The basic unit of Italian coffee is espresso or caffè. This can be changed to different drinks by using more or less water during brewing or afterwards . The caffè lungo or coffee lungo is lengthened by using more water with the same amount of coffee powder in the portafilter. And this does not result in a weak coffee. Quite the opposite. In terms of taste, coffee lungo can offer a lot that an espresso cannot. We will take a look at the production and properties of this coffee speciality.
What is a coffee lungo?
Italian coffee culture, like other coffee cultures, has its own peculiarities. Espresso, for example, is called caffè. If you change the amount of water, you change the name too. If you use more water to brew the espresso, for example, it becomes a coffee lungo. Why is it called that? Well, “lungo” means long in Italian. It is therefore an extended espresso. You might think that this makes the espresso quite thin, but that is not the case . More water is used to brew it than for a normal espresso, so the water has longer contact with the coffee powder and the water teases out one or two aromas from the powder, which does not happen with a normal espresso. Accordingly, not every coffee that is aromatic and tasty as an espresso is also suitable for a lungo in the classic sense.
What does the bean have to be like to work?
Since the Lungo extracts different aromas due to the longer time it spends in the coffee powder, the beans naturally have to be tailored to the palate of the connoisseur. You can use both types, Robusta and Arabica beans, for the Caffè Lungo. Robusta beans are generally a little more frugal, more forgiving, and cope particularly well with changes in preparation times . But you can also use good Arabica beans to make a tasty long coffee . The most important thing is: try out different espresso roasts. For example, you might love our Wilderer as an espresso, but not like it as a Lungo. Then try the whole thing with the Bergsonne or the Hausepresso or our El Salvador Coffee School Project Espresso et cetera.
Extra tip: You can also use a lighter roast for a coffee lungo (i.e. our medium or even light roasts). Since the coffee brews for much longer with this method of preparation, you prevent the bitter substances from predominating.
Preparation of a coffee lungo
What do you need to do to make the coffee longer than a regular espresso? It all has to do with the amount of water you use. Typically, an espresso is extracted for eighteen to thirty seconds using around 30ml of water . In comparison, brewing a caffè lungo requires twice the amount of water, meaning it can take around a minute to extract . Due to the fact that a lot more water is used, the result is a much larger drink. In the cup or glass, a caffè lungo is about the same size as a double espresso . However, the size of the drink is not the only factor that sets it apart. The caffè lungo tastes milder and less intense than an espresso. Not to be confused with thin… because that is definitely not what the lungo tastes like.
What does the Lungo taste like?
Because more water is used to make this specialty coffee, the flavor tends to be milder than a regular espresso or ristretto. Although this specialty coffee is weaker due to the larger amount of water, it tends to be more bitter than a regular espresso . This is great for people who like bitter coffee, but for some, it can make the drink less enjoyable. Coffee lungo is often more bitter because most of the bitterness-causing substances in the coffee powder dissolve later in the extraction process . Because extraction takes longer, these bitter substances have more time to enter the brew.
It's important to remember that the drink isn't simply a half-strength espresso. There are several chemical processes involved in brewing coffee, and the flavor doesn't just change by being weakened by more water. A lungo typically has more roasted and smoky notes than other espresso drinks .
What you need for a Lungo
- 7 to 10 grams of coffee (espresso roast or lighter)
- 50 to 60 ml water
- Portafilter machine and accessories
- Preparation like an espresso, only with more water and therefore longer brewing time of up to 1 minute
What is the caffeine content?
The amount of caffeine contained in a coffee lungo is... shall we say... debatable. Some say that this drink contains more caffeine than a regular espresso. Because the amount of caffeine in your drink is strongly related to the extraction time. And since the extended espresso doubles that time, it also clearly has more caffeine than a regular espresso. And then some say that the amount of caffeine you get from a coffee drink depends primarily on the beans you choose, and not just the amount of water and time it takes you to make your drink. Both a lungo and an espresso use the same amount of ground coffee, and since caffeine is usually one of the first components to go into your cup of coffee, it's unlikely that there's much more caffeine in the lungo.
The truth is that everything plays a role in the caffeine content : the bean, the roast, the grind and of course the extraction time.
Where is it drunk and when?
Well, that's an interesting question that can't be answered in general terms. But the coffee lungo is something for people who want to enjoy their coffee for a little longer , who treat themselves to a short break for breakfast or after lunch or when meeting up with friends. Ever since the influx of many Italian guest workers after the Second World War, the Italian coffee tradition has become increasingly popular in Germany too. Even though classic German filter coffee was considered the measure of all things for many years, an espresso after a meal was a welcome change . So it's not surprising that the lungo became increasingly popular with many Germans and still is today.
Differences between Lungo, Ristretto, Espresso etc.
If the espresso is the basic unit and the coffee lungo is the version with more water, then the ristretto is the version with less water. Because "ristretto" means shrunk in Italian. Here, less water and therefore less extraction time is used for the same amount of coffee as in the espresso and lungo. As a result, the ristretto tastes more intense, but also has the least caffeine in comparison .
This brings us to the special case of the "Americano", which is essentially exactly the same as the coffee lungo . It is just prepared differently and therefore has different properties. The Americano also uses twice the amount of water. So let's say around 60 ml. But you extract a normal espresso with 30 ml and fill the remaining 30 ml into the cup as hot water . Then you pour the espresso on top. This means that the lungo has more caffeine than the Americano, but can also taste more bitter than the Americano due to the longer extraction time. With these two variants in particular, you should try out which you like better.
Coffee lungo - Conclusion
Since the basis of a coffee lungo is espresso, it is recommended to use a portafilter machine to prepare it . There are now fully automatic machines that offer these functions. You can also do this with a stovetop kettle, but it is not particularly easy, which is why we do not want to go into it. Of course, you can also use a coffee lungo to prepare other coffee specialties . For example, a latte macchiato or a cappuccino based on a lungo.
