Americano is arguably a type of coffee that many consumers enjoy a lot. It is convenient, quick, and can rapidly satisfy most people's caffeine needs. At the same time, it consists of only water and espresso, making it a type of what we commonly call black coffee. Black coffee reflects the quality of the coffee beans and their inherent flavor, so many "SOE" single-origin espressos made into Americanos are like a cup of pour-over coffee with a fuller mouthfeel.
Making an Americano is very simple. The first step is to extract espresso, and the second step is to add water and it's ready to serve. But often the simplest things test a barista's skill the most, because there are no factors like milk that can alter or embellish the coffee's flavor. So Americano is the beverage that best showcases a barista's espresso extraction skills and a shop's quality control capabilities. Many baristas say that when visiting other cafes or getting a caffeine fix, their first choice is an Americano.
But many customers also report that they end up drinking bitter Americanos, so is Americano supposed to be bitter? Actually, besides bitterness, coffee also has acidity and sweetness. Through our sense of taste, we can perceive coffee's sourness, sweetness, bitterness, and saltiness. Different varieties, processing methods, and other factors affect the proportions of these flavors, making it easier for us to perceive one or several of them. For example, Panama's Geisha coffee has relatively low bitterness, while the SL28 and SL34 varieties that have adapted to Kenya's high-phosphate soil exhibit extremely high acidity and aroma.But what causes excessive bitterness in an Americano?The flavor of the coffee beans themselvesBlack coffee like Americano is mainly influenced by the flavor of the coffee beans themselves, so the first reason an Americano tastes bitter may be the choice ofespresso beanswhose inherent flavor is predominantly rich and heavy.The rich flavor of espresso beans comes from their intense regional character and a relatively dark roast level. Take Front Street Coffee's Front Street Signature Blend coffee beans, for example. Washed Colombian coffee beans are blended with Brazilian coffee beans. The Colombian beans give this blend its dark chocolate base note, while the Brazilian beans provide nutty tones and higher body. Front Street Coffee's roaster roasts this blend to a medium-dark roast level, giving it a wonderful sense of balance—medium-low acidity and medium bitterness.Front Street Coffee used this Front Street Signature Blend in its stores for many years, only switching to the Warm Sun Blend at the end of 2019. Compared to the Front Street Signature Blend, the Warm Sun Blend beans have less bitterness and more acidity, with flavors leaning toward liqueur chocolate. This is an example of how bean selection affects the taste of an Americano.Besides bean selection, the bitterness of an Americano also comes from extraction errors, such as uneven extraction caused by channeling, or over-extraction due to grinding too fine.
Front Street Coffee often shares that, calculated by the weight of the coffee beans, only about thirty percent of the coffee beans can be extracted, and it's not that the more of this thirty percent is extracted the better. According to the Golden Cup standard's recommended range, extracting roughly 18% to 22% is most appropriate. Below 18% is what we call under-extraction, characterized by sharp acidity and a thin, bland taste. Extraction exceeding 22% is what we call over-extraction, commonly known as over-extracted, and its typical manifestation is intense bitterness.
To ensure consistency and that the coffee tastes within the ideal range every day, Front Street Coffee's baristas need to adjust the espresso parameters before opening for business each day, making adjustments based on the beans' condition that day. For example, the parameters adjusted by Front Street Coffee's barista today are 20 grams of coffee grounds extracting 35 grams of coffee liquid with an extraction time of 25 seconds. Compared to the previous 20 grams of coffee grounds extracting 40 grams of coffee liquid, today's parameters reduce bitterness by cutting the tail end of the extraction, achieving a more balanced taste.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
