Americano vs latte: which espresso drink fits your taste?

An Americano is espresso diluted with water and keeps the pure black coffee flavor, while a latte blends espresso with milk for a smoother, sweeter cup. The Americano is lighter in body and usually the cheapest item on the menu, which is a large part of why it is ordered so often, and it delivers a quick caffeine boost.

The widely told origin story is that U.S. soldiers stationed in Europe during World War II found espresso too intense and added water until it suited them. A latte instead follows the Italian milk-and-espresso model built on ratio and milk texture. Strength, price and suitable occasions separate the two more than the base espresso does.

Americano and latte are the two most common espresso-derived drinks in coffee shops: one presents the pure flavor of black coffee by diluting espresso with water, while the other blends espresso with milk for a smooth, sweet taste. This article will start with the history of Americano, its advantages in refreshment and value for money, the application of specialty beans, and Front Street's specific extraction recipe, then compare latte's origins, ratios, and preparation details, helping coffee lovers understand the differences between the two in taste, strength, and suitable occasions, so they can make a choice based on personal preference.

Among the many coffee categories, Americano has always enjoyed extremely high popularity. Whether it is office workers rushing to commute on weekdays or young people leisurely going out on weekends, holding a cup of Americano seems to have become a common scene. So, on what basis has this seemingly simple drink won the favor of so many people?

The composition of Americano is not complicated—it is made simply from espresso and water—yet it is almost a signature item in every coffee shop and the most representative black coffee in public perception. As for its origin, a widely circulated explanation is that during World War II, American soldiers stationed in Europe found it hard to adapt to the strong flavor of espresso, so they adjusted its strength by adding water until the taste suited their habits. This practice later came to be called "Americano."

1. Quick caffeine boost

Americano is essentially espresso plus water. Italians originally had the habit of drinking espresso at midday to refresh themselves, but for consumers outside Italy, especially Americans, the heavy mouthfeel of espresso was too intense. So Italian café operators in the United States began trying to dilute espresso, making its bitterness and strength softer while increasing the cup size, giving people a sense of good value. Over time, Americano became the preferred daily pick-me-up for workers.

2. Affordable price

Because its only ingredients are espresso and water, Americano is usually also the lowest-priced item on a coffee menu, which is precisely an important reason it is ordered by the most people. For example, if you are not especially passionate about coffee and just want to sit in a café to pass the time, then ordering the cheapest coffee is naturally a reasonable choice, so Americano's order rate has remained consistently high.

In addition, with the advancement of the specialty coffee wave, more and more high-quality coffee beans are being used to make Americano. Taking Front Street's stores as an example, the Sunflower Warm Sun blend is used when making Americano. This blend is composed of two specialty beans: Yirgacheffe Red Cherry and Sherry.

In order to fully bring out the unique aroma of the sherry wine barrel, Front Street uses extraction parameters of 20 grams of coffee beans to extract 40 grams of coffee liquid, taking 27 to 28 seconds. Then 200 milliliters of water is added to make Americano. If making iced Americano, the dilution effect of melting ice on the strength needs to be considered. Front Street uses larger ice cubes, each weighing about 25 grams. The ratio for one cup of Front Street iced Americano is 40 grams of espresso, 100 grams of large ice cubes, and 120 grams of water, that is, 1:2.5:3. This way, it will not be uncomfortable to drink due to excessive strength, and the large ice cubes melt more slowly, which also prevents the second half of the cup from becoming too weak, while maintaining a low temperature for a longer time (the drinking experience of room-temperature coffee is not ideal).

The Americano made with the Warm Sun blend presents rich flavors of vanilla cream, sherry aroma, milk chocolate, and caramel.

Some friends may wonder: which is better tasting, Americano or latte?

The word "Latte" comes from the transliteration of Italian. Latte coffee refers to a drink made by adding milk in a certain ratio to espresso and mixing it, belonging to the category of flavored coffee. The earliest latte coffee can be traced back to Vienna, the city of music. Viennese people began drinking coffee in the 17th century. At that time, the Turkish army failed in its attack on Vienna and left behind 500 bags of coffee beans in its hurried retreat; these beans became the initial raw material of Vienna's first coffee house (Blue Bottle). In order to suit European taste preferences, the café operator filtered out the coffee grounds and added a large amount of milk, making the originally bittersweet black coffee smooth and sweet. This taste fascinated the Viennese, and milk coffee thus gradually became popular around the world.

Latte's ingredients are likewise simple, requiring only espresso and milk, and there is no rigid rule for the ratio, with most ranging from 1:5 to 1:8. Front Street uses a ratio of 1:6, that is, 40 grams of espresso liquid with 240 grams of milk. When making a hot latte, Front Street first pours the espresso liquid into a preheated coffee cup, then uses the steam from the espresso machine to froth the milk. The milk temperature is best maintained at 55 to 65 degrees Celsius, thereby forming a dense milk foam of moderate thickness, which is then fully integrated with the coffee liquid; the final latte art serves as an added finishing touch. Front Street's hot latte has a sweetness like liqueur-filled chocolate and a creamy, smooth mouthfeel. Front Street's iced latte first adds 75 grams of ice cubes and 25 milliliters of fresh milk, then extracts 40 grams of coffee liquid and pours it on top, and reminds guests to stir thoroughly before drinking.

In Front Street's view, Americano and latte are actually not comparable; the key still depends on personal taste preference. If you cannot quite accept a coffee taste that is too strong and bitter, then latte will be a more suitable choice, because after espresso is added to milk, the sweetness of lactose in the milk neutralizes the bitterness of the coffee, making the whole drink less bitter. But if you want to savor the pure flavor of coffee, then Americano is clearly more to your taste.

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