Espresso
Americano: espresso lengthened with hot water
An americano is espresso with hot water added after the shot.
- Coffee
- 30 g
- Cup
- 240 ml
- Temp
- 93 °C
- Time
- 55 s
It is not a filter coffee and it is not a long shot. The water is added after brewing, so the espresso is already extracted when you dilute it. This page covers the one decision that matters most, how much water, and a second, smaller one: whether the water or the espresso goes into the cup first. There is no milk, so the page has nothing to say about steaming. For a drink that stretches the shot during extraction instead, see the lungo recipe.
The spec
| Part | Amount |
|---|---|
| Espresso dose | 30 g |
| Espresso yield | 60 g (1:2 beverage ratio) |
| Hot water | 180 ml |
| Liquid in the cup | 240 ml |
| Cup | 350 ml mug, so the drink fills 69 % of it |
| Espresso to water | 1 : 3 |
| Water temperature | 85 to 93 °C |
| Total time | 55 seconds |
A 30 g dose is a double-shot-sized basket pulled as one drink, and many home baskets are smaller. If yours holds 18 g, scale everything by 0.6: 18 g in, 36 g out, 108 ml of water. The milk drinks builder does the scaling. The ratio stays the same.
You need
- An espresso machine and a grinder.
- A scale that reads to 0.1 g.
- A kettle or the machine's hot-water tap, and a thermometer if you want to check.
- A 350 ml mug.
Ratio 1:2 · Grind: Espresso · grind chart
Starting ranges come from your grinder maker’s own guide. Burrs, beans and calibration vary, so treat them as where to begin.
Steps
- 0:00, Pour 180 ml hot water into the mug.
Put 180 ml of hot water into the mug. Hot enough to steam, not boiling hard.
- 0:10, Pull 30 g into 60 g onto the water.
Dose 30 g and let 60 g run into the water. Keep the cup under the spout so the crema lands on top.
- 0:45, Stir once and serve.
One slow stir to mix the layers. Drink at once.
My notes for this recipe
Water first or shot first
Pouring the water first lets the espresso land on top, so crema stays on the surface and the drink looks like a short espresso over a long black. Pouring the shot first and then the water pushes the crema around. CupTune has no controlled study of whether the order changes the taste, so the order is a matter of appearance and habit. If you pull your shot first, the cup is a little cooler because it waits for the water. The water-first route is the one the timer follows.
Why these numbers
60 g of espresso and 180 ml of water. These are the builder's authored americano values: a 1:3 espresso to water proportion, 240 ml in total. They are not a standard. Cafés vary widely, and the name is applied loosely.
1:2 inside the shot. The 1:2 inside the shot is the average that surveyed baristas reported in the SCA's espresso article. The 30 g dose that follows from it is authored.
85 to 93 °C water. Authored. Water added to the cup is not brewing anything. It only dilutes and warms. Boiling water can cool the espresso in the cup, but it has no extraction job left to do. The aim is only a drink that is warm enough to enjoy. Brewing water for espresso is a separate question, set on the machine, and CupTune uses 93 °C for it.
Not water through the puck. Running extra water through the same coffee extracts more bitter compounds. That is what the lungo does. This page keeps the shot short and adds water afterwards, which is the point of the drink. This is an explanation, not something CupTune measured.
If it looks or tastes wrong
- Thin and watery. You added too much water. Cut it to 150 ml next time and keep the shot as it is.
- Bitter at the back. The shot ran too long or too fine. Stop the shot at 60 g and check the grind with the dial-in guide.
- Sour and sharp. The shot is under-extracted. Grind a bit finer, then re-dilute.
- Lukewarm. Warm the mug with a splash of hot water, then tip it out.
- No crema. Stale beans or a shot that ran too fast. Crema is lost quickly with age.
The fixes above are CupTune's judgement, not tested results.
Evidence and limits
The 1:2 ratio is the only published source. The 1:3 dilution, water temperature, order of pouring and times are authored. The effect of pouring order on taste is not measured. There is no verified standard that defines an americano, so CupTune's proportions are one reasonable build among many. The pouring order and times come from a paper plan, not a timed trial.
Questions
Is an americano the same as filter coffee?
No. It starts with espresso, so the flavour is that of a short shot, then dilution. A filter coffee is brewed in a very different way.
Can I use a single shot?
Yes. Scale the whole build to 18 g in, 36 g out and 108 ml of water. It will be a smaller drink.
Does it have less caffeine than an espresso?
Water does not change the amount of coffee in the drink. The caffeine calculator works from the dose, not the volume.