How to Make Coffee with a Coffee Machine When the Grind Is Too Coarse

The answer is to pull a longer, faster shot, similar to a lungo. Use about 20 grams of coffee and 80 to 100 grams of water, a ratio near 1:4 or 1:5. The extra water offsets the lower extraction from a coarse grind, giving a long shot with fewer bitter compounds and more noticeable sweetness.

This method works well for iced Americano. Medium-light beans like Yirgacheffe or Kenya are suitable. Adjust the water to taste and change the coffee-to-water ratio until the strength matches your preference. A coarse grind does not have to mean a weak or bitter cup.

Recently, an iced Americano method called "flash extraction" has become quite popular in the coffee community. It resembles the all-ice Americano somewhat, also using only ice cubes and espresso, but the amount of espresso poured in is much larger—almost equivalent to the total liquid volume of a regular hot Americano. Simply put, this method involves quickly extracting a large amount of espresso in one go, essentially producing a "long shot" espresso—Lungo. The difference is that this espresso does not result in an overly high extraction yield, with fewer bitter compounds, so when made into an Americano, it has low bitterness and noticeable sweetness. For those without an espresso grinder, or whose grinder cannot grind fine enough, this method is especially friendly—just appropriately increase the water amount to compensate for the lack of extraction efficiency caused by coarser grind and insufficient puck resistance. Below, Front Street Coffee will discuss the specific parameter ratios and recommend a few medium-light roast beans suitable for this method.

Besides the espresso depth charge that has gone viral online, another Americano method has recently garnered considerable attention: "flash extraction." It is similar in approach to the all-ice Americano, also relying solely on ice cubes plus espresso. The difference between the two lies in the significantly larger amount of espresso added in flash extraction. How much larger? Almost equal to the liquid volume needed for a regular hot Americano.

The so-called "flash extraction" can be understood as quickly extracting a large amount of espresso in a relatively short time. Yes, it is essentially a "long shot" espresso, also known as Lungo.

However, it differs somewhat from traditional Lungo. Because this espresso's extraction yield is not too high, with relatively fewer bitter compounds. So when used to make an Americano, the final product is not too bitter, and the sweetness is more prominent.

This approach is especially suitable for those without an espresso grinder, or whose grinder cannot achieve a fine enough grind. For example, many people find after buying a home all-in-one machine that even when adjusting the grind to the finest setting, the extracted espresso is still not concentrated enough, and the flow rate is particularly fast.

The root cause of this situation is that the grind is not fine enough. The coffee particles are relatively coarse, and after being pressed into a puck, the gaps between particles are larger, providing many paths for hot water to flow through, so during extraction the flow rate is extremely fast, and the target liquid weight is extracted in the blink of an eye.

If you are making a regular espresso (such as a 1:2 coffee-to-liquid ratio), then under these conditions the extracted espresso will be severely under-extracted. Because the grind is not fine enough and the puck resistance is insufficient, the coffee machine simply will not apply high pressure for extraction.

Without a fine enough grind and without high-pressure assistance, a small amount of hot water cannot fully dissolve the flavor compounds in the coffee, only extracting the surface layer of the coffee grounds. The resulting espresso lacks both sufficient extraction yield and concentration, and is not suitable as a base for various fancy coffee drinks.

Therefore, by increasing the water amount, we can compensate for the lack of extraction efficiency caused by coarser grind, insufficient puck resistance, and the coffee machine's inability to pressurize, thereby extracting a cup of espresso with relatively complete flavor.

Of course, this method also has shortcomings. First, the coffee concentration is not high enough, making it unsuitable for milk coffee; second, it is more suitable for medium-light roast beans. If you want to achieve complete extraction through long shots, you need to control the water flow or pressure during extraction, but this is quite difficult for most people to operate, and not really necessary, so we simply extract a large amount of coffee liquid.

The acidity and sweetness of light roast coffee dissolve in large amounts during the early and middle stages of extraction, so this method is very suitable for light roast beans. If you switch to medium-dark roast coffee, although you can still make a delicious Americano, the difficulty is much higher: first, medium-dark roast beans are themselves easy to extract; second, they need the middle and later stage compounds to support body and flavor layers.

Therefore, when making iced Americano with the "flash extraction" method, Front Street Coffee recommends prioritizing medium-light roast coffee beans. These beans often have rich floral and fruity notes, making it easy to create a cup of iced Americano that is sweet, tangy, clean, and refreshing.

In Front Street Coffee's bean list, there are many beans suitable for this Americano method. You can choose Front Street Coffee Granja Geisha, whose final flavor presents the sweet-tart notes of apricot, berries, and citrus; you can also choose Front Street Coffee Yirgacheffe G1, whose washed processing makes it exceptionally clean, with the fresh fragrance of white flowers, lemon, and green tea; there is also Front Street Coffee Kenya Little Tomato, which produces a full-bodied juice feel with flavors of cherry tomato, smoked plum, and blackcurrant... These beans are all very suitable for making Americano.

So without further ado, next Front Street Coffee will demonstrate using Front Street Coffee Granja Geisha from our bean list to "flash extract" a delicious iced Americano.

Brewing Sharing

The operation is actually very simple: use as much coffee powder as possible (do not exceed the recommended dosage or marking line of the portafilter basket). For the ratio, Front Street Coffee recommends 1:5~7, depending on your flow rate. If the flow rate is fast, for example, if it extracts 5 times the powder weight in liquid in less than 30 seconds, then use a 1:7 or even smaller ratio; if the flow rate is slow, for example, if it approaches 30 seconds and still cannot extract 5 times the powder weight in liquid, then use a 1:5 coffee-to-liquid ratio.

Simply put, when the flow rate is slow, you can appropriately reduce the liquid weight, because a slow flow rate means the current grind is finer, pressure rises accordingly, extraction efficiency is higher, and you do not need too much hot water to extract, to avoid over-extraction; conversely, a flow rate that is too fast means the grind is not fine enough, and more hot water is needed to bring out the coffee flavor compounds.

There are not many rules for the amount of ice. Here at Front Street Coffee, the powder amount is 20g, the coffee-to-liquid ratio is 1:6, the extraction time is 34 seconds, and 120g of ice is just enough to completely cool the coffee. After extraction, you can stir appropriately to speed up cooling and integration, and then you can begin tasting.

As Front Street Coffee said, although this method results in a lower extraction yield for the espresso than conventional methods, the sweetness is very prominent, and the flavor is well displayed. For example, this cup of iced Americano made with Granja Geisha at Front Street Coffee clearly delivers the sweet-tart notes of apricot and berries, with a finish of faint floral notes and fresh green tea, a light and clean mouthfeel, and a sweet-tart taste—quite excellent.

That is all for Front Street Coffee's sharing this time. This method is very suitable for friends whose coffee powder is not ground fine enough. If interested, why not try it at home—simple to operate and tastes great.

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