Nobody can really pinpoint the birth of the Americano

You say 'just a coffee', so we say 'what sort of coffee?'

This usually prompts you to stare at the menu (with the exception of that man who actually asked if we have Nescafé) and come back to us with 'I just want a normal coffee.' So we admit defeat, mask our disappointment, and make you an Americano.

Now let's explore the reason why we insist on calling your 'normal coffee' an Americano.

Towards the end of World War II, when the Americans couldn't hack the strength of the Italians' espressos, they diluted them with hot water, and thus the Americano was born. It's a charming story, but it really isn't true.

When America's first coffee houses opened, they invented a milder drink to satisfy the modern American taste, and thus the Americano was born. Sorry, we did it again.

The truth is that nobody can really pinpoint the birth of the Americano.

Etymology suggests that the Americans had something to do with it, but the same logic could prove that it was a guy called Eric.

The Italians named all the 'abnormal' coffees, and even the  nastiest of British pronunciation can't remove that pesky little 'o' from the end of what would otherwise just read 'American'.

We embrace the name Americano for the same reason that our ancestors didn't invent 'that new- shaped thing' which makes 'the normal-shaped moving thing' move along quicker - they invented 'the wheel'.