Is Hot Americano Bitter, and Which Beans Keep It Smooth?

Hot Americano tastes bitter when the espresso is over-extracted or the water is too hot, but the drink itself is just espresso diluted with water at roughly a 1:2 extraction ratio before the water is added. Bitterness comes from roast level, grind, and brew time, not from the Americano format.

Cafes mostly pull Americano from espresso blends, though single-origin SOE beans are common for a fruitier cup. For home brewing, a medium roast with chocolate and nut notes tends to stay smooth, while light African lots bring acidity. The drink's roots go back to World War II, when U.S. soldiers diluted Italian espresso to cut the intensity.

Americano is one of the highest-selling categories in coffee shops, quick to make, affordably priced, and a top choice for many office workers needing a pick-me-up. It is made by diluting espresso with water and is a type of black coffee with no additives. What does Americano actually taste like? Is hot Americano bitter? What type of beans do coffee shops typically use? From the perspective of Front Street, this article traces the history, brewing ratios, and taste characteristics of Americano, and, based on the Front Street bean list, recommends espresso blends and SOE single-origin beans suitable for making Americano, helping enthusiasts brew a smooth cup at home.

On coffee shop menus, Americano has almost always held the top spot in sales. It's fast to serve—within minutes you get a fragrant cup of coffee—reasonably priced, and helps sleepy office workers perk up. What flavors and mouthfeel does Americano have? Let's chat about it with Front Street.

The Origin of Americano

As you can roughly guess from the name, espresso originates from Italy, while Americano is associated with America. The rise of Americano dates back to the 18th century.

At that time, Americans were extremely dissatisfied with the British government's high import tariffs on tea. In 1773, the "Boston Tea Party" broke out, and afterward, people advocated switching to coffee. Subsequently, the number of coffee shops in America continued to grow, driving the prosperity of the coffee industry there. By the 1880s, about one-third of the world's coffee beans were sold to the United States. During World War II, U.S. troops consumed large amounts of coffee daily to alleviate the monotony of life and keep soldiers alert. However, American soldiers were not accustomed to the intense bitterness of espresso, so they added water to dilute it to an acceptable concentration. Later, Italian-run coffee shops in America also "did as the Romans do," introducing "watered-down coffee" based on espresso, which became very popular.

What Is Americano?

Americano is a type of black coffee, composed of espresso extracted from an espresso machine mixed with water, with no other additives.

When making Americano, coffee beans are ground into powder and extracted at a 1:2 ratio to make espresso, which is then diluted with an appropriate proportion of water. The Americano served at Front Street's Dongshankou store is made with the Sunflower Warm Sun blend coffee beans: 20 grams of coffee powder is extracted into 40 grams of espresso, then according to a ratio of 1:6 that Front Street has repeatedly tested and adjusted, 240 grams of 88°C hot water is poured in, and the hot Americano is ready.

If serving iced Americano, replace the hot water with 120 grams of ice cubes and 120 grams of room-temperature water; the taste is best before the ice melts.

The Taste and Mouthfeel of Americano

From Front Street's brief description of how Americano is made, it's clear that the taste of a cup of Americano depends on the coffee beans used. Americano in coffee shops usually uses specially crafted espresso blend beans. The Front Street store uses a Sunflower Warm Sun blend made from Ethiopian sun-dried Red Cherry coffee and Honduran whiskey barrel-aged Sherry coffee in a 3:7 ratio. Made into Americano, it has rich wine aromas, vanilla cream, berry tartness and sweetness, and roasted nut flavors. Additionally, if made into a hot latte with espresso as the base, the coffee presents a sweet, smooth chocolate taste.

A high-quality blend can harmonize and complement the flavors in the coffee beans, highlighting the aroma while balancing the flavor profile of each bean, so medium-dark roasts are often used. When extracted into a high-concentration espresso, it is also less likely to produce harsh acidity or thin flavors, making extraction more stable.

In addition to blend beans that balance the taste, Americano also uses SOE, which refers to espresso made with single-origin coffee beans. As specialty coffee culture continues to deepen, high-quality single-origin coffee beans used for pour-over are also being incorporated into espresso, usually selected from beans with a not-too-dark roast level, presenting the flavor profile unique to their origin.

What Coffee Beans Make a Good Americano?

Many friends have coffee equipment at home and are eager to try making Americano themselves, so they ask Front Street what coffee beans to use. Front Street believes that no matter the extraction method, you first need to choose a bag of high-quality coffee beans you like: first, the quality must be good; second, choose the flavor type you enjoy. Below, Front Street uses coffees from its bean list as examples to recommend several beans of different styles, and you can choose according to your own taste. Additionally, Front Street recommends using freshly roasted coffee beans, as this makes it easier to extract the aromatic flavors from the coffee. Therefore, the coffee beans shipped by Front Street are all roasted within 5 days, so you can enjoy the beans at their optimal tasting period upon receipt.

Blend Coffee Recommendations

Front Street's bean list includes four espresso blend coffees, including the aforementioned Sunflower Warm Sun blend, and three other blends that are also very cost-effective:

1. FrontStreet Coffee - Specialty Blend Coffee Beans: Colombian washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian semi-washed coffee beans (70%), with flavor notes of nuts, dark chocolate, and caramel.

2. FrontStreet Coffee - Commercial Blend Coffee Beans: Robusta washed coffee beans (10%) + Colombian washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian semi-washed coffee (60%), with flavor notes of nuts, cocoa, and caramel.

3. FrontStreet Coffee - Espresso Moka Pot Coffee Beans Recommended by Many Baristas - Front Street Black Cocoa Blend Coffee Beans: Yunnan washed small-bean coffee (30%) + Brazilian semi-washed coffee beans (70%), with flavor notes of soft fruit acidity, caramel, and nuts.

SOE Single-Origin Coffee Recommendations

If we choose single-origin coffee beans to make espresso, since the coffee needs to undergo high-temperature, pressurized extraction and the coffee powder is ground very fine, if a suitable extraction range is not found, the coffee is prone to harsh flavors, which also increases our extraction difficulty. Therefore, Front Street recommends choosing single-origin coffee beans with a medium roast level or darker.

1. FrontStreet Coffee - Brazil Queen Estate Coffee Beans: This medium-dark roasted coffee bean, when extracted as SOE, has a rich crema layer, and made into Americano it has aromas of roasted nuts and hazelnut cookies, the richness of dark chocolate, and a caramel aftertaste.

2. FrontStreet Coffee - Costa Rica Mozart Coffee Beans: Mozart coffee undergoes a honey process, giving the beans high sweetness. When made into SOE Americano, it has the sweet-and-sour taste of raisins and berries, and after drinking, the palate retains a rose aroma, very pleasant.

3. FrontStreet Coffee - Ethiopian Sun-Dried Red Cherry Coffee Beans: Sun-dried Red Cherry is made from fully ripe coffee cherries, with high overall cleanliness and sweetness, making it very suitable for making espresso. The crema on the espresso surface is fine, with a pale yellow color, and the SOE Americano made by pouring it into water has the sweet aroma of berries, sweet-and-sour berries and caramel, with a quite clean mouthfeel.

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