Caffè Americano

''Caffè americano'' (; Spanish: ''café americano''; ), also known as americano or American, is a type of coffee drink prepared by diluting an espresso shot with hot water at a 1:3 to 1:4 ratio, resulting in a drink that retains the complex flavors of espresso, but in a lighter way. Its strength varies with the number of shots of espresso and the amount of water added. The name of the drink may also be written with Italian spelling and diacritics as "''caffè americano''", or Spanish spelling and diacritics as "''café americano''".

It is similar to a long black in Australia and New Zealand.

Naming

''Americano'' as a drink is mentioned in the short story by W. Somerset Maugham "The Hairless Mexican." It was first published on January 1, 1927. The story is set in Italy (Naples) during the First World War.

means 'American' in Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. Some assert the term entered the English language from Italian in the 1970s. specifically is Italian for "American coffee". There is a popular belief that the name has its origins in World War II when American G.I.s in Italy diluted espresso with hot water to approximate the coffee to which they were accustomed. However, the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' cites the term as a borrowing from Central American Spanish ''café americano'', a derisive term for mild coffee, dating back to the middle of the 1950s. Its first use in English appears in the Jamaican newspaper, the '' Sunday Gleaner'', in 1964. The term ''caffè americano'' entered Italian later than the English or Spanish uses, perhaps as a borrowing from one of the two languages.

In Italy, ''caffè americano'' may mean either espresso with hot water or long-filtered coffee, but the latter is more precisely called ().

Following increased tensions in 2025 between Canada and the United States, many cafes in Canada have begun re-branding the americano as a "canadiano" on their menus.

Preparation

The drink consists of a single shot of espresso mixed with added water. Typically about - of hot water mixed with the espresso.

Long black is an Australasian drink similar to the americano (in contrast to short black for espresso), with an emphasis being placed on the order of preparation, adding water to the cup first before pouring one or two espresso on top. The name Long Black was coined by Australians when Italians initially introduced the drink.

In the western U.S., ''Italiano'' sometimes refers to a short americano with equal amounts of espresso and water ( lungo).

The hot water can be drawn directly from the machine used to brew the espresso, as water or steam, or from a separate water heater or kettle.

Variations

* A long black is made in the reverse order, by pouring an espresso shot into hot water. This helps keep the espresso's crema intact.
* The iced americano is made by combining espresso with cold water instead of hot water. The espresso is sometimes poured over ice. The iced americano is considered to be an unofficial national beverage in South Korea, to the point where it is nicknamed "ah-ah" and its dedicated drinkers have a name, "eoljuka".
* Water added to espresso is known in many circles as an original americano.
* A red eye is made by combining a shot of espresso with drip coffee instead of hot water, and may be called a shot in the dark.

See also

* List of coffee drinks
* Long black
* '' Lungo''
* Politically motivated food name changes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caffe Americano
Coffee drinks
Italian words and phrases