Lungo
Encyclopedia
Lungo is Italian for 'long', and refers to the coffee
beverage made by using an espresso
machine to make an espresso (single or double dose or shot) with much more water (generally twice as much), resulting in a stretched espresso, a lungo.
A normal espresso takes from 18 up to 30 seconds to pull, and fills 25 to 30 millilitres, while a lungo may take up to a minute to pull, and might fill 50 to 60 millilitres.
In French it is called café allongé.
, which is hot water with espresso added to it (inverse order to Americano).
In the lungo, all the water is brewed, and the lungo is generally shorter than an Americano or a long black.
A significantly longer drink, comparable in size to an Americano or long black, rare in the Anglosphere
, is the caffè crema
, which, like the lungo, is all brewed water, but is about twice as long as a lungo.
.
As the amount of water is increased or decreased relative to a normal shot, the composition of the shot changes, because not all flavor components of coffee dissolve at the same rate. For this reason, a long or short shot will not contain the same ratio of components that a normal shot contains. Therefore, a ristretto
is not simply twice as "strong" as a regular shot, nor is a lungo simply twice as weak. Moreover, since espresso is brewed under pressure
, a lungo does not have the same taste or composition as coffee
produced by other methods, even when made with the same ratio of water and ground coffee.
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
beverage made by using an espresso
Espresso
Espresso is a concentrated beverage brewed by forcing a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure through finely ground coffee. Espresso is widely known throughout the world....
machine to make an espresso (single or double dose or shot) with much more water (generally twice as much), resulting in a stretched espresso, a lungo.
A normal espresso takes from 18 up to 30 seconds to pull, and fills 25 to 30 millilitres, while a lungo may take up to a minute to pull, and might fill 50 to 60 millilitres.
In French it is called café allongé.
Related beverages
A caffè lungo should not be mistaken for a caffè americano, which is an espresso with hot water added to it, or a long blackLong black
A long black is a style of coffee, most commonly found in New Zealand and Australia. It is now becoming available in the UK, predominantly in London....
, which is hot water with espresso added to it (inverse order to Americano).
In the lungo, all the water is brewed, and the lungo is generally shorter than an Americano or a long black.
A significantly longer drink, comparable in size to an Americano or long black, rare in the Anglosphere
Anglosphere
Anglosphere is a neologism which refers to those nations with English as the most common language. The term can be used more specifically to refer to those nations which share certain characteristics within their cultures based on a linguistic heritage, through being former British colonies...
, is the caffè crema
Caffè crema
Caffè crema refers to two different coffee drinks:* An old name for espresso .* A long espresso drink primarily served in southern Switzerland and Austria and northern Italy , along the Italian/Swiss and Italian/Austrian border..As a colorful term it generally means "espresso", while in technical...
, which, like the lungo, is all brewed water, but is about twice as long as a lungo.
Flavour
A lungo is less strong, but more bitter, because the additional hot water passing through the ground coffee extracts components that would normally remain undissolved. The more water is passed through the coffee grounds, the more bitter and watery the shot tastes. Conversely, using less water than normal produces a stronger, richer shot known as a ristrettoRistretto
Ristretto is a very "short" shot of espresso coffee. Originally this meant pulling a hand press faster than usual using the same amount of water as a regular shot of espresso. Since the water came in contact with the grinds for a much shorter time the caffeine is extracted in reduced ratio to the...
.
As the amount of water is increased or decreased relative to a normal shot, the composition of the shot changes, because not all flavor components of coffee dissolve at the same rate. For this reason, a long or short shot will not contain the same ratio of components that a normal shot contains. Therefore, a ristretto
Ristretto
Ristretto is a very "short" shot of espresso coffee. Originally this meant pulling a hand press faster than usual using the same amount of water as a regular shot of espresso. Since the water came in contact with the grinds for a much shorter time the caffeine is extracted in reduced ratio to the...
is not simply twice as "strong" as a regular shot, nor is a lungo simply twice as weak. Moreover, since espresso is brewed under pressure
Pressure
Pressure is the force per unit area applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface of an object. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure.- Definition :...
, a lungo does not have the same taste or composition as coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
produced by other methods, even when made with the same ratio of water and ground coffee.
Brewing
There is no universally agreed distinction between ristretto, normale, and lungo; these are instead relative terms and form a gradient. Nevertheless, a rough guide is a brewing ratio of 1:1 for ristretto, 1:2 for normale, and 1:3–1:4 for lungo – a doppio ristretto thus being 30 ml/1 oz (cream increases this volume), normale being 60 ml/2 oz, and lungo being 90–120 ml/3–4 oz. By contrast, a caffè crema will be approximately 180 ml/6 oz.See also
- Americano (coffee) – hot water added to espresso (in that order).
- Caffè cremaCaffè cremaCaffè crema refers to two different coffee drinks:* An old name for espresso .* A long espresso drink primarily served in southern Switzerland and Austria and northern Italy , along the Italian/Swiss and Italian/Austrian border..As a colorful term it generally means "espresso", while in technical...
- Long blackLong blackA long black is a style of coffee, most commonly found in New Zealand and Australia. It is now becoming available in the UK, predominantly in London....
– famous in Australia. - Longo – English misspelling of Lungo.