Americano
Section: Hot: Espresso Family · espresso · build · vegan · low calorie · under 60 s
Setup
Glass: Porcelain or heatproof glass 200 ml, preheated
Serve volume: 200 ml
Ingredients (as the source specifies)
- Hot water 90-95 °C, 164 ml
- double espresso 36 ml
Operating procedure
Applies to: americano built by adding a double espresso to ~120–150 ml hot water, water poured first to preserve the crema.
Target: under 60 seconds from shot start to service.
- Pre-warm the serving cup, sized for the shot plus ~120–150 ml water.
- Draw hot water from the machine at roughly 90–95°C.
- Have the double espresso dialled in and ready to pull.
- Decide water volume to taste: less water for a stronger cup, more for a longer one.
- Pour ~120–150 ml hot water into the warm cup first.
- Water first, shot second — pulling onto water keeps the crema floating on top.
- Pull a double espresso directly onto the hot water.
- 18 g in / ~36 g out / 25–30 s — the shot should land with intact crema.
- Leave the crema layer undisturbed rather than stirring it in.
- A clean crema cap signals a fresh, well-pulled shot on top of the water.
- Adjust strength by adding or holding back water to the guest's preference.
- Ratio is to taste, but keep enough water that it drinks like a long black, not a diluted shot.
- Serve immediately with the crema still visible on the surface.
- Surface shows a light crema film — the visual signature of the water-first build.
- Crema sits intact on the surface, showing the shot was added to water and not stirred.
- Strength reads as a clean coffee, diluted in body but not sour or hollow.
- Water volume matches the guest's preference between strong and long.
An americano is espresso diluted with hot water after extraction, so it keeps the crema and flavour balance of a proper shot; a lungo instead pulls far more water through the puck during extraction, which over-extracts and tastes more bitter — they are not the same drink.
Technique
The procedures this drink is built with. They are the technique, not this drink's own method.
Energy, derived from the ingredient list
Computed line by line against the source's own coefficient table. Nothing here is typed in.
- Plain water and soda · 0 kcal
- Espresso · 36 × 0.03 = 1.08 kcal
Derived total: ≈ 0 kcal
Caffeine, derived from the ingredient list
Computed line by line at the source's own reference doses. Nothing here is typed in.
- double espresso 36 ml · 130 mg (double espresso reference: 18 g dose = 130 mg)
Derived total: ≈ 130 mg
Recommended adult daily maximum: 400 mg
Allergens, as the source states them: None