AMERICAN COFFEE

Nutritional Characteristics

American coffee is a drink.
Contains caffeine, a methylxanthine with a stimulating effect. This, in addition to exerting a sympathetic-mimetic effect (similar to adrenaline), is considered a decent antioxidant. However, due to the exciting mechanism, it cannot be taken in significant quantities.
It is advisable to avoid the consumption of American coffee for children, heart patients, people with severe hypertension, those suffering from anxiety and especially those in therapy with anxiolytics, and people suffering from severe gastro-intestinal disorders (Barret's esophagus caused by gastroesophageal reflux disease, acute gastritis or gastro-duodenal ulcer, chronic inflammatory diseases of the intestine, etc.).
Pregnant / breastfeeding women, non-severe hypertensive patients and those suffering from moderate digestive system disorders (gastritis, gastroesophageal reflux disease and irritable colon, especially with diarrhea) should make limited use of it.
Remember that roasted coffee also contains unwanted molecules resulting from combustion; the most present and worrying (as it is rather widespread and easily accumulated) is acrylamide (see the article “Cook the Sugars”).
By itself, American coffee does not provide a significant amount of nutrients and calories. The total energy depends on the presence and quantity of added sugar or other caloric sweeteners (honey, malt, syrup, etc.). A medium sweetened product contains 7-14 g per portion, or 25-50 kcal.
Sucrose intake should be moderate in case of: hyperglycemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertriglyceridemia, tendency to tooth decay and overweight.
In the United States there is also the habit of staining American coffee with milk cream (rich in calories, cholesterol and saturated fats). This is not recommended for those suffering from overweight and hypercholesterolemia.
American coffee does not contain lactose, gluten or potentially allergenic molecules.
There are no contraindications for vegetarianism and veganism.
For a healthy and adult person, it is advisable to consume one, two or at most three servings a day of American coffee.

Preparation

American coffee consists of one or two espresso made from a blend containing mainly coarsely ground roasted seeds of the “Robusta” variety, with the addition of more boiling water.
There does not seem to be any universal rule on the amount of water that can be added but, both in the UK and in Italy, it is between 30 and 470 ml.
In the areas of Australia and South Asia, American coffee is called “long black”, while the lower and similar to an Italian espresso is called “short black”. Compared to American coffee proper, long black is prepared by reversing the phases; this means that first you put the hot water in the cup and then you pull the espresso out of the machine.
In the western part of the United States, the term “Caffè Italiano” is used to indicate a drink consisting of espresso and water in a 1: 1 ratio (25 or 30 ml + 30 ml = 55-60 ml).
Hot water for American coffee can be drawn from the espresso machine or from a separate kettle.
At home level it is good practice to use the same tool (pulling the water before or after the espresso) to avoid activating another appliance or consuming another gas.

You can also use the capsule coffee machine to prepare the American, at least in some models. Some espresso machines have a built-in hot water dispenser (also used for tea), while others use the vaporizer tube.
The separate water heater is considered very useful only in the commercial sector. It allows to significantly reduce the use of the espresso machine by preventing the pressure reduction in the circuit. Not everyone knows that, to restore internal pressure and temperature, the espresso machine has a higher energy consumption than any other kettle.

Uses

American coffee is especially chosen when you want to sip a long coffee-flavored drink.
American coffee (especially Italian type, long and short black) can be produced with the same blend intended for strong espresso.
This happens especially when you prefer a shorter drink, obtained from a single "shot" of powder (instead of two) to avoid giving it excessive strength or using particularly light blends based on Ethiopian or Sumatran coffee (even green or unroasted. , see "Raw Green Coffee").
For preparations with the same blend of the espresso, a ratio of 1: 1 between pure drink and water is preferred, pulling the coffee directly into the cup containing the hot water, in order not to compromise too much the stability of the cream.

Variations

There is a type of American called "iced American" or frozen American. This is the same drink made with cold water instead of hot water.
The "long" is made by pulling a long espresso from the same "shot" to give a greater volume of pure drink, in turn responsible for a greater aromatic and gustatory structure than the American (diluted with hot water).
The "cream coffee" is further longer.
The "red eye" is made by diluting the espresso with "American coffee" rather than hot water. In English it is also called "shot in the dark".

Origins

“American coffee” is the characteristic name of the drink even in the country of origin (Anglo-Saxon).
The term "American", of evident Latin origins, has been absorbed by the South American language and even by Italian, and (according to the Oxford English Dictionary) dates back to 1970.
It is conceivable that the name originated in the Second World War, when American soldiers landed in Italy diluted our local coffee by adding more hot water to make it look like their drink.
In the 1928 novel "Ashenden: Or the British Agent", Somerset Maugham writes about a drink called "Americano" consumed by the protagonist in Naples during the First World War; not enough information is known to assess whether it is the same product.