Café Allongé
What a café allongé is: the French long coffee, made either as a lungo or as espresso lengthened with hot water. How to make both, and how it compares.
Contents
What is a café allongé?
A café allongé is the French long coffee, from allonger, to lengthen. Depending on the café, it's made one of two ways: as a lungo, with more water pushed through the espresso, or as an espresso topped up with a little hot water. Either way it's a longer, milder cup than an espresso but smaller than an Americano.
At a glance
- Ratio
- 1:2 + hot water
- 18 g : 36 g
- Grind
- Fine
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Origin
- France
Method
Pull an espresso
Dose 18 g of coffee, tamp, and pull a normal espresso of about 36 g into a cup with room to spare.
Lengthen it
Top it up with a little hot water, to taste. Or, for the lungo style, let the shot itself run longer instead.
Taste and adjust
Add more water for a milder cup, less for a stronger one.
A café allongé is the French long coffee. The name comes from allonger, “to lengthen”, and it’s an espresso made longer and milder. The catch is that there are two ways to make it, and French cafés don’t all agree: some pull it as a lungo, with more water through the coffee, and others make an espresso and top it up with a little hot water. Here’s both, and how it compares with a lungo and an Americano.
The short version
- The French long coffee, from allonger, to lengthen.
- Made two ways: as a lungo, or as an espresso with a little hot water added.
- Milder than an espresso, smaller than an Americano.
- In France, ask for un café allongé; a plain café is usually an espresso.
The two ways to make it
| Lungo style | Lengthened with water | |
|---|---|---|
| How | Let the espresso run longer, pushing more water through the coffee | Pull a normal espresso, then add a little hot water |
| Taste | Fuller, often more bitter | Cleaner, lighter |
| Who says so | Wikipedia’s Lungo article; some French guides | Many cafés and guides |
Wikipedia treats café allongé as the French name for a lungo, and one French guide insists it means a longer extraction, not water added afterwards. But plenty of cafés and guides describe it as espresso with hot water. Both are real, so if it matters to you, ask how they make it.
How do you make a café allongé at home?
Lengthened with water (the easier way):
- Pull a normal espresso, for example 18 g of coffee to about 36 g, into a cup with room to spare.
- Top it up with a little hot water, to taste.
- Taste and adjust: more water for a milder cup, less for a stronger one.
Lungo style: follow our lungo guide, letting the shot run to about three to four times the dose.
Whichever way you make it, use a cup big enough for about 120 ml, so there’s room to lengthen it to the size you like. Pour the hot water in gently so the crema isn’t washed away.
Café allongé vs lungo vs Americano
| Café allongé | Lungo | Americano | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made by | Either method | More water through the coffee | Hot water added to espresso |
| Size | About 80–120 ml (one French guide) | Longer than an espresso | About 150–240 ml (same guide) |
| Taste | Milder than espresso | Milder, often more bitter | Lightest of the three |
General guidance only. Espresso machines run at high pressure and temperature, so always follow the instructions for your machine.
Café allongé vs other shots
- Espresso: the standard shot it’s made from.
- Lungo: the Italian long shot.
- Ristretto: the short, concentrated opposite.
- Soup shot: a modern, very long espresso recipe.
Explore every pressure method in the pressure chapter.
What you’ll need
Words in this guide
- Extraction
- Extraction is the process of water dissolving flavour compounds out of ground coffee.
- Crema
- Crema is the golden-brown foam on top of an espresso.
Questions & answers
What is a café allongé?
The French long coffee. Allonger means to lengthen. It's an espresso made longer, either by pushing more water through the coffee, like a lungo, or by adding a little hot water afterwards.
Is a café allongé the same as a lungo?
Sometimes. Wikipedia treats café allongé as the French name for a lungo, and some French guides describe it as a longer extraction. But many cafés make it by adding hot water to an espresso, so ask, or taste.
Café allongé vs Americano?
Both can be espresso with hot water added, but an allongé is usually smaller. One French guide puts the allongé at about 80–120 ml and an Americano at about 150–240 ml.
How do I order a long coffee in France?
Ask for un café allongé. A plain café in France is usually an espresso.
Sources
- Lungo. Wikipedia
- Café allongé: définition, préparation et dosage d’eau. Tarlata Café
- Café allongé: meaning, pronunciation and examples in French. FrenchLearner
- Café allongé: how to order coffee in France. Garçon Coffee
General guidance only. Not medical, food-safety or professional advice. Always follow your equipment's own instructions.