Is americano coffee bitter, and how should it be brewed?

Americano coffee is espresso diluted with water, though drip-brewed black coffee is sometimes called the same. Bitterness depends on the beans and the ratio: Front Street tests show a 1:6 espresso-to-water ratio highlights flavor better than the common 1:8. Bean choice sets the direction, from a rich crema blend to a clean, floral strawberry-candy espresso.

The drink's name traces to World War II, when American soldiers in Europe diluted the concentrated espresso locals drank. Hot americanos carry more aroma; iced versions taste more refreshing. To taste it well, start with a good espresso extraction, control the water ratio, then note acidity, sweetness and finish before deciding whether the cup reads bitter.

Americano may seem simple, but it has an interesting origin that stretches from the wartime era to the present day. It can be made as black coffee with a drip brewer, or by diluting espresso with water, and the latter is the focus of our everyday discussion. To enjoy a good cup of Americano, espresso extraction is the foundation, and the choice of beans directly determines the direction of the flavor. Front Street Coffee's classic espresso blend delivers rich crema and a full-bodied mouthfeel, while Strawberry Candy espresso presents a clean sweetness of flowers and fruit. The ratio of espresso to water is equally crucial—1:8 is not a universal formula, and Front Street's tests show that 1:6 better highlights the flavor. This article will also walk you through the steps of tasting an Americano, as well as the trade-offs between hot and iced Americanos in terms of aroma and refreshing quality.

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People in different regions drink coffee in vastly different ways, and some of these methods are so representative that they have gradually become part of local culture, such as Turkish coffee and Italian coffee. Mention these names, and a corresponding image basically comes to mind. But when it comes to Americano, many people instead pause for a moment, and then two impressions emerge: one is black coffee made with a drip machine, and the other is black coffee made by diluting espresso with water.

What a drip machine produces is usually just black coffee—as long as no sugar or milk is added, it is a pure black coffee. Just as there is an endless story between Turkish coffee and Turkey, Americano also has a history with America; otherwise, the word "American" in its name would make no sense.

Americano (English: Americano, Italian: Caffè Americano) is a type of coffee and also one of the most common and basic ones. It can be black coffee made with a drip brewer, or it can be made by adding a large amount of water to espresso. However, when we casually talk about Americano, we mostly mean the latter.

According to legend, during World War II, American soldiers went to the European continent to support the war effort. The locals were already used to drinking highly concentrated espresso, but the American GIs could not get used to it at all—they even found it hard to swallow. So they diluted the espresso with water before drinking it and continued this practice. The Europeans disapproved and named this coffee "Americano," meaning American-style coffee. One reminder here: if you go to a café in Italy and order an Americano, remember to add café before Americano. The same goes for ordering a latte—if you just say latte, what you are likely to get is a glass of milk.

Front Street Coffee's method for making Americano

Making an Americano is actually not complicated; there are mainly two steps: the first step is to extract espresso, and the second step is to add the coffee liquid to water.

Although the steps are simple, Americano is a great test of a barista's extraction skills. A delicious cup of Americano is inseparable from the most essential thing, and that is espresso. This is also the first main step, and it can be said to be the entire foundation of this cup of Americano.

Different beans will produce different final flavors in the Americano, so what Americano coffee beans are worth recommending?

If you are after rich crema, you can buy Front Street Classic Espresso Blend. This blend is composed of beans from three origins: Brazil, Indonesia, and Vietnam. It has both the wild character of Mandheling and the nutty charm of Brazil, plus a small amount of Robusta for extra aroma. It uses a dark roast, which maximizes the coffee's full-bodied feel and also makes it easy to extract rich, dense crema.

If you prefer your coffee to be less bitter, then choose Front Street Strawberry Candy Espresso. This is an espresso recipe specially launched for friends who like floral and fruity notes. It blends three major origins—Costa Rica, Colombia, and Ethiopia—and carries the aromas of roses, citrus, grapes, and dried blueberries. Made into an Americano, it has a clear, sweet flavor like fruit gummy candy.

The part of making the base is very closely related to factors such as the grind size of the coffee grounds, the dose, the machine's extraction pressure, the water temperature, and the coffee-to-liquid ratio. If the coffee grounds are ground too coarse, it is easy to underextract, resulting in a sharp acidity; if too fine, it is easy to overextract and become bitter.

The tamping step after dosing and distributing the grounds is equally important. To outsiders, this step is nothing more than using a tamper to press the coffee grounds, and some friends who are very proud of their mighty arms may use all their strength, even risking breaking the portafilter basket, thinking that brute force will work miracles and that compared with the 9 bars of pressure from the machine, this is nothing. Little do they know that this brute-force approach will make the coffee puck too dense, greatly reducing or even blocking the gaps through which water passes, and it can easily cause overextraction.

In addition, special attention should be paid to the fact that the direction of force applied with the tamper must be perpendicular to the portafilter basket; otherwise, the puck will be pressed unevenly, causing uneven extraction.

When Front Street extracts espresso, according to the capacity of the portafilter basket used in Front Street's stores, it can hold 20 grams of coffee grounds. Front Street's espresso machine extracts at about 9 bars of pressure and a water temperature of 93 degrees Celsius, yielding 40 grams of coffee liquid.

Front Street uses a Feama E98 espresso machine, and the extraction parameters are as follows:

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)

Extracted espresso amount: 20ml (single) 40ml (double)

Once the espresso base is ready, only the final step of adding water remains. So what exactly is the ratio for Americano?

In traditional Americano, the ratio of espresso to water is 1:8, but this ratio is not suitable for all coffee beans. Front Street once conducted a comparative test with 1:8 and 1:6, and found that for the espresso made with this blend, if diluted with water at 1:8, the final Americano tasted too weak, the finish was too short, and the mouthfeel was even watery. Switching to a 1:6 ratio, however, could highlight the mouthfeel and characteristics of the Americano made with Front Street's Sunflower Warm Sun Blend: the lingering notes of whiskey and dark chocolate, along with a pleasant full-bodied feel.

How do you drink an Americano?

When a cup of coffee is brought before you, Front Street suggests that there is no need to rush to drink it. Instead, like drinking tea or tasting wine, there should be a process from shallow to deep, in order to achieve relaxation, refreshment, and enjoyment.

The first step is to smell the aroma and take in the rich fragrance of freshly ground coffee;

The second step is to observe the color. The coffee should preferably present a deep coffee color, rather than being pitch-black and unfathomably dark;

The third step is to taste. First take a sip of coffee to feel the original flavor of the coffee. When it enters the mouth, the coffee should have some sweetness, a bit of bitterness, and acidity without bitterness. Then sip it little by little. There is no need to swallow the coffee in one gulp; you should briefly hold it in your mouth, let the coffee mix slightly with saliva and air, and then swallow.

If you find it bitter, Front Street suggests adding according to your preferred taste, for example: spice such as cinnamon, sugar or milk, or soda water.

The difference between hot Americano and iced Americano

Because the higher the temperature, the more active the molecular movement, hot Americano has the upper hand in aroma. But iced Americano has a refreshing sensation that hot Americano lacks. If you want to savor the aroma and finish of the coffee, Front Street suggests choosing hot Americano. If you want to cool off, then iced Americano is a good choice.

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