation in strength, with no bitter aftertaste after drinking, leaving only a burnt aroma—that is all.\n\n
\n\nThere is no precise data for making Lungo (each café's Espresso parameters differ slightly), and abroad, Lungo also has no clear ratio definition; it merely represents a synonym for extended espresso extraction, and how much it is extended also differs from café to café. When making Lungo coffee, Front Street Coffee uses 20 g of coffee powder; for example, it extracts 100 g of coffee liquid in 56–60 seconds, twice as long as espresso (ratio 1:5).\n\nThe lungo made this way is equivalent to directly extending the extraction time and diluting the espresso during extraction. Because the extraction time is prolonged, after all the flavor molecules in the coffee have been extracted, the taste of the remaining coffee wood fiber begins to be extracted, so it tastes quite bitter, with an obvious vinous note, but somewhat lacking in other flavors. We know that when extracting espresso (Espresso), the front part is usually richer, and the coffee liquid becomes weaker toward the end. So Lungo coffee has a larger volume than Espresso, and its strength is also lower than Espresso.\n\n
\n\nAustralians pursue coffee flavor more. Front Street Coffee previously shared that the difference in taste between Flat White and latte is that Flat White has a richer, stronger coffee flavor. Long Black (long black coffee) has a stronger coffee flavor than Americano and comes in a smaller cup. Long black coffee is usually made by extracting two shots of espresso (40 g) into a cup containing 100–120 ml of water, keeping a rich layer of Crema on the surface.\n\nEspresso\n\nItalian coffee (Espresso) is a beverage made by forcing nearly boiling high-pressure water through finely ground coffee. Espresso is generally thicker than coffee made by other methods, containing a higher concentration of suspended and dissolved solids, such as the crema on the surface (a creamy foam). Because of its pressurized preparation process, espresso has a strong taste, and the concentration of chemical substances in it is very high.\n\n
\n\nIt is often used as the base for other beverages, such as latte, cappuccino, macchiato, mocha, and Americano. Compared with other coffee drinks, Italian espresso contains more caffeine per unit volume, but because each serving is smaller and the contact time between hot water and coffee grounds is very short—generally only about 20 to 30 seconds—the total caffeine content is actually lower. Although the actual caffeine content of a coffee drink is affected by volume, coffee bean origin, roasting method, and other factors, a "typical" Italian espresso contains about 80 mg of caffeine, while a serving of drip coffee contains 95 to 200 mg, depending on the coffee bean variety, especially if it contains Robusta beans.\n\n
\n\nMaking Americano, Long Black, and Lungo all requires Italian coffee beans. And Italian coffee is basically mainly blends. Why blend? There are three reasons: price, stability, and flavor. These three points form an "impossible triangle," meaning you cannot have all three at once and can only give up one to gain two.\n\nTaking Front Street Coffee's four Italian coffee beans as examples, blended coffee beans were initially intended to stabilize and balance coffee flavor. For example, Front Street Coffee's Specialty Blend coffee beans are made from a blend of Colombian and Brazilian coffee beans; Brazil and Colombia are both major coffee-producing countries with stable quality every year, and the balance of Brazilian coffee beans plus the body of Colombian coffee beans gives this bean a good performance. Its priority is both stability and flavor, with a full-bodied mouthfeel and a nutty main tone with slight fruity notes, suitable for specialty coffee shops.\n\n
\n\nAmong Front Street Coffee's many baristas' recommended Italian coffee beans, Front Street Coffee Black Cocoa Blend is a product developed with value for money as the leading priority, blended from Yunnan and Brazilian coffee beans, ensuring the flavor and stability of the extracted espresso while maintaining a price advantage.\n\nFront Street Coffee's Commercial Blend uses coffee beans from Colombia, Brazil, and Vietnam, among which the Vietnamese beans are Robusta, accounting for 10%. Italian cafés like to add Robusta to blend formulas because Robusta can provide richer crema and higher caffeine content. Therefore, adding a small amount of Robusta beans can make espresso thicker in mouthfeel, and the espresso made with it paired with milk will show a richer caramel-chocolate flavor. This Italian coffee bean is suitable for body lovers or some businesses specializing in Italian coffee.\n\n
\n\nThe last one was developed with flavor as the leading priority, and it is also the coffee bean used at Front Street Coffee's store—Sunflower Warm Sun Blend coffee beans, made from a blend of Yirgacheffe Red Cherry and Honduras Sherry Barrel coffee beans. It has the aroma of sherry and flavors of chocolate, vanilla cream, and sherry; whether as espresso itself or made into Americano or milk coffee, it performs excellently. Suitable for friends who pursue coffee flavor.\n\n
\n\nFront Street Coffee believes that all kinds of coffee brewing are delicious, especially for friends who love coffee. But when it comes to which one tastes good, it depends on personal taste; after all, everyone likes different flavors. However, Front Street Coffee has coffee beans from major producing countries, including 9 daily staple beans from major producing countries, all of which are the most representative coffee beans and offer very high value for money! You can absolutely choose the flavor you like through these staple beans.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
