Is Americano Bitter? What Water Temperature Changes

An Americano is espresso diluted with water, but the water temperature changes the cup. Hot Americano made with water near 88°C keeps more aroma and a softer bitterness, iced Americano tastes crisper and more acidic, and room-temperature water sits between the two. The three versions differ in aroma, flavor and mouthfeel even though the espresso and water ratio stays the same.

The drink traces back to World War II, when American troops in Europe diluted intense espresso with water to cut its concentration. Later, Italian-style cafés in the United States popularized the espresso-first, water-second order. A common test uses a dark-roast blend from Brazil, Indonesia and Vietnam, comparing iced, room-temperature and 88°C water to show why is americano bitter depends on how you build it.

It's the same espresso diluted with water, so why do iced, hot, and room-temperature Americanos taste so different? This article starts with the origins of Americano, traces how Italian-style cafés popularized this drink, and through a set of comparison experiments, uses Front Street Coffee's classic espresso blend beans to make iced water, room-temperature water, and 88°C hot water versions of Americano, breaking down each one across aroma, flavor, and mouthfeel. The article also provides the specific preparation methods for the three types of Americano, the ratio of espresso to water, and the reason why hot Americano should not use excessively high water temperatures, helping coffee lovers choose based on the taste they want at the moment.

Whether Americano should be drunk hot or iced is a topic that, like whether tofu pudding should be sweet or savory, always splits people into two camps. At times like this, a bystander will often say: isn't it all just espresso with water added, what difference can hot or iced make? In reality, the difference is actually quite significant.

How did Americano come about?

Americano can be traced back to World War II, when American troops stationed in Europe couldn't get used to the extremely intense taste of espresso, so they added water to dilute it. So at its root, the emergence of Americano was about reducing coffee concentration to the level Americans were accustomed to at the time.

Later, when Italians immigrated to the United States, Italian-style cafés gradually sprang up there, and Americano, made with espresso as its base, became popular along with them. In terms of the order of adding water, they adopted the method of adding coffee first and then water, to express the idea of diluting strong coffee. Today, there is no longer much fuss about the preparation order of Americano; ultimately, it comes down to nothing more than the difference between preserving the crema or breaking it up.

A Little Experiment

For bean selection, Front Street Coffee's classic espresso blend is recommended. This blend is composed of beans from three origins—Brazil, Indonesia, and Vietnam—and uses a dark roast, which maximizes the coffee's rich aroma and makes it easy to extract thick, velvety crema. It is suitable for both Americano diluted with water and milk-based lattes, and can be purchased from the Front Street Taobao store or the Front Street Tmall flagship store.

When making Americano, use Front Street Coffee's classic espresso blend beans to pull three espressos with the same extraction parameters, then add iced water, room-temperature water, and 88°C hot water respectively, comparing them across aroma, flavor, and mouthfeel to see how Americanos at the three temperatures each perform.

The espresso extraction parameters for this experiment are: Faema E78 espresso machine, Faema 900N grinder, grind size 1.9, double spout portafilter, 20g coffee grounds, extract 35g of coffee (double espresso), extraction time 27 seconds. The espresso extracted with these parameters has the following flavor profile: whisky aroma, milk chocolate, vanilla cream, gentle acidity, caramel-like finish, pronounced aroma, and a rich mouthfeel. When Front Street Coffee makes Americano, the ratio of espresso to hot water is 1:6 (1g of coffee liquid to 6g of water).

|How to Make Iced Americano

First prepare 110g of ice cubes and 100g of room-temperature water, mix them into iced water, then pour in the 35g of extracted espresso. Since the ice will continue to melt, you need to stir it before drinking.

|How to Make Room-Temperature Americano

First pour the 35g of extracted espresso into a cup, then add 210g of room-temperature water.

|How to Make Hot Americano

First pour the 35g of extracted espresso into a cup, then add 210g of hot water (88°C is sufficient; the temperature should not be too high, as water that is too hot tends to bring out a scorched, burnt taste in Americano).

Americanos at the three temperatures each have their own characteristics

The whisky aroma of hot Americano is very lively, the acidity is not pronounced, and it presents more hazelnut and caramel flavors, with a relatively high body.

The aroma of room-temperature Americano is less prominent than that of hot Americano, the acidity is gentle, and the mouthfeel is smooth. Because the crema layer of the espresso has not been broken up, drinking it gives more of a vanilla-cream-like smoothness, along with a nutty, caramel finish.

The aroma of iced Americano is the weakest of the three, but its acidity is the most prominent. On the palate there is whisky aroma, berry-like sweet-and-sour notes, and a hazelnut-chocolate finish, with a refreshing, smooth mouthfeel.

Human senses perceive taste differently at different temperatures, so the advantage of drinking hot coffee is that you can experience how the coffee's flavor changes from hot to cool. When drinking iced coffee, the low temperature weakens the taste buds' perception of bitterness and sweetness, while instead making sourness more sensitive. When you're torn about which temperature of Americano to drink, just choose according to the taste you want at the moment.

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