A fragrant espresso can be enjoyed in many ways. Add fresh milk and it becomes a rich milk coffee; add hot water at a suitable temperature and it becomes a hot Americano; or add ice cubes and it becomes an iced Americano. Of course, you can also drink a single shot of espresso straight in one gulp, and the lingering aftertaste will leave you deeply impressed by that coffee bean. So today, Front Street Coffee would like to share with you how to make an Americano and roughly what the coffee-to-water ratio should be.
Every coffee shop'sAmericano coffee-to-water ratiois different, so Front Street will use its own Americano as an example. Generally, an Americano is made withespressoas the base, with a certain amount of water added to dilute the extracted coffee. For example, if you like a stronger-tasting Americano, add less water; if you want a milder-tasting Americano, add more water. A hot Americano better restores the coffee's own flavor, without the emphasis on coffee-growing-region flavor that pour-over coffee has, and the coffee's floral aroma will not be very prominent.
Americano is a single-origin coffee with a very high order rate among black coffees. Although there are many brewing methods, it never departs from the so-called Golden Cup Standard. The golden ratio of extraction yield and concentration investigated by the international coffee organization is called the Golden Cup Standard: extraction yield -> 18%~22%, concentration -> 1.15%~1.55%. In other words, taking the coffee liquid brewed from 10g of coffee grounds as an example, it should fall between 191ml and 116ml, without feeling too weak or too strong.
Using 15g of coffee beans with an espresso machine, a double filter basket and appropriate grinding, extract 60ml of espresso, collecting 25ml for the first stage, 25ml for the middle stage and 10ml for the last stage (this is the fun part of an espresso machine—you can collect in stages during extraction). Then dilute the espresso according to the Golden Cup Standard and taste the first, middle and last stages separately. Generally speaking, the first stage will be very aromatic, but depending on the roast level and recipe of the coffee beans, it may be just right or on the sour side. In fact, that is precisely the extra-strength espresso (Espresso Ristretto) diluted to the Golden Cup Standard.
Front Street repeatedly changedthe coffee-to-water ratio of the Americano, from one cup at a 1:4 ratio, one cup at 1:4.5, and one cup at 1:5, continuously tasting to find an espresso base that best suits the general public while highlighting the coffee's flavor. In the end, the base ratio for the Americano was set at 1:4.5. This is because the Americano beans used by Front Street are a blend of Honduras Sherry coffee and sun-dried Red Cherry from the Yirgacheffe region of Ethiopia in a 7:3 ratio, and a 1:4.5 ratio best brings out the winey aroma and cocoa aftertaste of this Warm Sun blend.
Of course, many customers also ask at Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee),which kind of coffee beans are better for Americano. Generally, the beans used to make Americano areespresso beans. Compared with traditional pour-over coffee beans, the roast level is a bit darker, and the beans used for espresso are generally blends of multiple coffees, though of course there are also beans from a single origin and single estate used to make the espresso base, and the resulting coffee is simply called SOE single-origin coffee. SOE single-origin coffee magnifies the strengths of a certain coffee bean, though the price is also much higher.
In Front Street's shop, there are four flavors of espresso blend beans that can be used to make Americano. The first is a more balanced espresso bean. It is made by blending deep-roasted beans from Guatemala, Colombia, Brazil and Tanzania in a 3:3:2:1 ratio as espresso beans. This blend is very suitable for friends who are just getting into espresso, because this espresso bean performs in a relatively balanced way in acidity, bitterness and aroma. It has the acidity of Tanzanian Kilimanjaro coffee beans, the rich fruity aroma and smoky feel of Guatemala, and the nutty, chocolate flavors of Colombia with its higher body. After Front Street blends these coffee beans in proportion, it forms a very balanced espresso.
If you want to highlight the bitterness of the Americano, Front Street suggests adding an appropriate amount of Robusta coffee beans to increase the richness of the crema. Robusta coffee beans can play a very big role in coffee blends. At Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), the espresso beans blended from Colombia, Brazil and Robusta coffee in a 3:6:1 ratio have a strong nutty-chocolate flavor paired with the rich, creamy mouthfeel of Robusta coffee beans. For an Americano with an acidic taste, you can try using Tanzanian coffee beans and Yirgacheffe coffee, plus Brazilian and Colombian coffee beans to reduce the acidity brought by the African beans, in a 4:2:2:2 ratio. Then, according to the Americano water-to-coffee ratio you like, you can make a delicious Americano!
The weather in Guangzhou has been quite hot recently. You can use 1:1 ice water, then pour the extracted espresso into the prepared ice water, and finally stir it a bit so that the temperature of the iced Americano is even, and then you can enjoy an iced Americano. Now that Front Street has mentioned iced Americano, Front Street will briefly tell you about cold brew coffee as well. This is because many customers do not understand the difference between Americano and cold brew coffee.
Cold brew coffee takes longer to make than Americano, and the production method is different too. Americano is made by extracting coffee liquid from an espresso machine at high temperature and high pressure, then adding hot water, and the Americano is done. Cold brew coffee, on the other hand, is made by putting freshly ground coffee powder into a filter bag, sealing it, soaking it in ice water, and then placing it in the refrigerator for about twelve hours, and the cold brew coffee is done. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) previously used Yirgacheffe coffee beans to make cold brew coffee. It smells of light floral and berry aromas, and when drunk it also has a refreshing citrus acidity—very cool. Compared with Americano, one advantage of cold brew coffee is that it can be kept for a long time, and even after being stored in the refrigerator for a long time it still carries the corresponding citrus acidity. But Front Street still recommends drinking it as soon as possible, so that you can perfectly taste the best flavor of each coffee bean.
For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat of Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
