# Americano



## antinwales (Jan 16, 2021)

Americano - the simplest espresso drink!
(Or is it?)
(Yes.)

I'm sure we're all agreed espresso into hot water, but what are your ratios?

Is a Lungo (allongé in France) the way to go - with something like a 50 - 60g shot (from 18g)? Making the grind coarser to get it out in around 35 seconds?
And then how much water? 150g? 
18g in a 200g drink seems maybe a little high, so maybe add more like 200g liquid?

Are there those who think you might as well use a filter machine?

We won't mention adding milk here. Those people can have their own thread (of shame).


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## RobDGio (Jun 17, 2020)

I'm fairly new to the world of espresso and would tend to drink filter / pour over style if I wasn't doing a milk based drink...... but in terms of Americano I pull a normal shot (18g in 36g out) and add about 180ml water (more because that's how much will fit in the glass in terms of topping up). my thinking is, "I've dialed in my grinder to pull a shot that I believe tastes good and adding water so that its a bigger drink". Keen to hear what others do


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

@RobDGio the same



> @antinwalesAre there those who think you might as well use a filter machine? We won't mention adding milk here. Those people can have their own thread (of shame).


 to me filter coffee is a very different drink to Americano


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## 8144 (Oct 9, 2014)

Americano was my "go-to" until I tried a long black in Camden Coffee House. Total game-changer for me. Not quite sure what volume of hot water is used but basically they made a double espresso poured into hot water rather than adding hot water to a shot. Beautiful.


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## GrahamSPhillips (Jan 29, 2021)

As I understand it: americano - add an espresso shot to hot water; long black: add hot water to an espresso.. in each case ratio of 1 to 5 espresso : hot water and then Allonge is a much longer espresso shot - ie the shot is pulled longer but no additional water added. I've probably got this completely wrong so I so glad you started this thread!


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## 8144 (Oct 9, 2014)

GrahamSPhillips said:


> As I understand it: americano - add an espresso shot to hot water; long black: add hot water to an espresso.. in each case ratio of 1 to 5 espresso : hot water and then Allonge is a much longer espresso shot - ie the shot is pulled longer but no additional water added. I've probably got this completely wrong so I so glad you started this thread!


 I was led to believe the opposite, in that an Americano you add the hot water to the shot and the long black you pour the shot into hot water. Not sure it matters but I do wonder what impact pouring the shot into the water has rather than adding the water?


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

When the hot water is added to an americano it disturbs the crema. The other way generally avoids that more but relies on the shot mixing well with the water.


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

antinwales said:


> Is a Lungo (allongé in France) the way to go - with something like a 50 - 60g shot (from 18g)? Making the grind coarser to get it out in around 35 seconds?
> And then how much water? 150g


 I don't see it that way as a shop wont fancy playing with grinder settings. They are too fiddly to get right on most if not all of them. Ristretto shorten time, lungo extend it.

In practice shops generally use volumetric machines so it would be based on volume. 60ml might be a standard double. I have actually seen photo's of machines that have the extra buttons.  Don't ask me to find them and recollect that in one case it was an extra button for which ever was required and ristretto was mentioned.

Some web comments are IMHO incorrect for the pretty obvious reason I have just mentioned. I also used ristretto to produce a drink my wife liked using the same dose, grind and bean as I was using by cutting the shot time to 20sec.


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## Emily (Dec 27, 2020)

I've tried making both Americano and long black but the dr8nks weren't amazing. They tasted a bit odd but I'm not sure why. I think I did about 2oz of espresso to 4oz of hot water. Only because I copied a recipe rather than relying on taste. I think for black coffee other than espresso I prefer supermarket preground bunged in a french press or moka pot 😳


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## Waitforme (Dec 13, 2020)

Sometimes I want a 60ml or so shot rather thanks a 40ml espresso from my 20g dose.

I'd normally stop the shot at 40 and add a splash or so of water, but yesterday I decided to try running the shot to 60ml, ran my usual 40 and quickly swapped glasses to catch the extra 20 in a fresh glass to see what it tasted like.

I was expecting something unpleasant but to my complete surprise it was just a weaker tasting espresso shot.

So now if I want a slightly longer shot I'll be running it to 60 or so and getting a better tasting overall drink.

For reference the bean was an Ethiopian Yirharcheffe for filter from Extract coffee, one of the nicest coffees I've had in some time.


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## MrSmartepants (Aug 3, 2020)

I mix my Americano a little on the strong side. 1:1 ratio of water to espresso (18g puck = 36g shot + 36g water. Works for me. Sometimes if I can't be bothered for the added steps I'll just run the machine longer (Lungo?).


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

Emily said:


> I've tried making both Americano and long black but the dr8nks weren't amazing. They tasted a bit odd but I'm not sure why. I think I did about 2oz of espresso to 4oz of hot water. Only because I copied a recipe rather than relying on taste. I think for black coffee other than espresso I prefer supermarket preground bunged in a french press or moka pot 😳


 I drink 30oz americano and always add a drop of milk. Maybe just about a tablespoon full but probably a bit short of that. There aren't any rules on the shot size I use because that depends on bean tuning. Dose of grinds varies. What might be referred to as strength of taste varies according to the bean. For instance I recently drank 1/2kg of this one

https://ravecoffee.co.uk/collections/light/products/colombia-villamaria-natural-no-103?variant=37274676560040

16g resulted in a relatively weak drink for me but the tasting notes matched rather well. White sugar though  well after a fashion yes, imagine slightly sweetened lychee. I find that style of drink matched this type of bean. I've just finished off a batch of beans from BB that came with a grinder. Milk Buster. 17g gives a medium strength drink and taste notes match within reason.

Going back to when I used a BE this came from 9.5g of grinds in it's single. Not possible to see any light through it









Also 10oz. That was with it's grinder. Ratio a bit over 3 and time more like 40sec. The bean is a bit like marmite, some like some hate. It's strong - too strong for some and rather than having taste notes the taste changes according to how it's brewed. It can also louse up grinders in darker roasts.

You need to ask yourself what is amazing. Your drinking fresh roasted arabica, also called exotic coffee as many varieties do not taste as people would expect coffee to taste. If you want that it's probably best to look at blends and some of those will still have exotic tastes. When I order lychee that is what I expected not coffee.


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## 24774 (Mar 8, 2020)

antinwales said:


> Is a Lungo (allongé in France) the way to go - with something like a 50 - 60g shot (from 18g)? Making the grind coarser to get it out in around 35 seconds?


 This is exactly what I do, thanks for that info, I didn't know that, I've just been calling it an Americano. I will be using it to my sisters to make me sound even more pretentious!


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## GrahamSPhillips (Jan 29, 2021)

Apparently allonge is a thing in canadian coffee shops!


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## RobTheCoffeeDrinker (May 14, 2021)

condy01 said:


> Americano was my "go-to" until I tried a long black in Camden Coffee House. Total game-changer for me. Not quite sure what volume of hot water is used but basically they made a double espresso poured into hot water rather than adding hot water to a shot. Beautiful.


 Discussions about the correct nomenclature aside, I've always put espresso on top of the water because just seemed easier that way. And you can tell it's going to be a good one when you get beautiful multi-coloured crema on top! I've never thought too much about ratios, though; just done it by eye. Lately I've been making an espresso, drinking that, and then pouring myself an Americano to sip at while I work.


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## RobTheCoffeeDrinker (May 14, 2021)

antinwales said:


> Is a Lungo (allongé in France) the way to go - with something like a 50 - 60g shot (from 18g)? Making the grind coarser to get it out in around 35 seconds?


 This just sounds like a badly over-extracted espresso to me. I've always thought to make my best espresso and add it to the water to get a longer drink. But maybe this works ok.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

RobTheCoffeeDrinker said:


> This just sounds like a badly over-extracted espresso to me. I've always thought to make my best espresso and add it to the water to get a longer drink.


 Same here....


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## 27852 (Nov 8, 2020)

RobTheCoffeeDrinker said:


> This just sounds like a badly over-extracted espresso to me. I've always thought to make my best espresso and add it to the water to get a longer drink. But maybe this works ok.


 You slow the extraction with a looser grind but you end up trading off beverage strength and having a larger volume so you don't really end up 'over-extracted'. This is one way of working with a lighter roast that would otherwise require an ultra fine grind and a lot of pre-infusion if you were targeting a more 'classic' espresso style.

At the really long ratios, you could argue that it may be better to do a filter brew, but some people enjoy it.


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## 8144 (Oct 9, 2014)

RobTheCoffeeDrinker said:


> Discussions about the correct nomenclature aside, I've always put espresso on top of the water because just seemed easier that way. And you can tell it's going to be a good one when you get beautiful multi-coloured crema on top! I've never thought too much about ratios, though; just done it by eye. Lately I've been making an espresso, drinking that, and then pouring myself an Americano to sip at while I work.


 I note your comment re "beautiful multi-coloured crema" ... but let's not get started on the topic of crema! lol.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

condy01 said:


> I note your comment re "beautiful multi-coloured crema" ... but let's not get started on the topic of crema! lol.


 You will be wanting to scoop it off with a couple of spoons next...🤣

I'm just waiting for some of the cognoscenti to recommend drinking it through a wheat stalk fully biodegradable straw, and getting it under the crema, then drinking all but the crema through the straw. Damn, I'm going to try it next week and make a video.....


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## 8144 (Oct 9, 2014)

DavecUK said:


> You will be wanting to scoop it off with a couple of spoons next...🤣
> 
> I'm just waiting for some of the cognoscenti to recommend drinking it through a wheat stalk fully biodegradable straw, and getting it under the crema, then drinking all but the crema through the straw. Damn, I'm going to try it next week and make a video.....


 🤣


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

Kjk said:


> You slow the extraction with a looser grind but you end up trading off beverage strength and having a larger volume so you don't really end up 'over-extracted'. This is one way of working with a lighter roast that would otherwise require an ultra fine grind and a lot of pre-infusion if you were targeting a more 'classic' espresso style.
> 
> At the really long ratios, you could argue that it may be better to do a filter brew, but some people enjoy it.


 A point that seems to be missed by many. It can do other things as well. Take mandheling. A rather strong bean that has taste notes that are unlikely to be noticed brewed the usual way. It's just too strong. Brewed this way it's possible to get cupping notes out of it rather clearly. Perhaps liken it to an espresso machine style pour over.  I bought some to try. Hated it but brewed this way it turned into an interesting drink not that I will buy it again.


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## RobTheCoffeeDrinker (May 14, 2021)

DavecUK said:


> You will be wanting to scoop it off with a couple of spoons next...


 😁 My only thinking about crema is the older my beans get, the paler and more boring it looks. This seems to coincide with some loss of flavour. But I hold no strong opinions about it. I'll go seek out a crema thread before going any further off-topic.


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