When you think of a lemon drink, you think of lemonade or lemon water, but not often of espresso with lemon juice. Yet this amazing mix is worth discovering. We tell you all about the espresso romano or lemon espresso in this article.
Espresso with lemon: what is it?
The combination of espresso and lemon seems unlikely, yet it is well known to coffee lovers as an espresso romano.
This drink has different names depending on the country and local culture: canarino coffee, coffee al Limone, lemon espresso, or espresso romano. Sometimes the lemon slice is replaced by an orange or tangerine zest or peel.
The lemon taste comes from lemon zest, candied or not, or from lemon juice.
Why put lemon in an espresso?
One of the reasons for mixing lemon and coffee is that the citric acid in the lemon reduces the bitterness of the coffee. You can add a few drops of lemon juice or rub a lemon peel around the coffee cup.
The recipe is also known to help with headaches, particularly after a late evening party 🙂
How to make espresso romano?
The espresso romano recipe is pretty easy and straightforward.
Make the coffee for a lemon espresso
Ideally, prepare your espresso with an espresso machine, but if you prefer, make a filter coffee, or use an Italian Moka coffee maker. Make coffee for espresso romano as usual and dose it according to your taste.
Adding sugar is not mandatory. Sugar tends to reduce the bitterness and accentuates the effect of the lemon. It’s up to you to try if you feel like it.
As the lemon tends to reduce the bitterness of coffee, it’s a good idea to use a rather bitter coffee roast. It comes down to what taste you’re looking for in your coffee: if you use a light roast the lemon flavors will be more intense and can mask the coffee aromas.
Add lemon juice or lemon peel to make espresso romano
Now we come to the crucial step: adding the lemon to the coffee. You have a number of options depending on the desired intensity of both the coffee and lemon flavors:
- just finish your espresso with a lemon twist
- flavor your espresso with lemon peel
- to make espresso with lemon juice add a drop of lemon before pouring the coffee
Of course, you can mix the lemon peel with a twist of lemon, it is best to experiment to find the right combination for you. You can also simply moisten the rim of the cup with lemon so that the tangy flavors awaken your taste buds as soon as you put your lips on it.
If you want to discover other unusual coffee combinations have a taste of our mint and coffee drinks. And if you want to try also the espresso Martini, the headache soothing capabilities of the espresso romano might come in handy!