Why Does Americano Taste Bitter?

Americano tastes bitter mainly because espresso itself is a concentrated extraction, and adding hot water dilutes strength but not the bitter compounds. Early espresso machines ran at only about 1.5 bar with water that was too hot, producing thin, burnt, bitter coffee closer to American drip coffee. Modern machines use far higher pressure, so dose, yield, grind, and temperature decide how much bitterness lands in the cup.

The first espresso machine was built by Angelo Moriondo in 1884, and Luigi Bezzera patented a commercial design in 1901 before La Pavoni mass-produced it in 1905. Steam-driven models lacked crema and tasted burnt; electrification and Achille Gaggia's piston lever in the 1930s changed extraction. Pulling a shorter, sweeter shot and adding water separately keeps an Americano balanced rather than harsh.

Espresso is the base of many coffee drinks and a litmus test for a barista's skill. Starting from the daily offerings at Front Street Coffee, this article systematically reviews the history, extraction principles, and tasting methods of espresso, and breaks down in detail how key parameters such as dose, yield, grind size, and pressure affect flavor. It also shares the complete preparation scheme used at Front Street stores with the Faema E98 espresso machine and the Sunflower Warm Sun blend, helping coffee enthusiasts understand how to extract a qualified Espresso with rich crema and a full-bodied taste.

Has anyone ever noticed what the barista's first drink is when a café first opens in the morning? At Front Street Coffee, the first thing baristas do every day when they start work is drink several espressos in a row, which can be intimidating to onlookers. As people who work with coffee over the long term, is drinking espresso straight like this really the standard way to drink espresso?

Hold on—that is not actually the case. Before explaining how espresso should be drunk, we need to first understand the core equipment used to make it—the espresso machine.

Historical Evolution

In 1884, Angelo Moriondo built the world's first espresso machine and demonstrated it to the public at the Turin exhibition in Italy that same year. The machine was created to handle the endless stream of customers in his shop, and the coffee it produced was given the name "Espresso." In Italian, espresso carries the meaning of "pressed out." However, this machine had only 1.5 bar of pressure, was equipped with dual brewing heads, and had an extraction process lasting as long as 40 seconds. The resulting coffee liquid was thin and mild, with a mouthfeel closer to today's American drip coffee.

In 1901, Milanese engineer Luigi Bezzera was the first to apply for a patent for a commercial espresso machine. In 1905, La Pavoni put the technology into mass production, and the first espresso machine in the generally accepted sense was born. Early machines were steam-driven, but the water temperature was too high and the pressure insufficient, so the extracted coffee lacked crema and tasted rather burnt and bitter.

By the 1930s, electrification gradually replaced steam power, and Milanese barista Achille Gaggia designed a coffee machine with a piston lever. In 1948, this patent was transferred to Faema. In 1961, Faema launched the Faema E61 espresso machine, and pump drive brought extraction pressure to 9 bar for the first time. From then on, espresso displayed its signature emulsified crema, with a powerful flavor and a thick, smooth texture.

Extraction Principles

The modern method of making espresso is to force hot water above 90°C through a finely ground coffee puck at 9 to 11 bar of pressure in an extremely short time. This method can simultaneously extract both water-soluble and non-water-soluble substances from the coffee grounds and generate a large amount of crema, so the finished product is thicker and smoother than most coffees.

How to Drink Espresso

When Front Street serves espresso, it comes with a glass of ice water. First-timers are often puzzled: what is this glass of ice water for? Are you supposed to pour the espresso into it?

If a Front Street barista saw this, they would definitely stop it immediately. Once espresso is poured into ice water, it becomes an ordinary iced Americano, so how could you still talk about tasting the espresso itself?

In fact, the purpose of the ice water is to thoroughly clean the palate before drinking the espresso, resetting taste and smell to zero. After that, you can feel the intense impact of the espresso on the palate. As the coffee liquid in the cup gradually decreases, the drinker can experience the changes in flavor and mouthfeel from the first sip to the finish.

In addition, a small spoon is also provided when serving. The small spoon is used for stirring—freshly made espresso has obvious layers, and the spoon can be used to mix the upper layer of foam with the lower liquid. Of course, you can also leave the spoon alone and directly experience the subtle mouthfeel differences brought by the layers.

How Front Street Coffee Makes Espresso

The steps of espresso may seem to be only dosing, distributing, tamping, and brewing, but extracting a qualified cup involves many key variables; otherwise, baristas would not drink themselves sick as soon as the coffee shop opens. The core factors include dose, yield, grind size, pressure, and so on.

[Dose] The dose is usually determined by the capacity of the filter basket, with appropriate fine-tuning based on factors such as the condition of the coffee grounds. Too much coffee powder will prevent the portafilter from locking onto the group head; too little coffee powder will cause uneven extraction. The filter basket used at Front Street has a capacity of 20 grams.

[Yield] The commonly used international parameter is usually 1:2, meaning the weight of the extracted liquid is twice the dose.

[Grind Size] The finer the grind, the smaller the particles and the more extractable substances there are, making over-extraction easy; the coarser the grind, the larger the particles, the less surface area in contact with water, and the fewer extracted substances, making under-extraction easy. Therefore, controlling grind size is crucial.

[Pressure] The ideal extraction pressure is about 9 bar. If the pressure is too low, crema and high-quality flavor substances are insufficiently released, the mouthfeel is thin, and under-extraction is easy; if the pressure is too high, hot water violently impacts the coffee grounds, destroying too much coffee structure and causing a large release of insoluble substances, making the finished product bitter.

Front Street Coffee Espresso Preparation Parameters

Coffee machine: Faema E98

Pressure: 9 bar ± 2

Temperature: 90.5~96°C

Time: 20~30 sec

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:1.7~1:2

Dose: 12g (single espresso) 20g (double espresso)

Extraction yield: 20ml (single) 40ml (double)

The espresso beans used at Front Street stores to extract espresso are the Sunflower Warm Sun blend. This blend consists of 70% Honduras Sherry and 30% Ethiopian natural Red Cherry. The 70% Honduras Sherry is fermented in Sherry whisky barrels, bringing a rich boozy aroma and vanilla cream flavor; the 30% Ethiopian natural Red Cherry gives the espresso a berry-like acidity.

Front Street Coffee: Sunflower Warm Sun Blend

Region: Honduras & Ethiopia

Variety: Caturra, Catuai, Pacas, local heirloom varieties

Processing method: Fine washed Sherry whisky barrel fermentation & natural

The espresso extracted by Front Street with this blend shows pronounced fruity acidity, with a faint berry aroma lingering around it, rich boozy and chocolate flavors, and a pleasant sweet aftertaste.

For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style) For professional coffee knowledge exchange, please add WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.