How To Make A Hot or Iced Nespresso Americano

Americanos are great for espresso lovers who want a larger drink that they can sip on longer. Plus, an americano has a milder taste compared to black espresso. If you have a Nespresso machine, then making an americano will be easy, whether it is hot or iced. Keep reading to learn how.

What Is An Americano?

An americano is usually made with just espresso and hot water. The recipe is simple. You prepare the espresso, then add two to three times as much hot water to dilute it. Where you fall in that range will depend on your personal taste preferences. Two times as much hot water will give you a stronger espresso taste – this is the more traditional way to make it. Three times as much hot water will give you a lighter taste. If you drink your americano black (without milk), it will be very low in calories. You can enjoy an americano hot or iced (more on that below).

What Is The Difference Between A Lungo And An Americano?

Making an americano with Nespresso isn’t as simple as just pressing the Lungo button or using a Gran Lungo Vertuo pod. That’s because a lungo is not the same thing as an americano. A lungo, which means “long” in Italian, is a shot of espresso that is pulled for a longer amount of time. It uses more water vs a regular espresso. But compared to an americano, a Nespresso lungo will use less water. That means the taste of a lungo will be more bitter than what you’ll get if you follow the recipes below.

How To Make an Americano With Nespresso Original Line

Making an americano with an Original machine is easy. If you have a Creatista, Lattissima, CitiZ, Inissia, Pixie or Essenza, you can make both the espresso and the hot water with the push of a button. This makes it simple to get the espresso to hot water ratio exactly right.

• Place a 6 to 8 oz glass or mug under the coffee outlet
• Insert an espresso pod
• Brew an espresso shot by pressing the smaller cup button or selecting espresso if you have a Creatista.
• Open the lever to eject the used pod.
• Now with no pod in the machine, press the smaller cup button again or select espresso on your Creatista touchscreen. Hot water will start to flow.
• Repeat the last step one or two more times. Two total hot water cycles will give you a stronger tasting drink. Three will give you a lighter drink.

If you want to add milk, it would be best to steam it. The Creatista Plus makes has a built in steam wand that makes that easy. If you have a more basic model like the Essenza Mini and use the Aeroccino 3 milk frother, you can use that. To steam milk, just remove the coil around the whisk before adding your milk.

How To Make An Americano With Nespresso Vertuo Line

Making an americano with a Nespresso Vertuoline machine is a bit more complicated. That’s because it is more difficult to make hot water with a Vertuo machine. A Vertuo model will not brew unless there is a pod in the chamber. I would suggest making hot water on your stovetop. Otherwise you would need to run a cleaning cycle to get hot water. If you haven’t cleaned your machine recently the water could be nasty.

• Measure out the desired amount of water. If you are using a single espresso pod, you’ll want just under 3 oz for a traditional americano. If you are using a double espresso pod, you’ll want 5.5 oz.
• Heat the measured amount of water on the stovetop to your desired temperature.
• Insert a single or double espresso pod into your Vertuo machine. If you are using a double espresso pod, be sure to have a cup closer to 10 oz.
• Press the brew button
• Add the hot water to the cup with the espresso.

If you want to add milk, it would be best to steam it first. You can do this on your stovetop or you can use the Aeroccino milk frother if you have one. To steam milk with the frother, just remove the coil around the whisk before adding milk.

How To Make A Nespresso Iced Americano

To make an iced americano you can add cold water instead of hot water to your espresso. For a single espresso, use just under 3 oz of cold water. For a double, use about 5.5 oz. The challenge with an iced americano is to not have the hot coffee melt the ice. You can try adding the cold water to the espresso, stirring it to release some heat, and then add ice. You’ll still get some melting this way. You might want to use less water to start with to account for that. Alternatively, you can use the HyperChiller to rapidly cool the coffee. It will chill the espresso for an iced americano in a couple minutes and you won’t have ice melt!

What Pods Are Best For An Americano?

Original Line

You can use any of the espresso pods to make an americano. There is a range of intensity levels you can choose from. If you like a stronger espresso taste, go with a pod that has an intensity rating of 9 or higher. For a lighter taste, choose a pod that has a 5 or lower. If you want to get the most caffeine, pick Palermo Kazaar.

Vertuo Line

You can use any of the single or double espresso pods to make an americano with a Vertuo model. The other types of pods like gran lungo, coffee and alto would not be right for this drink.