What's the Difference Between Long Black and Americano? How to Make Long Black Coffee? What are the Flavor Notes of Long Black?

Coffee shop menus used to be simple: black coffee and milk coffee — in practice, the choice between an Americano, a latte, and a pour-over. As competition in the coffee world has intensified, all kinds of less familiar espresso drinks have found their way onto fixed menus, among them the Long Black that FrontStreet Coffee looks at today.

What Is Long Black Coffee?

Legend has it the Americano was born to please American soldiers stationed overseas during World War II. They couldn't drink espresso straight the way Italians did — too strong, too bitter, too heavy — so they diluted it with water until the concentration felt right. But this "watered-down" black coffee never satisfied Australians, who chased rich flavor and thick crema. Baristas began adjusting in the "stronger" direction, and two Australian classics gradually emerged: the Long Black and the Flat White.

Compared with an Americano, a Long Black offers a richer coffee flavor in a smaller serving. It is typically built by extracting a double shot of espresso (40g) into a cup holding 100-120ml of water, which preserves the thick crema on the surface. Prepared this way, you get intense coffee flavor and can taste the texture of the coffee oils directly.

What's the Difference Between Long Black and Americano?

Many people try to tell the two apart by the order of pouring: Americano means espresso first, then water, while Long Black means water first, then espresso, to preserve the crema. In reality, most baristas today no longer fuss over the sequence. For the sake of service efficiency, plenty of shops add the water first and pour the coffee after anyway, so leaning on this distinction means little.

The most obvious real difference is the amount of water. An Americano carries more of it, usually at a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:5 to 1:8 — Americans grew up on drip coffee, which is so dilute that just a hint of coffee flavor is enough. Australians, chasing a stronger cup, use smaller servings with proportionally less water, so the concentration is naturally higher.

The flavor, of course, depends on the beans behind the espresso. The Americano at FrontStreet Coffee, for instance, uses the house-roasted Sunflower Warmth Blend, which at its best delivers wine, vanilla, cream, chocolate, and berry notes. To showcase those aromas, FrontStreet Coffee ran repeated comparisons and settled on a 1:3 ratio: 100-120ml of hot water in the cup, with the freshly extracted 40g of espresso poured over the top.

Is There an Iced Long Black?

Anyone who drinks Americano regularly knows it comes in two versions, iced and hot — and the iced Americano is often the favorite, being affordable and refreshing. So does the Long Black have an iced twin?

Just like the Flat White, it doesn't. If you want iced black coffee, FrontStreet Coffee suggests an iced Americano made without water: pour the espresso straight over ice, then give it a gentle swirl so the warm espresso melts just a little ice and softens the heavy concentration. Tasted this way, you still get the aroma and rich texture the crema brings.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you enjoy brewing at home as well as at the espresso machine, the same care in choosing beans applies to pour-over. For newcomers to hand-drip, the Hario V60 is the dripper most experienced brewers recommend: designed around a 60° cone and a single large outlet, it lets you control the flow and extract a coffee's aroma in full — perfect for the delicate florals and fruit acids of the third-wave style. FrontStreet's Yirgacheffe Guodingding, Kenya Cherry Tomato, Flower QUEEN (Hua Kui), Strawberry Sugar Gesha blend, and Mozart lots all shine in this setup.

A brief word on each: FrontStreet Flower QUEEN is a natural-processed Ethiopian heirloom bursting with strawberry, mango, jackfruit, and citrus, and it placed first in that year's TOH green bean competition. FrontStreet Strawberry Sugar pairs a Panama Gesha with raisin-honey-processed Costa Rican coffee — Gesha contributes its classic orange-blossom honey character, while the Costa Rican component adds grape and dried blueberry aromatics, soft fruit acidity, and an almond finish. And if you prefer something rounder and more forgiving, FrontStreet Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon — creamy peanut, toasted bread, caramel, and hazelnut with a smooth, low-acid body — brews beautifully in a V60, a moka pot, a siphon, or a French press.