Lungo Coffee: Recipe, Ratio and Espresso Differences

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How to Make a Lungo

Recipe

Lungo coffee

Makes:

1 serving, 54 g espresso

Time:

About 3 minutes, with the espresso machine ready

Print recipe

Ingredients

• 18 g coffee beans, ground for espresso
• Drinking water suitable for your espresso machine, as required

Equipment

• Espresso machine with a basket suited to 18 g
• Grinder and tamper
• Scale and timer
• 90–120 ml (3–4 US fl oz) cup
• Spoon

Method

1. Prepare the coffee. With the machine fully hot, warm and empty a 90–120 ml (3–4.1 US fl oz) cup. Grind 18 g coffee into a clean, dry basket designed for that dose. Distribute evenly, tamp level and lock in the portafilter.
2. Weigh the extraction. Put the empty cup on a scale under the spouts and tare it. Start brewing and stop at 54 g net beverage mass. Collect both streams into this one cup if using a double-spout portafilter.
3. Stir and adjust. Stir the coffee and let it cool enough to sip. If the finish is dry or unpleasantly bitter, try a shorter yield next time. Record the shot time and change one variable at a time; do not add water to reach the 54 g target.

Estimated nutrition: 5 kcal · 0 g total sugar. Per 54 g lungo, without additions.

For setup and extraction technique, follow the espresso brewing method, using the longer 54 g endpoint specified here.

Lungo Ratio and Yield

For this recipe, 54 ÷ 18 = 3, giving a 1:3 dose-to-yield ratio. The 54 g is the brewed coffee you collect, not the amount of water loaded into the machine. Some water remains in the grounds or elsewhere in the brewing system.

La Marzocco's ratio guide places lungo broadly at 1:3–1:4, with room for interpretation. Start at the shorter end and adjust by taste.

Use a basket designed for your dose. A scale is more repeatable than a cup fill line because crema changes visible volume. The 90–120 ml (3–4.1 US fl oz) cup provides headroom for the weighed serving.

Lungo vs. Espresso

Our espresso example collects 36 g from an 18 g dose (1:2). This lungo collects 54 g from the same 18 g dose (1:3). The extra 18 g is produced by continuing extraction through the grounds.

That is 50% more beverage mass from the same dry coffee dose. More compounds can be extracted while the larger drink becomes less concentrated. How it tastes depends on the coffee and the way it is brewed.

Lungo vs. Americano

If what I want is more volume with a familiar espresso flavor, I make an Americano instead. For me, added water and additional extraction are useful alternatives, not two names for the same adjustment. See the Americano guide for the separate-water method.

Lungo, Ristretto and Double Espresso

These examples keep the dry dose at 18 g:

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• Ristretto: a shorter extraction yield. Our matched example is 18 g coffee → 27 g beverage.
• Doppio: a double espresso convention. A double can be brewed short, regular or long; “double” and “lungo” describe different things.
• Long black: espresso combined with separately added water, commonly water first.
• Caffè crema: another longer espresso-style drink name; do not assume its local recipe matches a lungo.

What Does a Lungo Taste Like?

A lungo stretches espresso into a lighter-bodied drink while continuing to extract flavor from the grounds. It can reveal a coffee’s aroma with less syrupy density, but the longer pull also changes the finish: a coffee that tastes sweet at a shorter yield may become drying when pushed further.

I prefer a lighter roast for a lungo because a longer extraction gives its fruit and floral aromas room in the cup. I look for a fragrant finish with enough sweetness to hold my interest.

Start with a coffee you already enjoy as espresso. If the longer recipe tastes pleasantly open, keep it. If it tastes hollow, dry or sharply bitter, a shorter yield may suit that coffee better.

How to Dial in a Lungo

Keep the dose at 18 g while you learn what changes. Use 54 g as your first endpoint and record the time without treating it as a definition.

Our espresso dial-in guide covers a more systematic sequence; the espresso method page covers setup and technique.

How Much Caffeine Is in a Lungo?

The caffeine in this 18 g → 54 g home recipe has not been measured. Longer extraction can change caffeine yield, but cup size alone cannot tell you its caffeine content.

In a 2023 study using a 20 g dose of one Arabica coffee, researchers modeled cup caffeine from measured extraction curves:

In this study, 50% more beverage contained about 12% more caffeine. These modeled averages apply to the study’s 20 g dose, separate from our 18 g recipe and capsule drinks.

Caffeine comparison calculation

The relative increase is (204.0 − 182.6) ÷ 182.6 × 100 = 11.72%, rounded to 12%.

For a named capsule reference, Nespresso Canada lists 70–110 mg for a 110 ml (3.7 US fl oz) Original Lungo. Use the particular product's current information when available.

How Many Calories Are in a Lungo?

The plain 54 g recipe has an estimated 5 kcal, with no added sugar.

Plain coffee and sugar calculation

The estimate uses USDA's prepared espresso record: 54 g × 9 kcal per 100 g = 4.86 kcal. It is not a measured lungo nutrition result, because extraction changes dissolved solids.

Additions matter more than the small plain-coffee estimate. A weighed 4 g (1 US tsp) of sugar adds an estimated 15 kcal using the USDA granulated sugar reference. Milk, cream or syrup should be counted separately.

What Does Lungo Mean on a Nespresso Machine?

Nespresso Original Lungo means a 110 ml (3.7 US fl oz) serving convention. It is distinct from the 54 g portafilter recipe above and from a 150 ml (5.1 US fl oz) Vertuo Gran Lungo. Those sizes are listed in the manufacturer's capsule guide; the systems use different capsules and doses.

Do not keep running an arbitrary capsule until it reaches a preferred mug size. Brew it as directed, then add water separately if you want a diluted drink. A capsule intensity rating is not a milligram caffeine measurement.

How to Pronounce and Order Lungo

Lungo means “long” in Italian. Treccani uses it for a drink containing more water than usual, including coffee. Say approximately LOON-goh, with a hard g, and ask for “a lungo, served black.” Check the café’s serving size if you have a particular cup in mind.

Common Questions

Is Lungo the Same as Café Allongé?

Ask whether the café extends extraction or adds water afterward. Both names appear around longer coffees, but local recipes and water handling can differ. Our café allongé guide explains the naming issue in more detail.

Can You Add Milk?

Yes. Specify the amount you want; the milk is an addition to the brewed lungo, and changes the drink's nutrition. A lungo does not contain milk by definition.

Can You Make Lungo Without an Espresso Machine?

With a compatible capsule or automatic machine, follow its own lungo program and instructions. For a small black coffee from other equipment, use the moka-pot method or AeroPress recipe. Those are different extractions, so keep their own dose and water directions rather than applying this 18 g basket recipe.

Editor's Take

Sources and Further Reading

6 references

External links open in a new tab

Preparation and terminology

• La MarzoccoEspresso brew ratiosManufacturer guidance on dose, beverage mass and flexible ratio categories.(opens in a new tab)
• TreccaniLungo: Italian meaningDictionary context for the drink name.(opens in a new tab)

Caffeine and nutrition

• Foods / Schmieder and colleaguesEspresso extraction kinetics (2023)Table 2 models cup caffeine from measured extraction curves at a fixed 20 g dose.(opens in a new tab)
• USDA FoodData CentralPrepared espresso, FDC 171891Generic energy and sugar reference; used for the plain-coffee calorie estimate.(opens in a new tab)
• USDA FoodData CentralGranulated sugar, FDC 169655Energy reference for the optional weighed 4 g addition.(opens in a new tab)

Capsule conventions

• Nespresso CanadaCapsule caffeine and serving sizesManufacturer ranges for specific capsule systems, checked September 2026.(opens in a new tab)