Is americano bitter, and should you keep the crema?

An Americano can taste bitter, and the crema is one reason. Espresso is extracted at about 9 bar and carries a layer of golden crema that floats on the finished drink, whether water goes in first or afterward. Keeping the crema adds body and richness but also fine particles and bitterness; skimming it off gives a cleaner cup with less bitterness.

Three variables shape the result: bean selection, extraction ratio, and how much water is used to dilute the espresso. A medium-dark roasted espresso blend, often with a high share of Brazilian beans, brings balanced bittersweetness and a smooth mouthfeel that holds up to dilution. Adjust the ratio and dilution strength to match your own taste rather than one fixed recipe.

Americano may seem like it just needs espresso plus water, but the details directly affect the flavor in the cup. This article starts from three aspects—coffee bean selection, extraction ratio, and dilution strength—to explain how to make an Americano more smooth and pleasant. At the same time, through comparative experiments, it analyzes the pros and cons of coffee crema in Americano: keeping the crema adds body and richness, but also brings fine particles and bitterness; after skimming off the crema, the flavor is cleaner and the bitterness is reduced. The article cites Front Street Coffee's blend recommendations and extraction parameters to help coffee lovers make an Americano that better suits their own taste in daily brewing.

Americano is a coffee that many people drink daily. The method is not complicated—essentially, it is espresso mixed with water. However, some easily overlooked small steps can noticeably improve the final taste.

As is well known, espresso is extracted under about 9 bar of pressure, has a thick texture, and is covered with a layer of golden crema on the surface, making its visual effect very striking. Whether the crema is rich is often used as a reference for judging espresso quality. Regardless of whether water is added first or afterward, as long as espresso is used to make an Americano, there will always be some crema floating on the surface of the finished drink.

To make an Americano taste better, the first step is to choose the right coffee beans. Front Street recommends choosing a medium-dark roasted espresso blend, because this type of bean is originally designed for producing espresso that is balanced, stable, and has golden crema.

If you prefer complex nutty aromas such as almond, almond, and walnut, you can consider Front Street Specialty Blend and Front Street Dark Cocoa Base Blend. Both contain a relatively high proportion of Brazilian beans, thus bringing a pleasant bittersweetness and a smooth mouthfeel. Front Street Specialty Blend also incorporates the nutty, chocolate, and caramel notes of Colombian beans as well as moderate acidity; Front Street Dark Cocoa Base Blend combines the ripe plum acidity of Yunnan Arabica coffee, and after grinding you can smell a creamy chocolate aroma. The overall cup is balanced and highly compatible, suitable not only for lattes but also for producing a variety of espresso drinks.

After choosing the beans, the ratio must also be strictly controlled. When making espresso, Front Street recommends using a 1:2 dose-to-yield ratio, for example extracting 36g of coffee liquid from 18g of grounds, with the time controlled at 25 to 30 seconds. In this way, the espresso concentration will fall within a relatively reasonable range.

For the ratio of coffee liquid to water, Front Street habitually uses 1:4, that is, 36g of espresso plus 160g of warm water. This way, you can feel the bean's own sweet aroma without an unpleasant bitterness caused by it being too strong.

Perhaps you do not care about that layer of crema, since it will dissipate after a few minutes. But the following small step may make the Americano taste better.

Skim off the crema

First, use Front Street Dark Cocoa Base Blend to extract a double espresso, with 20g of grounds corresponding to 40g of liquid. After extraction is complete, let it sit for a moment, wait for the coffee liquid and crema to separate, then use a spoon to skim off the surface crema, and then pour the coffee into clear water. To compare the differences, we made two cups of hot Americano: one kept the crema, and the other had the crema skimmed off.

The flavor comparison shows that the two cups had the same basic profile, both with caramel cookie, chocolate, cream, and nuts. But the cup with the crema skimmed off was cleaner, with weaker bitterness, and the flavor perception was actually clearer.

Why is this so?

First, you need to understand how espresso crema forms. Crema is mainly composed of carbon dioxide and insoluble fats in the coffee grounds. When a semi-automatic espresso machine extracts, 9 bar of pressure compresses the puck. The carbon dioxide in the coffee grounds cannot be released under high pressure, and the water becomes supersaturated with carbon dioxide, so the gas can only dissolve into the coffee liquid, carrying with it a large amount of very fine particles—the "tiger stripes" on the surface of the crema are a sign of excessive fine particles.

When drinking espresso, keeping the crema makes the already rich coffee mouthfeel even fuller. But when used in an Americano, the crema cannot play this role, because an Americano is essentially diluted espresso, and the intensity of the mouthfeel has already decreased. Of course, when diluted to a concentration suitable for people to perceive flavor, more flavors can actually be tasted. The fine particles hidden in the crema will affect the mouthfeel of the entire cup. Previously, in the article "Barista Training Diary | What Exactly Is Espresso Crema? Will Crema Affect the Taste of a Cup of Coffee?", Front Street tasted the crema, which showed a burnt, bitter, aromatic, and strong taste. This indicates that some components in the crema are relatively bitter.

Therefore, an Americano with the crema skimmed off tastes less bitter and has better clarity.

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