Order an “Americano with milk” at any café around the globe, and you’ll get a similar tasting beverage: a strong shot of espresso combined with hot water and a small amount of steamed milk.

The Americano is a staple in the coffee-drinking world and has been around since the early 1900s.

If you’ve been wondering whether it’s worth ordering at all, here’s everything you need to know.

What is an Americano with milk?

An Americano with milk is an everyday coffee drink. This coffee is made with espresso coffee with hot water added and a little bit of milk. It’s not as strong as an Italian espresso, and it’s not as milky as a latte.

An Americano with milk, ready to drink.

It’s the perfect in-between drink for people who like just a touch of milk to reduce some of the strength that an Americano can have without ordering a latte or cappuccino.

A latte or cappuccino has a lot of steamed and foamed milk with one shot of espresso. You’ll get a lot of the texture and sweetness from these drinks, with just a little espresso taste.

An Americano with milk is the opposite. An Americano is made with a single espresso shot and double the amount of hot water. A splash of milk is added to make it have a more balanced taste.

You can choose how much milk to add and how you want your milk to be prepared, but more on this later.

Why should you try an Americano with milk?

An Americano is a strong and very simple coffee beverage made with espresso coffee and double the amount of hot water.

I like to drink a limited amount of lattes (with steamed milk) in the fall and winter and almost always order an Americano with a small amount of milk in the spring.

Sometimes the flavor of an Americano can be quite strong (depending on the coffee beans used), and a bit of milk will make the drink a bit more enjoyable.

Americano coffee.
Americano coffee

If you can relate to this, then you should definitely try an Americano with milk.

To order an Americano with milk, you can simply ask for a regular Americano with a splash of milk.

In most coffee bars, you can also choose how you like to add the milk to your coffee, which I’ll talk more about below:

What kind of milk is added to an Americano?

You can make an Americano with milk with different kinds of milk, techniques, and coffee to milk ratios.

  • You can choose to go with just a splash of cold milk, which will reduce the strong espresso taste and make it more balanced in flavor.
  • Try adding steamed milk to your Americano for a slightly textured drink.
  • You can also make an Americano with milk by adding steamed and foamed milk to it.

You use any kind of milk or milk alternative to make a delicious drink that suits your flavor.

I like to use whole milk for most hot coffees and 2% fat milk for cold coffees to make a bit of cold foam.

Milk in a jar.

As you can see, there are many ways to make your perfect drink. You can also try using only foamed milk, which feels more like a macchiato (but with hot water added).

If you’d rather have some steamed and foamed milk added, you can also order an Americano Misto next time around. You can read more on this drink here.

Are you wondering what the different ways of milk preparation will do to your drink in terms of flavor? Then you can have a look below:

What kind of milk is used?Flavor notes:
Americano with cold milkEspresso-forward with a hint of creamy milk
Americano with steamed milkEspresso heavy with a hint of sweet textured milk
Americano with steamed and foamed milkVery balanced and sweet notes, more milk-forward than espresso heavy
Americano with foamed milkTaste of espresso with just a bit of texture of the milk foam

As you can see, there are many ways to make an Americano with milk at home (or order one). There is no right or wrong way, but now you have an idea of what flavor you can expect.

How many calories are in an Americano with milk?

The preparation method of the milk will not matter for the number of calories in your drink, but the milk you’re using does.

Below, I’ve listed the number of calories for some of the most popular milk and milk alternatives that you can add to your Americano:

Milk used:The number of calories:
Whole milk18 calories
2% fat milk15 calories
Non-fat milk13 calories
Almond milk5 calories
Soy milk12 calories
Oat milk15 calories

I’ve calculated the calories for a 1:3 ratio of milk to Americano coffee, which you’ll also use in the recipe that I’ve listed a bit further down.

How do you make an Americano with milk?

The first step in making an Americano with milk at home is preparing the espresso coffee, as this is the basis of the drink.

You can make espresso coffee at home with a few different brewing techniques that I’ll list below:

  • Espresso machine
  • AeroPress
  • Moka pot
  • Nespresso or Keurig machine

Depending on the coffee brewer (or machine) you have at home, you can make some delicious espresso coffee.

Finished coffee brew with the Moka pot.

If you want to learn more about brewing coffee at home, you can check out my beginner’s guide to brewing coffee.

You can make an Americano with milk at home in just three simple steps:

  1. Brew the espresso shot with a coffee brewer of choice.
  2. Add double the amount of water to the espresso shot.
  3. Top with milk of choice, this can be cold milk, steamed, or foamed milk.

Now that you know about the easy steps, you can make one at home. You can have a look at the recipe card below for the complete guide.

Yield: 1 Serving

Americano With Milk

Homemade Americano with milk.

Make an Americano with milk at home and enjoy a well-balanced espresso-based drink you can enjoy for a long time.

Prep Time 3 minutes
Additional Time 2 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • One espresso shot (1 oz or 30 ml)
  • 2 oz (60 ml) of hot water
  • 1 oz (30 ml) of whole milk

Instructions

  1. Brew an espresso shot with a coffee brewer you like the most.
  2. Once the espresso is brewed, add it to a cup of choice.
  3. Pour the hot (off-the-boil) water on top of the espresso shot.
  4. Give the Americano a quick stir to mix all the flavors.
  5. Finish the drink with the whole milk. You can add cold milk, steam it first, or top it with milk foam only.

Notes

You can use any milk you like the most. I'm using whole milk, which gives the coffee a full flavor that I prefer.

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Nutrition Information:

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 18Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.5gUnsaturated Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 12mgCarbohydrates: 1.3gSugar: 1.6gProtein: 1g

Conclusion

Cappuccino. Cafe au Lait. Macchiato. These coffee beverages all have something in common – they’re all commonly used to describe coffee drinks made with espresso shots!

But if you want to keep things as straightforward as possible, ordering (or making) an Americano with milk is the way to go.

In this article, I’ve talked about how you can order one of these amazing drinks at your local coffee bar and how you can make one at home without going through much trouble.

It’s the perfect drink for most coffee drinkers that seek a strong cup of coffee with a bit of milk added to start their day!

Espresso recipes to try

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