Long Black and Americano: What Separates the Two?

Lungo, Italian for long or extended, is a lengthened espresso pulled with more water through the same puck, while an Americano is espresso diluted with water added afterward. That single difference in operation sets extraction time, volume and flavor apart. Lungo runs longer and thinner; the Americano keeps more of the concentrated espresso character.

The Americano traces back to World War II, when American troops in Europe diluted strong espresso to a strength they were used to; Italian immigrants later carried the drink to the United States. Preparation order now varies, and the main remaining distinction is whether the crema stays. Blending concepts and suitable drinking occasions differ between the two as well, and the long black follows similar logic.

Americano has long been deeply ingrained in people's minds, especially iced Americano. But have you ever heard of Lungo? It also belongs to the category of Italian-style black coffee, evolved from espresso, yet it has a completely different extraction logic from Americano. This article will systematically sort out the differences between Americano and Lungo from the perspectives of origin, preparation method, volume, and flavor, and introduce the blending concepts and suitable scenarios of several Front Street espresso bean blends, helping coffee enthusiasts more clearly understand the essential differences between these two beverages.

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Americano is now the daily first choice for many people, and iced Americano is especially a popular drink in summer. However, do you know about Lungo? What exactly is it? In fact, Americano and Lungo both belong to the category of Italian-style black coffee. Both use espresso as a base and then combine it with water, with the difference mainly reflected in the operation method and extraction time.

Americano

Americano is called "美式咖啡" in Chinese. Its origin can be traced back to World War II, when American troops stationed in Europe could not get used to the extremely strong taste of Espresso (drip black coffee was more popular in the United States), so they added water to the coffee to dilute it. Therefore, the original purpose of Americano was to reduce the concentration of espresso to a level Americans were accustomed to. Later, when Italians immigrated to the United States, Italian-style coffee shops sprang up everywhere in America, and Americano, based on espresso, also became popular. In the "adding water" step, a sequence of adding coffee first and then water also formed, expressing the idea of diluting strong coffee. Today, Americano no longer has many restrictions in preparation order, and the main difference lies only in whether the crema is retained.

So what exactly is Lungo? "Lungo" means "long, extended" in Italian, and it is clearly defined as a lengthened version of Espresso. In fact, people began discussing the flavor of espresso only in recent years. In the past, coffee beans were generally roasted extremely dark, and trying to find flavor in them was like looking for colorful brilliance in black. A good espresso pursued satisfaction in mouthfeel and stimulation in concentration. After drinking it, there was no lingering bitterness, and a roasted aroma remained in the mouth—that was all.

The method for Lungo is to adjust the grinder setting to speed up the flow rate of Espresso, without adding extra water. Lungo is Italian, corresponding to "long" in English, and "café allongé" in French; in Chinese it means "long," referring to a coffee beverage made with an Espresso machine using twice the normal amount of water. Simply put, a Lungo is a "stretched Espresso," and if expressed in Chinese, it can be called Italian-style long coffee.

Lungo is very popular in Italy. A single serving is only about 60–85 ml, and a double serving is 120–170 ml. The reduced amount of water gives Lungo a fuller body than Americano. A regular Espresso requires 18–30 seconds of extraction and has a volume of 25–30 ml; if the extraction time is extended to about one minute, the amount of coffee liquid is about 50–60 ml, and this beverage is Lungo. Therefore, Lungo is neither what we usually call Americano nor Long Black. Americano and Long Black are easy to distinguish: the former is "Espresso + water," while the latter is "water + Espresso"; the order in which they are added to the cup is different. Lungo, however, extends the extraction time of Espresso by nearly double, increasing the volume of extracted liquid by about double.

Because Lungo's extraction time is nearly double that of Americano, Lungo has a larger volume than Espresso but a lower concentration than Espresso. Due to the longer extraction time, Lungo also has a higher caffeine content, making it more effective for people who drink coffee simply to consume caffeine. Also, because it extends time and water flow on the basis of an espresso recipe, its concentration is not as high as espresso, and correspondingly it is milder. Importantly, its serving size is larger, making it last longer to drink.

Making Americano, Long Black, and Lungo all requires espresso beans. And espresso is basically dominated by blends. Why blend? There are three reasons: price, stability, and flavor. These three form an "impossible triangle," meaning all three cannot be achieved at the same time; one can only be sacrificed to obtain the other two.

Taking Front Street's four espresso beans as examples, blended coffee beans were initially intended to stabilize and balance coffee flavor. For example, Front Street's Specialty Blend uses a blend of Colombian and Brazilian coffee beans. Brazil and Colombia are both major coffee-producing countries, and their quality is very stable every year. In addition, the balance of Brazilian coffee beans and the richness of Colombian coffee beans give this bean a good performance. The priority is to emphasize both stability and flavor. Its full-bodied mouthfeel and nutty main tone with a slight fruity aroma make it suitable for specialty coffee shops.

Front Street's blends include: the Italian Moka pot coffee beans recommended by many baristas—Front Street Dark Cocoa Blend, Specialty Blend, Commercial Blend, and Sunflower Warm Sun Blend. Americano uses medium-dark roasted coffee beans. Why? Because, as Front Street just said, Americano will have a layer of crema, and whether the crema is beautiful, or whether there is more or less of it, reflects whether the Americano is good or not. Medium-dark roasted coffee beans will have more crema.

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