Caffè Americano

A caffè Americano is a full cup of black coffee built by lengthening a shot of espresso with hot water — typically one or two shots topped up with two to four times their volume of water, for a large cup that reads as ordinary black coffee with an espresso backbone. The dilution tames the shot's concentrated intensity, giving a smoother, less punchy cup than straight espresso while keeping more of the espresso's aroma and body than filter or drip coffee. It is the black, milk-free member of the espresso family, sitting alongside the espresso, the flat white and the milky latte, and it is the go-to way to get a long, hot black coffee out of an espresso machine.