What beans work for americano and SOE?

Americano is made by diluting espresso with water, usually from dark-roasted Italian-style beans. Beans for Americano fall into two groups: blended coffee beans, which contain at least two kinds of beans, and SOE, or single origin espresso, which uses only one. Blends combine flavors from different regions to create a more balanced cup with aroma and body.

A blend of about three kinds of beans is often recommended; too many varieties make the final flavor hard to control. SOE highlights the character of one region, but any weakness in the beans is magnified and hard to mask. Because SOE demands higher quality and technique, single origin espresso usually costs more than standard espresso blends.

Americano is made by diluting espresso with water, generally using dark-roasted Italian-style coffee beans. Front Street uses a blend of single-origin beans from two regions to make its Americano beans; the advantage is that it compensates for the low acidity of traditional Italian coffee, making the flavor richer. Many people ask whether Americano beans must use Italian-style blended coffee beans. What kind of flavor and mouthfeel would Americano beans made from other coffee beans have? To address this question, Front Street felt obliged to conduct an experiment, using two of Front Street's blended beans for comparison.

What coffee beans are used for Americano beans?

There are two types: one is blended coffee beans, and the other is SOE (single origin espresso). The biggest difference between the two lies in how many kinds of coffee beans they contain. Blended coffee beans contain at least two kinds of coffee beans, while SOE contains only one kind of coffee bean.
 

FrontStreet Coffee Americano Bean Offerings

The purpose of blending is to bring together the flavors of coffee beans from different regions, presenting a completely new flavor and achieving a more balanced effect. For example, if one coffee bean is smooth but lacks aroma, another bean rich in aroma can be added, maximizing strengths and minimizing weaknesses, complementing and enhancing each other. For blending, it is recommended to choose three kinds of coffee beans. If there are too many varieties, it becomes difficult to control the flavor after combination, and you may end up favoring one aspect at the expense of another.

The coffee beans selected for SOE actually highlight the flavor of the region. If you simply like the coffee beans of a certain region, choosing SOE will also suit your taste very well. Although SOE performs prominently, because it comes from a single origin, its shortcomings are also relatively easy to magnify. If the coffee beans are not high quality enough, then the SOE coffee will not taste good and may even be impossible to mask. Therefore, in actual operation, SOE coffee has relatively higher technical requirements in all aspects, which is also one of the reasons why SOE coffee is usually more expensive than ordinary Espresso. 

How does FrontStreet Coffee make Americano?

Slightly acidic Americano beans

Using[FrontStreet Coffee — Sunflower Warm Sun Coffee Beans]as an example

Honduras Sherry coffee beans and Yirgacheffe Red Cherry coffee beans are selected, with a blending ratio of 6:4. The flavor has obvious fruity acidity, a light berry aroma, wine aroma, rich chocolate flavor, and a pronounced sweet aftertaste.

Suggested Americano preparation parameters: 18 grams of coffee in a double spout portafilter (plus or minus 1 gram), extract 36 grams of coffee liquid, extraction time 28 seconds, pour the coffee liquid into a 330 ml cup prepared with ice and water. If you prefer a stronger coffee taste, you may appropriately reduce the amount of water. If you want a more diluted taste, you may appropriately add more water.

Slightly full-bodied Americano beans
   

Using [FrontStreet Coffee Front Street Commercial Blend Coffee Beans] as an example

Colombian coffee beans, Brazilian coffee beans, and Robusta coffee beans are selected, with a blending ratio of 3:6:1. The flavor has caramel sweetness, nutty and cocoa-like notes, dark chocolate flavor, balanced acidity and sweetness, a slight bitterness, and a lasting finish.

Suggested Americano preparation parameters: 18 grams of coffee in a double spout portafilter (plus or minus 1 gram), extract 36 grams of coffee liquid, extraction time 28 seconds, pour the coffee liquid into a 330 ml cup prepared with ice and water.

Slightly balanced Americano beans
   

Using [FrontStreet Coffee Front Street Specialty Blend Coffee Beans] as an example

Colombian coffee beans and Brazilian coffee beans are selected, with a blending ratio of 3:7. The flavor has soft slight acidity, light sweetness, and a nutty sweet aftertaste. The overall impression is not too pungent, mild, and the body is medium.

Suggested Americano preparation parameters: 18 grams of coffee in a double spout portafilter (plus or minus 1 gram), extract 36 grams of coffee liquid, extraction time 28 seconds, pour the coffee liquid into a 330 ml cup prepared with ice and water.

FrontStreet CoffeeAmericano beans

The above three blended beans each make Americano with different flavors. If some friends like to drink acidic coffee, then [Sunflower Warm Sun Blend Coffee Beans] is very suitable. If you want something more full-bodied, then choose [Front Street Commercial Blend Coffee Beans]. If you want neither too acidic nor too heavy, you can choose [Front Street Specialty Blend Coffee Beans].

Tasting steps

When a cup of coffee is brought in front of you, do not rush to drink it. Like tasting tea or wine, there should be a gradual process, in order to achieve the purpose of relaxation, refreshment, and enjoyment.

The first step, smell the aroma, and experience the rich fragrance of the coffee wafting toward you;

The second step, observe the color. Coffee is best when it presents a dark brown, rather than being pitch-black and bottomless;

The third step, taste it. First take a sip of black coffee to feel the taste of the original coffee. When the coffee enters the mouth, it should have some sweetness, slight bitterness, and slight acidity without astringency. Then take small sips, and do not rush to swallow the coffee in one gulp. It should be held in the mouth for a moment, allowing the coffee to mix slightly with saliva and air, and then swallow.

 

For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat FrontStreet Coffee, WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925

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