Differences Between Long Black and Americano Coffee - Introduction to Long Black Coffee Preparation

Americano coffee is arguably a world-renowned coffee beverage. Its composition is quite simple - just espresso coffee mixed with an appropriate amount of water.

In Australia, there's also a local specialty coffee called "Long Black," which is similarly composed of espresso and water. After the Australian version of latte, Flat White, became extremely popular in our country, some coffee shops directly imported the entire range of Australian espresso products, integrating them into their existing espresso coffee menus. Consequently, for a period of time, we could see Americano coffee and Long Black coffee coexisting on menus.

FrontStreet Coffee will first briefly explain what Long Black coffee is. In Australia, people generally use "Black Coffee" to refer to black coffee and "White Coffee" for coffee with milk added. Espresso is referred to as "Short Black," and when Short Black is mixed with an appropriate amount of water, it becomes "Long Black," which is generally translated as "Chang Hei" or "Ao Hei" in Chinese.

The Difference Between Americano and Long Black

Although both Americano coffee and Long Black coffee consist of water and espresso, given the distinctive Australian character, there must be differences between them. FrontStreet Coffee has learned about the widely circulated explanation online that the difference between these two lies in the order of preparation - Americano is made by adding espresso first and then diluting with water, while Long Black is made by adding water to the cup first and then pouring in the espresso.

What's the basis for this? The biggest difference between these two preparation methods is the preservation of Crema (coffee crema). If you add espresso first and then pour water, it will disperse the Crema; whereas if you add water first and then pour espresso, the Crema will be completely preserved on the surface. This layer of Crema provides a rich mouthfeel to the coffee.

This sounds very reasonable, but it's not actually the difference between Americano and Long Black. This is because the Americano preparation method doesn't specify whether to add water first or coffee first. Therefore, either method can be used for Americano. However, Long Black does have specific requirements regarding the order of water and coffee - water is added to the cup first, and then espresso is extracted directly into the water. FrontStreet Coffee estimates that this misconception about the difference in pouring order originated from attempts to find distinguishing points between the two drinks.

The Most Significant Difference: Water Ratio

The most obvious difference between these two coffee drinks is the amount of water added. Americano typically uses more water, with a coffee-to-water ratio usually between 1:5 and 1:8. This is because Americans are accustomed to drinking drip coffee, which has a very low concentration - just a hint of coffee flavor is sufficient. Therefore, after the rise of espresso coffee, Americanos made with espresso as a base also require a lot of water to replicate that light coffee taste.

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 richer and more intense coffee flavor. Compared to Americano, Long Black has a more intense coffee flavor and a smaller cup size. Long Black is typically prepared by extracting two shots of espresso (40g) into a cup containing 100-120ml of water, with a rich layer of Crema preserved on the surface.

The 1:3 Water Ratio Experience

Adding water in a 1:3 ratio serves to dilute the concentration of the espresso. On one hand, it reduces the intensity of the espresso; on the other hand, the diluted coffee flavors become more perceptible to the palate. Preserving the crema on top keeps the coffee rich and smooth, offering a unique experience.

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