Taste Differences Between Americano, Long Black, and Lungo: The Definition of Espresso Coffee

There are many methods for brewing coffee, such as: French press, siphon, pour-over, espresso, cold brew, Americano, and more. Additionally, there are various names for these methods, with some regional variations in terminology. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will explain the differences between these several types of coffee, which are also quite common among coffee enthusiasts.

For example: Americano coffee, Long Black and Lungo, and espresso coffee—the differences between these several types of coffee.

Americano

Americano and espresso are the most common coffee types we encounter. "Americano," a name familiar to both English speakers and coffee drinkers, is called "美式咖啡" (American-style coffee) in Chinese. It originated during World War II when American soldiers in Europe found the extremely strong Espresso unpalatable (as drip black coffee was popular in America), so they added water to dilute it. Therefore, Americano is essentially meant to dilute the coffee concentration to a level suitable for American tastes at that time. Later, when Italians immigrated to America and espresso bars became popular, they promoted the Americano made with espresso as its base, establishing the order of pouring coffee first then adding water to express the concept of diluting concentrated coffee. Until now, there aren't many specific requirements regarding the order of making Americano—it's simply a matter of whether to preserve the crema or disperse it.

There are also two beverages that are often confused with Americano and difficult to distinguish: Long Black and Lungo.

Long Black Coffee = Water + Espresso

Americano = Espresso + Water, while in Australia, a type of black coffee called "Long Black" is popular. As the name suggests, it's a cup of coffee without milk. Basically, black coffee doesn't contain milk, making it suitable for people with lactose intolerance or those who don't like milk.

The method for making Long Black coffee is to first pour hot water into the coffee cup, then add the espresso. Long Black (translated as "长黑咖啡" - long black coffee) is a distinctive coffee native to Australia, also composed of espresso and water. After the Australian version of latte, Flat White, became extremely popular in our country, some cafes directly introduced Australia's entire espresso coffee menu, integrating it into their existing espresso coffee offerings.

Long Black is translated as Australian Black Coffee, and it also has another nickname "short black," which is how Australians refer to black coffee made by diluting espresso with water. Long Black originated in Australia, where Australians prefer relatively strong coffee, and Americano couldn't satisfy their needs. In Australia, espresso is also called Short Black, so Long Black is slightly diluted espresso, maintaining crema thickness while reducing concentration. The cup size for Long Black is smaller than Americano, about 150ml, and uses the method of pouring water first then adding espresso, which preserves the crema. Since the amount of diluting water is less than in Americano, the taste and richness are slightly superior.

When espresso was introduced to countries like Australia and New Zealand, Australians developed a strong liking for this concentrated coffee and created various Australian-style coffee beverages according to their tastes. For example, Starbucks' Flat White comes from Australia's Flat White. Australians make Long Black by extracting two shots of espresso (40g) and pouring them into a cup containing 100-120ml of hot water, maintaining a rich layer of Crema on the surface. This method of making Long Black allows one to experience intense coffee flavors and directly feel the texture of coffee crema.

FrontStreet Coffee also uses double espresso when making Long Black coffee, preparing it in a 1:3 ratio. First prepare 120g of hot water, then pour the extracted double espresso into the hot water.

The most obvious difference between Americano and Long Black is the different amount of water added. Americano typically adds more water, with a coffee-to-water ratio usually between 1:5-1:8. This is because Americans are accustomed to drinking drip coffee, which has very low concentration—just a hint of coffee flavor is sufficient. However, Australians pursue richer coffee flavors, using smaller cups for serving, with less water proportion, resulting in naturally higher concentration. After the rise of espresso, Americano made with espresso as base also adds much water to restore that light coffee taste.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that there's no fixed ratio for how much water to add to Long Black—it's more about the barista's understanding of the flavor profile of the coffee beans, determining the amount of water to add based on the desired flavor expression. For example, the Americano served at FrontStreet Coffee shops uses FrontStreet Coffee's own house-roasted Sunflower Warm Sun Blend coffee beans, which under ideal extraction should have flavors of wine, vanilla, cream, chocolate, and berries. To highlight these aromas, FrontStreet Coffee conducted multiple comparisons and ultimately settled on a 1:3 ratio.

LUNGO Coffee

In recent years, LUNGO has also gained some loyal followers in the market. LUNGO coffee extends the extraction time of Espresso to about one minute, extracting about 50-60 milliliters of coffee liquid—this beverage is called "Lungo" coffee; some baristas also extract directly to a full cup of coffee, such as 200ml.

"Lungo" means "long, extended" in Italian, and clearly, it's defined as an extended version of espresso. In fact, discussing flavors in espresso coffee is a relatively recent phenomenon. Previously, coffee beans were generally roasted so dark that searching for flavors in them was like looking for vibrant colors in darkness. A good espresso was about satisfying texture, stimulating concentration, and leaving no bitter aftertaste, with a lingering burnt aroma—that's all.

There are no precise measurements for making Lungo (every café's Espresso parameters vary slightly), and abroad, Lungo doesn't have a clearly defined ratio either—it simply represents a term for extended-extraction espresso. As for how much to extend, opinions vary among different cafés. FrontStreet Coffee uses 20 grams of coffee grounds when making Lungo coffee, for example extracting 100 grams of coffee liquid in 56-60 seconds (about twice as long as espresso) with a 1:5 ratio.

This method of making Lungo is equivalent to directly extending the extraction time when making espresso, thereby diluting the espresso. Because of the extended extraction time, after extracting all flavor molecules from the coffee, it begins to extract the remaining woody fiber flavors of the coffee, so it tastes quite bitter with a distinct wine aroma, though other flavors may be somewhat lacking. We know that when extracting espresso (Espresso), the initial segment is usually more concentrated, and the coffee liquid becomes increasingly lighter as it progresses. Therefore, Lungo coffee has more volume than Espresso but lower concentration.

Australians are more particular about coffee flavor. As FrontStreet Coffee shared before, the difference in taste between Flat White and latte is that Flat White has a more intense and rich coffee flavor. Long Black (long black coffee) has a more intense coffee flavor compared to Americano, with a smaller cup size. Long Black is typically made by extracting two shots of espresso (40g) into a cup containing 100-120ml of water, maintaining a rich layer of Crema on the surface.

Espresso

Italian coffee (Espresso) is a beverage made by forcing near-boiling, high-pressure water through finely ground coffee. Espresso is generally richer than coffee made by other methods, containing higher concentrations of suspended matter and dissolved solids, such as the surface coffee crema (a cream-textured foam). Due to its pressurized production process, espresso has a strong taste with extremely high concentrations of chemical substances.

It's often used as a base for other beverages, such as latte, cappuccino, macchiato, mocha, and Americano. Italian espresso coffee contains more caffeine per unit volume than other coffee drinks, but because each serving volume 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 coffee drinks is affected by volume, coffee bean origin, roasting method, and other factors, a "typical" Italian espresso contains about 80 milligrams of caffeine, while a drip coffee contains 95 to 200 milligrams of caffeine, depending on the variety of coffee beans, especially those containing Robusta beans.

Making Americano, Long Black, and Lungo coffee all requires espresso beans. Espresso beans are generally based on blends. Why blend? There are three reasons: price, stability, and flavor. These three form an "impossible triangle," meaning all three cannot be achieved simultaneously—only two can be pursued at the expense of one.

Take FrontStreet Coffee's four types of espresso beans as an example. Blended coffee beans were initially created to stabilize and balance coffee flavors. For instance, FrontStreet Coffee's specialty blend coffee beans are made from a blend of Colombian and Brazilian coffee beans. Both Brazil and Colombia are major coffee-producing countries with very stable quality each year. The balance of Brazilian coffee beans combined with the richness of Colombian coffee beans gives this bean excellent performance, prioritizing both stability and flavor. It has a rich mouthfeel with nutty undertones and a slight fruit aroma, suitable for specialty coffee shops.

FrontStreet Coffee's basic blend is a product developed with cost-effectiveness as the primary focus, using a blend of Yunnan and Brazilian coffee beans to ensure the flavor and stability of extracted espresso while maintaining price advantages.

FrontStreet Coffee's commercial blend uses coffee beans from Colombian, Brazilian, and Vietnamese origins, with Vietnamese Robusta accounting for 10%. Italian cafés like to add Robusta beans to their blend recipes because Robusta can provide richer coffee oils and higher caffeine content. Therefore, adding a small amount of Robusta beans can make the espresso taste richer. The extracted espresso paired with milk will display more intense caramel and chocolate flavors. This espresso bean is suitable for those who love richness or some businesses specializing in espresso coffee.

The last type is developed with flavor as the primary focus, and it's also the coffee bean used by FrontStreet Coffee shops—the Sunflower Warm Sun Blend coffee beans. It's made from a proportion of Yirgacheffe Red Cherry and Honduras Sherry Cask coffee beans. It possesses sherry wine aroma, with flavors of chocolate, vanilla cream, and sherry wine, performing excellently whether as espresso itself, or when made into Americano or milk coffee. It's suitable for friends who pursue coffee flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that all coffee brewing methods produce delicious coffee, especially for friends who love coffee. But when it comes to which one tastes better, it really depends on personal preference, since everyone's preferred taste is different. However, FrontStreet Coffee has coffee beans from various producing countries, including 9 types of daily beans from major producing countries, all of which are the most representative coffee beans with excellent value for money! You can completely choose your preferred flavor through these daily beans.

FrontStreet Coffee's Coffee Brewing Suggestions:

Regarding coffee brewing, FrontStreet Coffee has always believed that the freshness of coffee beans greatly affects the flavor of coffee. Therefore, coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are all roasted within 5 days. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "Freshly Roasted Good Coffee," ensuring that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee upon receipt. The coffee resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive their coffee, it's at its peak flavor.

For friends who need ground coffee, FrontStreet Coffee gently reminds you: if coffee beans are ground in advance, there's no need for further resting, because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide inside the packaging also helps make the coffee flavor smoother. Therefore, you can immediately brew a cup when you receive the ground coffee. However, ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly, because ground coffee oxidizes relatively quickly when exposed to air, meaning the coffee flavor will dissipate more quickly, and the coffee won't taste as good. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends purchasing whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing to better appreciate the coffee's flavor.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on private WeChat, ID: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

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