I can describe the taste of a Lungo as being more bitter, smokier, and you’ll be able to pick out more of the elevated roasted notes not usually detectable.

These compounds would typically not have time to dissolve when pulling a normal espresso shot and are left behind. The higher levels of bitterness can be attributed to specific compounds in the coffee dissolving later due to the increased amount of water introduced to the coffee. Lungo Coffee Taste?Ī Lungo tends to taste slightly more bitter than a typical espresso drink or smaller Ristretto due to the more prolonged extraction, allowing for more bitter compounds to be present.Īlso, with the longer exposure to water, you will find that many “high” and delicate notes are muted in a Lungo compared to a regular espresso. I’m not sure why Nespresso has decided to choose the size they have? But you can calibrate your Nespresso machine yourself to serve 2 liquid ounces for your pods and reset to factory defaults at any time. Whereas a textbook Lungo, a barista would pull about 2 liquid ounces (60ml). The Lungo on a Nespresso machine is set from the factory at 3.75 liquid ounces (10.90ml). However, to make things even more complicated, Nespresso has thrown even more confusion into the mix. Remember, a Lungo can take up to a minute to pull with a regular espresso machine, which means there is more water than a regular double espresso and it will taste less intense.

How Many Ounces In A LungoĪ Lungo is 1 1/2 to 2 ounces. This is a whole different ball game for most people, so a Nespresso coffee machine or an entry-level espresso machine with presets will be the best option to master the Lungo with minimal difficulty and a decent crema. You can leave the variables you have locked in for your regular espresso, and tweak and play with the water and pull time until you hit the sweet spot! Variables such as pull time, coffee ground size, and the amount of water required all play a role in pulling a Caffe Lungo. However, true coffee geeks will prefer to use a manually operated espresso machine that requires a bit more skill and collaboration to pull a perfect Lungo. Nespresso machines, for example, even sell dedicated Nespresso Lungo pods that are pre-filled with the optimum amount of coffee, so it takes the guesswork out of the brew ratio. A nightmare for any novice barista!ĭue to the popularity of Lungo coffee, many of the best espresso machines now come with a built-in preset for it – making a Lungo is as simple as pressing a button. In the cup, the Lungo looks very similar to the size of a Doppio (double shot of espresso), and often the two can get confused for one another. The coffee to water ratio for a Lungo is typically between 1:3 and 1:3.5. However, a Lungo requires double the amount of water, and more water means a longer pull time – about a minute to pull a coffee Lungo.

It is larger and less intense in flavor but often I find it to be more bitter than a standard single shot of espresso.Ī regular classic shot of espresso calls for 1 ounce (30ml) of water with a pull time of 18 to 30 seconds. A Lungo is a slight variation on a regular espresso shot. Simply put, it all comes down to the amount of water used to pull the shot of espresso. So now you know what Lungo means, how does it become longer? In Italian, Lungo (pronounced LOON-goh) literally means “long.” So, from the standpoint of a novice, we can determine that the espresso will be larger than a standard shot with the word long, indicating the amount of time needed to pull the shot of espresso from a machine.

Lungo nespresso meaning