What is an all-ice americano and how does it taste?

An all-ice Americano, ordered as 'iced Americano, no water,' replaces the water in a standard Americano with ice alone. The espresso chills quickly over the cubes, which holds in aroma and gives a denser, more layered cup than a regular iced Americano, where water and ice dilute the shot before it is drunk.

Standard shop ratios help explain the difference. A typical iced Americano uses about 38 g of espresso, 90 g of ice, and 170 g of room-temperature water. The extract-chilling idea popularized at the 2021 World Barista Championship follows the same principle: cooling the shot fast keeps volatile aromatics that would otherwise fade.

In a coffee shop, have you ever heard an order like this—"Iced Americano, no water"? This seemingly simple drink is actually the all-ice Americano hidden behind the menu. It completely replaces the water in an Americano with ice cubes, allowing the espresso liquid to lock in its aroma through rapid cooling, presenting a richer, more layered flavor. This article will start from Front Street Coffee's actual production, break down in detail the preparation ratio of the all-ice Americano, its taste differences compared to a regular iced Americano, and combine it with the concept of "extract chilling" proposed in the 2021 WBC Barista Championship to help you understand the flavor logic behind this way of drinking. If you're also curious about what makes espresso plus ice different, read on.

"Hey! One iced Americano, the no-water kind."

This was an order request received by a barista at Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) one time. Although Front Street has quite a few hidden menu items (such as Flat White and Dirty), hearing this request from a customer still made them pause for a moment. Requests for iced Americano without ice are occasionally made by customers, but an iced Americano without water is rather rare. After removing the water from an iced Americano, isn't it just a cup of espresso with ice?

Water + espresso liquid = Americano. Everyone should know this formula.

Add hot water and it's a hot Americano; add ice water and it's an iced Americano. Many people can't accept coffee that's too strong, but still want to consume caffeine while also "cooling off and refreshing themselves," so an iced Americano is a very good choice.

Front Street's iced Americano ratio is 38g of espresso + 90g of old ice + 170g of room-temperature water. If a customer chooses an iced Americano without ice, then in order to keep the coffee chilled without making it too strong, Front Street will reduce the ice amount to 30g and add 210g of water. (A small amount of ice helps the espresso liquid cool down rapidly; by the time the customer receives it, no ice is visible.)

All-ice Americano!!

So what about the "iced Americano, no water" ordered by the customer at the beginning? It is actually an "all-ice Americano." When we break it down and say it: all ice, Americano, it becomes easy to understand: an Americano with only ice, completely using ice cubes to replace the water portion in an Americano. This way of drinking actually has many names, such as pure ice Americano, iced espresso, espresso with ice...

When Front Street makes this waterless iced Americano, it adjusts the ice amount to 60g, that is, 38g of coffee liquid + 60g of old ice, and switches the cup to a smaller cold brew cup, extracting the espresso directly into the cup already holding the ice cubes. The espresso extracted this way is immediately cooled by the ice, locking in more aromatic substances and resulting in a better flavor and mouthfeel.

What are the benefits of making an iced Americano this way? And how does it taste different?

Those who have paid attention to barista competitions may know that in the 2021 WBC (World Barista Championship), Australian barista Hugh Kelly proposed a concept called Extract chilling during the competition. In the competition, he extracted espresso like this: he placed a frozen metal block between the espresso cup and the spout of the portafilter. When the espresso liquid flowed out from the spout, it would pass through this metal block to cool down, and only then did it reach the espresso cup.

Hugh said this: "The first 12 grams of coffee liquid that comes out contains the most volatile compounds (aroma). By rapidly cooling the coffee liquid, the coffee retains more flavor and aroma."

An Americano made this way actually tastes closer to drinking espresso directly, but after rapid cooling by ice (locking in flavor) and a small amount of dilution, the coffee becomes easier to drink, and there is no need to worry about the flavor and aroma lost during the cooling process of the coffee liquid. It still tastes quite rich.

Front Street used Sunflower Warm Sun blend coffee beans to make a normal iced Americano and an all-ice Americano for comparison. Compared with the large-cup iced Americano mixed with ice water, the all-ice Americano has a higher concentration and is relatively more bitter, and overall you can feel more layered changes in acidity and aroma. If you are also interested in the all-ice Americano, why not give it a try next time you order an Americano～

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