The long black: will this soon be the UK’s favourite coffee order?
Fans of the drink, brewed differently from an americano, say its taste is vastly superior – and are turning a niche product into a bestsellerIf you’re a regular at specialist coffee shops in the UK – the kind where baristas carefully weigh out your grounds on tiny hypersensitive scales and practically frogmarch you from the premises if you order syrup – you may have noticed that americanos have fallen out of favour.In these fancier coffee spots, everyone’s dependable, unfussy go-to is being eclipsed by a newer import from Australia and New Zealand: the long black.Conducting an unofficial survey of coffee spots, I noticed nearly every barista had a slightly different explanation of the drink.“It’s basically exactly the same as an americano,” one whispered conspiratorially.“It’s a shorter black coffee, the same size as a flat white,” explained another.
The final barista I spoke to just shook her head in quiet disappointment when I asked if long black was just a more pretentious way of asking for an americano,What is the difference between a long black and an americano? Last year, 2,1 million people watched a viral Instagram reel from the coffee shop Tamp, in Chiswick, west London, which asked that exact question,Despite its name, a long black is shorter than an americano, but some baristas also swear by adding the espresso second, on top of the hot water,This ensures that “the hot water is slightly cooler in the cup and closer in temperature to the espresso that’s coming out of the machine”, explains Ollie Simon, of the New Zealand-founded speciality roaster Allpress.
“If you’re pouring hot water straight on to espresso, you’re agitating the drink, and losing some of the more volatile aromas and flavours.”Leeds speciality coffee shop Laynes also adds the espresso second.“It’s a faster way to do it, and espresso is meant to be quick,” says owner Dave Olejnik.“When you wallop a load of hot water on to an espresso, you also start to break down some of the structure, texture, and the crema, which sits across the top.Honestly, you just get a better-looking drink if you brew coffee into water.
”Sales of the long black have been steadily rising in the UK.In 2023, according to one small survey, it was London’s fifth most popular coffee order, and accounted for 9% of all sales in the capital.Kaffeine, in Soho, has been selling long blacks since it opened in 2009.Owner Peter Dore-Smith was born in Melbourne, but is a long-term Londoner.Along with nearby Flat White (founded by Australians and New Zealanders, and widely credited with first popularising flat whites in the UK), his shop is a key fixture in London’s antipodean coffee scene.
He also reckons that he was among the very first people to sell long blacks in London.“I should open a shop called Long Black, shouldn’t I?” he laughs.“That’s what everyone comes here for.”Dore-Smith ushers me behind the bar to watch Katarina, one of his senior baristas, in action.She uses an upturned espresso mug to bring everything nearer to the spout, and brews into a 5oz cup with hot water: the same size you would typically use for a flat white.
Aside from size, most of these things don’t have much effect on taste, she explains, but it all helps to make your cuppa look nicer at the end.This is important when you don’t have the canvas of flashy latte art to play with.“You’ll see there’s quite a remarkable difference in the flavour profile,” Dore-Smith says.He’s right; with a long black, the flavour of the beans is clearer and much more vibrant, with notes of blackberry, caramel and nuttiness all coming through.In comparison, the americano feels weak and watery.
I’m sold.“Everybody is basically like: whoa, that’s so much better,” Dore-Smith says.“I’ve noticed, working behind the bar, that the long black is increasing in popularity, and it’s much more prevalent.” Sales of the drink at Kaffeine crept up by 4% from November to mid-January, while black coffee in general is also proving more popular.“I’d liken it to people moving from big lattes down to flat whites,” says Olejnik.
“Moving from big americanos down to long blacks feels like a mirror movement, if you like.”Like the flat white, the long black originated in Australia or New Zealand, depending on who you ask.The two countries are renowned for their high-quality brews; if a spot is owned by an Australian or a New Zealander, it’s usually a pretty solid indicator that the coffee will be on point.Dore-Smith attributes the influence of Australian coffee to the wave of Italians who immigrated to Australia in the 1950s and 60s and brought their knowledge of espresso-brewing with them.He also thinks the country’s geography and “very strong anti-drink-driving culture” play their part.
“If you want to go out and meet a mate in London, you go to the pub, have a few pints and get the train home,” he says.But in many parts of Australia with poorer public transport, “you have to drive home,” he says.“So you go out and get a really good cup of coffee instead.”New Zealanders think along the same lines.“Public transport is not a big thing, so you catch up over coffee rather than a pint,” says Simon, who is originally from Auckland.
He also offers up the theory that the coffee scene in the two countries has developed in relative isolation.“I don’t want to say it evolved in a bubble, but being so far away, it has kind of done its own thing.”“They’re far less influenced by what I would consider American cafe culture,” says Olejnik, “the Starbucks-ification of coffee, and putting a huge drink in your hand with a great big comfy sofa.That culture didn’t land down there in quite the same way.” Instead, it’s about “fine-tuning the original Italian espresso bar menu, and the notion that there’s value in high quality, as opposed to high quantity,” he says.
“It has had huge implications for global coffee-drinking culture.”As Aussie and New Zealand coffee creeps on to more menus in the UK, will the long black start to become as popular as the flat white? The drink is yet to break into any of the UK’s major high street coffee chains.In 2010, Costa became the first high street chain to introduce the flat white to its menu; it is now one of the brand’s most popular orders.Still, it has no plans to introduce long blacks, a spokesperson confirmed.So the antipodeans have not yet staged a complete coup – but if you’re a seasoned americano drinker, you might consider switching your order up.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
UK demands ability to access Apple users’ encrypted data
The UK government has demanded that Apple creates a backdoor in its encrypted cloud service, in a confrontation that challenges the US tech firm’s avowed stance on protecting user privacy.The Washington Post reported on Friday that the Home Office had issued a “technical capability notice” under the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA), which requires companies to assist law enforcement in providing evidence.The demand, issued last month, relates to Apple’s Advanced Data Protection (ADP) service, which heavily encrypts personal data uploaded and stored remotely in Apple’s cloud servers, according to the Post, which said this was a “blanket” request that applied to any Apple user worldwide. The ADP service uses end-to-end encryption, a form of security that means only the account holder can decrypt the files and no one else can – including Apple.Apple declined to comment
Call to make tech firms report data centre energy use as AI booms
Tech companies should be required by law to report the energy and water consumption for their data centres, as the boom in AI risks causing irreparable damage to the environment, experts have said.AI is growing at a rate unparalleled by other energy systems, bringing heightened environmental risk, a report by the National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC) said.The report calls for the UK government to make tech companies submit mandatory reports on their energy and water consumption and carbon emissions in order to set conditions in which data centres are designed to use fewer vital resources.“In recent years advances in AI systems and services have largely been driven by a race for size and scale, demanding increasing amounts of computational power,” said Prof Tom Rodden, the pro-vice-chancellor of research and knowledge exchange at the University of Nottingham, who was a member of the NEPC working group that delivered the study.“As a result, AI systems and services are growing at a rate unparalleled by other high-energy systems – and generally without much regard for resource efficiency
Google edits Super Bowl ad for AI that featured false information
Google has edited an advert for its leading artificial intelligence (AI) tool, Gemini, before its broadcast during the Super Bowl after it was found to contain false information about gouda cheese.The local commercial, which advertises how people can use “AI for every business”, showcases Gemini’s abilities by depicting the tool helping a cheesemonger in Wisconsin to write a product description, including the erroneous line that gouda accounts for “50% to 60% of global cheese consumption”.However, a blogger posted on X that the stat was an “AI hallucination” that is “unequivocally false”, as more reliable data suggests the Dutch cheese is probably less popular than cheddar or mozzarella.The blogger Nate Hake added: “I found the above AI slop example in 20 minutes, and on the first Super Bowl ad I tried factchecking.”Replying to him, the Google executive Jerry Dischler said this was not a “hallucination” – where AI systems invent untrue information – but rather a reflection of the fact the untrue information is contained in the websites that Gemini scrapes
Owner of spyware used in alleged WhatsApp breach ends contract with Italy
Paragon Solutions, whose military-grade hacking software was allegedly used to target 90 people, including journalists and members of civil society, in two dozen countries, has terminated its client relationship with Italy, according a person familiar with the matter.Paragon’s decision to end the Italy contract followed revelations that an Italian investigative journalist and two activists who were critical of Italy’s dealings with Libya were among the people who had allegedly been targeted with the spyware. The work of all three individuals has been critical of the rightwing government of Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.A person familiar with the matter said Italy had breached the terms of Paragon’s contract with the government, which does not allow for journalists or members of civil society to be targeted with the spyware.Like Pegasus, the hacking software made by the rival NSO Group, Paragon’s hacking spyware, called Graphite, can infect a mobile phone without a user’s knowledge
UK app drivers: will you be logging off on Valentine’s Day?
Many UK drivers for platforms including Uber, Bolt and Addison Lee are planning to log off and refuse work on Valentine’s Day, as part of a push to demand better pay and conditions.The UK supreme court ruled in 2021 that Uber drives are entitled to worker status – meaning they can access rights such as holiday pay – but unions say conditions have worsened since then, saying companies responded by cutting rates.The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) is planning a protest outside London’s City Hall on 14 February, while private hire drivers log off.We want to hear from you. Are you a private hire driver who will be affected by the developments? What do you think of your working conditions? What will be your reasons for either logging off or continuing to work on 14 February?You can tell us your story using the form below
Google scraps diversity hiring goals and cites Trump’s DEI orders
Alphabet’s Google is scrapping its goal to hire more employees from historically underrepresented groups and is reviewing some of its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.With this, Google joins a slew of US businesses, particularly in Silicon Valley, that have been scaling back their diversity initiatives, years after pushing for more inclusive policies after protests against the police killings of George Floyd and other Black Americans in 2020. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news.The company issued a statement after the news broke: “We’re committed to creating a workplace where all our employees can succeed and have equal opportunities, and over the last year we’ve been reviewing our programs designed to help us get there
Rothschild braces for more ‘skeletons in the cupboard’ over conduct of late chair
What do Trump’s tariffs mean for US-China trade?
AI is developing fast, but regulators must be faster | Letters
How some objects can have a mind of their own | Brief letters
Sri Lanka v Australia: second men’s cricket Test, day three – live
Hundred auction leaves counties feeling flush but no longer calling the shots | Ali Martin