Arh.. gee, i don’t know that.. Loock it up on google? ;)

it’s like soccer.

in spain it is called FUTBOL.

sounds like FOOTBALL.

but football is called FUTBOLAMERICANO.

in spain and other south american and european countries, you grind your coffee or just boil it inside this mesh in a pot. it is tradition. and the more you let it boil, the stronger it is, like alejandro said. then you get espresso. so he ‘easy coffee’ is called americano.

LOL! Yes, but I think it is meant as a derogatory term.

Thats news to me!

cafe americano is not instant coffee. it is espresso that is diluted with hot water, which explains why it would be called “weak coffee.”

if anything, it’s just watered down espresso…any political commentary you want from the name cafe americano you can insert here.

Never heard about that, but yes, the coffee in Europe is notoriously strong for us americanos.

After living in Spain for a year, I’ve grown to love real European coffee. It is strong and is what we call ‘expresso’.

cafe americano is the term for weak coffee. it could be instant aka Nestle cafe or it could just be very watered down expresso. Usually it is meant as an insult but taken w/ a grain of salt. Cafe americano is also Europe’;s version of ‘decaf’…although in some places you can really get ‘decaf’ coffee.

The closer you get the mediterranean the stronger it gets, from the north that is. if you head for north to germany and scnadinavia, the coffee is very much like in the US. As far as I know, orthodox cafe americano is espresso with hot water that you pour yourself as much as you like.

I think it varies from place to place. I have found that, if you order decaf, it will almost invariably be nescafe.

If your order “cafe,” you will get espresso. “cafe con leche” will get you a very short (and very tasty) latte (tasty ‘cause they use whole milk). “Cafe cortado” is espresso cut with just a splash of milk — a nice alternative for those who want to let the coffee flavor come through, but aren’t ready for just plain espresso.

Here’s a quick guide to Spanish coffee:

Cafe americano: generally filter coffee but sometimes Nescafe. It should come in a mug or large cup.

Cafe solo: small cup of strong black coffee, like the Italian espresso. It can be very strong but us Europeans we like our coffee strong, hence why we call “American coffee” a weak coffee :-)

Cafe con leche: a cafe solo with an equivalent amount of milk, comes in a large cup.

Cafe cortado: cafe solo with a dash of milk, comes in a small cup.

Cafe con hielo: now this one is a bit complex. When asking for this you will get a cafe solo with a glass of ice. The idea is to put as much sugar as you want in your coffee, mix it then pour the coffee in the glass of ice and you get iced coffee: extremely refreshing in very hot weather (like Madrid in summer).

If you want really weak coffee, ask for a cafe americano and some hot water so that you can dilute it further if need be.

Cafe Americano is usually Nescafe, which is an instant coffee, but can still be very strong. Cafe con leche is basically a latte (and delectable) and how I always order my coffees in Spain.