De'Longhi Americano Coffee Recipe Tutorial_Best Coffee Beans for Americano_Calorie Content of Americano Coffee

Long Coffee - Americano

An Americano takes roughly three times as long to brew as an espresso. Many people assume espresso contains more caffeine than an Americano, but the opposite is true: given the same amount of coffee grounds, the Americano's longer extraction pulls significantly more caffeine into the cup, while the quick espresso shot extracts less.

Ingredients

Coffee: 120 ml

Preparation

Set the brewing time to LONG and press the single-cup button. If your fully automatic machine has a built-in "Americano" program, simply press the dedicated LONG COFFEE button and let it do the work.

The Americano (Italian: Caffè Americano) is a method of preparing coffee, typically made by diluting espresso with hot water. Alternatively, you can use an espresso machine that continues supplying water after the shot has been extracted until a full cup is drawn.

Overview

The name comes from American servicemen stationed in wartime Europe, who added hot water to the small espresso servings ubiquitous on the continent. Because Americans generally favor a looser, simpler style of coffee, the drink spread quickly along with American coffee chains around the world.

A typical Americano mixes one or two shots of espresso with 30 to 470 ml of hot water. Because so much water is added, an Americano looks and tastes noticeably lighter than a straight shot, and its aroma is somewhat compromised — it never lingers the way a traditional Italian espresso's does.

Despite the dilution, an Americano still carries more caffeine than a standard cup of brewed coffee — while its calorie count remains very low.

In the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, the order of operations is sometimes reversed: hot water first, then espresso poured on top. That version is called a Long Black.

Note that simple, inexpensive machines are sometimes marketed as "Americano machines" — but those are actually drip coffee makers.

Cold Facts

An Americano must be made with hot water, which is why a true iced Americano made in the classic style is so hard to find.

Some Europeans dislike the drink precisely because its aroma suffers. The French even have a cutting nickname for it: "jus de chaussette" — sock juice.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Bean choice makes or breaks an Americano, since there is nothing to hide behind. FrontStreet Coffee's Classic Blend is the go-to for beginners: a traditional Italian-style recipe combining Indonesian Mandheling, Brazil Red Bourbon, and washed Vietnam coffee. It delivers the low acidity, full body, and herbal-woody tones of Asian coffee without losing the balance, smoothness, and creamy texture of the Americas — expect butter, nuts, spice, and dark chocolate aromatics, with wild character and abundant crema whether you pull it as an Americano or a latte.

For maximum value, the Black Cocoa Base Blend pairs Yunnan arabica with Brazil Cerrado beans, producing an Americano with nut, chocolate, and cream aromas, a soft ripe-plum acidity, and a gentle overall palate — affordable enough for home use and versatile enough to anchor a café menu.

If dark roasts have worn out their welcome, try the medium-roasted Strawberry Candy Espresso Blend. It unites arabica lots from Colombia, Costa Rica, and Ethiopia — the world's three most celebrated origins — enhanced through washed, natural, and honey processing. It carries a rose-like fragrance with low bitterness and gentle acidity, and in an Americano or latte reveals grape, dried blueberry, sweet orange, and fruit-candy flavors with an almond-scented finish.

For a single-origin treat, the Ethiopian Flower Queen SOE — a natural-processed lot from the Buku Abel station in the Hambella area of Sidamo — makes a stunning Americano with no bitterness at all: refreshing sweet-tart notes, lush tropical fruit aromatics, and a genuinely distinctive cup.