Lungo facts for kids
A Lungo is a type of coffee drink that comes from Italy. The word "Lungo" means "long" in Italian. It's made using an espresso machine, just like a regular espresso, but with more water. This makes it a larger coffee drink than a standard espresso.
When you make a normal espresso, it takes about 18 to 30 seconds and fills a small cup with 25 to 60 millilitres of coffee. A Lungo, however, can take up to a minute to make and fills a larger cup with about 130 to 170 millilitres. The time it takes to make the coffee depends on the type of coffee beans used (often a mix of Arabica and Robusta beans), how finely they are ground, and the pressure of the espresso machine. It uses the same amount of ground coffee as an espresso but with two or three times more water.
In France, a Lungo is called a café allongé.
What's the Difference?
It's easy to mix up a Lungo with other coffee drinks, but they are different!
- A Lungo is made by brewing all the water through the coffee grounds in the espresso machine.
- A Caffè Americano is an espresso shot with hot water added to it after the espresso is made.
- A long black is similar to an Americano, but you pour the hot water into the cup first, and then add the espresso shot on top. This helps keep the foamy top layer, called crema, on the coffee.
A Lungo is usually smaller than both an Americano and a Long Black because all the water is brewed through the coffee.
There's also a drink called a caffè crema. This is a much larger coffee, similar in size to an Americano or Long Black. Like the Lungo, all the water is brewed through the coffee grounds. However, a Caffè Crema is about twice as big as a Lungo. This drink is not very common in places where English is spoken.
How Lungo Tastes
The taste of a Lungo is different from a regular espresso or a very short espresso (called a ristretto). This is because different parts of the coffee's flavour dissolve into the water at different speeds.
When you use more water, as in a Lungo, you get different flavours from the coffee beans compared to a regular espresso. So, a Lungo isn't just a weaker version of an espresso, and a ristretto isn't just a super strong one. Also, because espresso is made under high pressure, a Lungo tastes unique and different from coffee made by other methods, even if you use the same amount of water and coffee grounds.
How Lungo is Made
The terms "ristretto" (very short), "normale" (normal), and "lungo" (long) are general terms, and there aren't exact measurements for them. However, here's a rough guide for the ratio of coffee grounds to liquid:
- Ristretto: About 1 part coffee grounds to 1 part liquid.
- Normale (regular espresso): About 1 part coffee grounds to 2 parts liquid.
- Lungo: About 1 part coffee grounds to 3 or 4 parts liquid.
For example, if you use 30 grams of ground coffee:
- A ristretto would be about 30 millilitres (1 fluid ounce) of coffee.
- A normale espresso would be about 60 millilitres (2 fluid ounces).
- A lungo would be about 90–120 millilitres (3–4 fluid ounces).
In comparison, a Caffè Crema would be much larger, around 180 millilitres (6 fluid ounces).
See also
In Spanish: Café expreso largo para niños
