In 1996 I came to Vancouver and met my friend Chris Grimley who was attending UBC. He took me to Joe's for an Americano. It was my first real understanding of Italian coffee. In Italy they call it a "cafe longe"(don't believe my spelling) which is a an accurate description for a "long coffee" or a espresso with a bit of boiling water added to it. My understanding of the lore is that Americans would visit Italy and have a hard time drinking the strong espresso that Italians had grown to love so the Americans would ask for extra water to thin it out. So the Italians were making fun of the Americans by calling it an "American"; code for "watered down coffee for American tourists who can't handle real coffee."
I make not claims to how legitimate that statement is.
I drink Americanos. Mostly because I want to prolong the coffee drinking experience. I like a good espresso as well. When time doesn't permit, or I'm travelling abroad and trying to really appreciate the coffee I'm being served it's more likely to be an espresso.
Many things in Vancouver change from day to day, week to week. When Joe's shuts down the city can burn. For all I care.
