Caffè americano (Italian:[kafˈfɛameriˈkaːno]; Spanish: café americano; lit.'American coffee'), 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.[1] Its strength varies with the number of shots of espresso and the amount of water added. The name is also spelled with varying capitalization and use of diacritics: e.g., "café americano".
In Italy, caffè americano may mean either espresso with hot water or long-filtered coffee, but the latter is more precisely called caffè all'americana (lit.'American-style coffee').[2]
Origin
Americano means 'American' in Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese.[3] Some assert the term entered the English language from Italian in the 1970s.[4][5][6][7]Caffè americano specifically is Italian for "American coffee".[8] 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.[9] However, the Oxford English Dictionary cites the term as a borrowing from Central American Spanishcafé americano, a derisive term for mild coffee dating 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.[10]
The drink consists of a single shot of espresso mixed with added water. Typically about 120 millilitres (4 imp fl oz; 4 US fl oz)-180 millilitres (6 imp fl oz; 6 US fl oz) of hot water mixed with the espresso.[11]
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.[12][13]
In the western U.S., Italiano sometimes refers to a short americano with equal amounts of espresso and water (lungo).[14][15]
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.[13]
The iced americano is made by combining espresso with cold water instead of hot water.
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.[16]
^"Americano". OED. Archived from the original on December 29, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2022. Chiefly representing the usage of Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese speakers: a native or inhabitant of the United States.
^"Americano". Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2020. Etymology; borrowed from Spanish café americano or Italian caffè americano, lit.'American coffee'.
^Coyle, Cleo (2009). Holiday Grind - a coffeehouse mystery. Berkley Publishing Group. p. 228. ISBN9781101151143. Retrieved November 2, 2016. Caffè americano, americano—The Italian answer to American-style drip coffee. An espresso diluted with hot water. It has a similar strength to drip coffee but a different flavor. The drink's origin dates back to World War II when American GIs stationed in Italy added hot water to their espressos to create a drink closer to the type of coffee they were used to back home.
