Lavazza Espresso Maestro Lungo Capsules: Built for the Longer Cup

Every capsule holds a fixed dose, and the water you push through it decides what lands in the cup. Maestro Lungo is the Lavazza capsule designed to be run long, which is why it tastes open and balanced at a volume that would turn an espresso capsule harsh.

A longer drink, not a weaker one

Lungo is simply Italian for long, and the word describes the size of the drink rather than its strength. Water extracts coffee in sequence: the sweet, soluble compounds come out first and the dry, harsh ones last. A short espresso capsule is set up to stop early. This one is ground and dosed so that it still has something worth giving at 100 to 110ml.

The result is a differently proportioned coffee. The extra water carries more of the aromatic middle of the extraction into the cup, the body is medium and even, and the bitterness is kept well back. It is the Lavazza capsule for anyone who wants more than a few mouthfuls: the slow morning coffee taken to a desk and returned to, not a shot finished standing up.

Match the capsule to the button

This is the most useful thing to know about the Maestro range. Put a short espresso capsule on the lungo button and you collect the bitter tail of the extraction. Put this capsule on the espresso button and the cup comes out small, thin and faintly sour, because most of its flavour is still sitting in the capsule. They fit the same machine, but they are not interchangeable.

On fit, these are made for Nespresso Original machines, the system built around the small conical capsule. Vertuo machines take a larger domed capsule with a barcode and are a separate system, so these will not go in. Neither will Lavazza's own A Modo Mio machines; for those, the brand makes A Modo Mio Lungo Dolce instead.

Cup, water and a splash of milk

Choose a cup of 150 to 200ml over a big mug. Each pour is a set amount, so an oversized mug leaves the coffee looking half empty and losing heat across a wide surface. If you want a mug's worth, run two lungos. Because the drink is mostly water, the water itself matters more than usual, and filtering it in a hard-water area makes a noticeable difference.

Keep milk to a splash. A long pour is more dilute than a short shot by design, so a flat white's worth of milk simply buries it. Drink it reasonably promptly too: aroma is the first thing a long coffee loses, and after ten minutes on the desk the cup still looks the same but smells of very little.

The packs we stock

• Lavazza Espresso Maestro Lungo Nespresso Compatible, 10 Capsules (barcode 8000070053571)

What to eat with it

• McVitie's Original Hobnobs Biscuits - The Oaty One, 255g: A plain oat biscuit, with no chocolate or caramel on it, keeps company with a long, even cup that sits closer to breakfast than to pudding.
• Border Classic Biscuit Sharing Pack, 400g: A sharing pack for the office or the kitchen table, where a lungo is the coffee people linger over.
• Border Lemon Drizzle Melts Organic Biscuits, 150g: Lemon brings a bright note to an open, aromatic cup without the weight of chocolate.

Elsewhere in the Lavazza range

• Lavazza A Modo Mio Dek, Decaf Eco Caps, 16 Capsules 120g
• Lavazza A Modo Mio Lungo Dolce Coffee, 16 Capsules
• Lavazza A Modo Mio Passionale Coffee, 16 Capsules
• Lavazza A Modo Mio Qualita Rossa Coffee, 16 Capsules 120g
• Lavazza Crema e Gusto Classico Coffee Beans, 1kg
• Lavazza Crema E Gusto Classico Ground Roasted Coffee, 500g

The full range is on the Lavazza brand page.

FAQ

What does lungo mean? Long. It refers to the volume of the drink, roughly 100 to 110ml, not the strength of the coffee.

Can I use Maestro Lungo on the espresso button? It will run, but the cup tastes thin and slightly sour, because the grind and dose assume a long pour.

What size cup should I use? One that holds 150 to 200ml. For a mug, run two capsules rather than stretching one.

Does it fit a Vertuo machine? No. It is made for Nespresso Original machines only.

Can I add milk? A splash, yes. It does not have the concentration to carry a full flat white.

Curator's note: Make it with filtered water and drink it at the desk before it cools. If anything goes alongside, keep it plain: this is a breakfast cup rather than a pudding one. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: Lavazza Espresso Maestro Lungo Capsules: Built for the Longer Cup

More from the tea wiki

• Tea vs Coffee: Taste, Caffeine and Switching
• Caffeine in Tea
• Tea vs Coffee
• Tea for Coffee Drinkers: Where to Start
• Chai vs Coffee

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