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Every region has its own way of drinking coffee, and because some regions' coffee-drinking methods are quite representative, they have given rise to a local culture, just like Turkish coffee and Italian coffee. When it comes to these coffees, a picture may already have formed in your mind. But when it comes to Americano, you might hesitate for a moment, and then two scenarios appear: one is drip-filter machine coffee, and the other is espresso diluted with water.

Drip-filter coffee is generally black coffee; as long as you don't add sugar or milk, it's a cup of black coffee. Just as Turkish coffee has a story with Turkey, Americano also has a story with America—otherwise, the word "American" style wouldn't make sense.

"Americano" (English: Americano, Italian: Caffè Americano) is a type of coffee and also the most common one. It can be black coffee made with a drip coffee maker, or espresso with a large amount of water added. But what we usually call Americano is the latter.

It is said that during World War II, American soldiers went to continental Europe to support the war effort. Europeans were used to drinking espresso with concentrated flavor, but because the taste was too intense, Americans couldn't get used to it and even found it hard to swallow. So they diluted the espresso with water before drinking it, and this practice continued. Europeans turned up their noses at this method, so they named this type of coffee "Americano." It should be noted that if you go to a café in Italy and want to order an Americano, you must add "café" before "Americano." The same goes for latte—if you only say "latte," you will likely just get a glass of milk.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)'s Method for Making Americano

The method for making Americano is actually very simple, divided into two main steps: the first is extracting espresso, and the second is adding the coffee liquid to water.

Although making Americano is simple, it also highly tests a barista's extraction skills. A delicious cup of Americano cannot do without its most basic element—espresso, which is the first main step and the foundation of the entire cup.

Different beans used will result in different final flavors of Americano, so what Americano coffee beans are recommended? The blend used at Front Street's store for making espresso is composed of 70% Honduras Sherry and 30% Ethiopia Natural Red Cherry.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee): Sunflower Warm Sun Blend Coffee Beans

Region: Honduras & Ethiopia

Variety: Caturra, Catuai, Pacas, local native varieties

Processing Method: Washed & Natural

For those who enjoy mellow coffee, Front Street's Classic Italian Blend Coffee is recommended. This is a recipe combining Brazil, Indonesia, and Vietnam, using a dark roast, which maximizes the coffee's mellow aroma and makes it easy to extract rich, creamy crema.

The base-making part is closely related to factors such as grind size, dose, machine extraction pressure, water temperature, and coffee-to-water ratio. If the grind is too coarse, it may lead to underextraction and a sharp sour taste; if too fine, it may lead to overextraction and bitterness.

After loading and distributing the grounds, the tamping step is also very important. To outsiders, this step just looks like pressing the coffee grounds with a tamper, and some who are proud of their "mighty arm" might use all their strength, even risking breaking the portafilter basket, thinking that brute force will work miracles, and believing that compared to the 9 bars of pressure from the machine, this is nothing. Little do they know that this "brute force miracle" method compresses the coffee puck too densely, greatly reducing or even blocking the gaps for water to pass through, which easily causes overextraction.

In addition, pay special attention that the direction of force with the tamper must be perpendicular to the portafilter basket; otherwise, the puck will be pressed unevenly, causing uneven extraction.

When Front Street extracts espresso, according to the capacity of the portafilter basket used at Front Street's store, it can hold 20 grams of coffee grounds. Front Street's espresso machine has an extraction pressure of about 9 bars, a water temperature of 93°C, and extracts 40 grams of coffee liquid.

Front Street uses a Fiorenzato E98 espresso machine, with the following extraction parameters:

Pressure: 9 bar±2

Temperature: 90.5~96°C

Time: 20~30 sec

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:1.7~1:2

Dose: 12g (single espresso) 20g (double espresso)

Extraction yield: 20ml (single) 40ml (double)

After making the espresso base, only the final step of adding water remains. But what is the ratio for Americano?

Traditional Americano has an espresso-to-water ratio of 1:8, but this ratio is not suitable for all coffee beans. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) once conducted a comparison test with 1:8 and 1:6 and found that if the espresso made with this blend is diluted at a 1:8 ratio, the final Americano tastes too weak, with too short an aftertaste and even a watery mouthfeel. But with a 1:6 ratio, it highlights the mouthfeel and characteristics of the Americano made with Front Street's Sunflower Warm Sun Blend: whiskey notes and a dark chocolate aftertaste, along with a nice full body.

How to Drink Americano?

When a cup of coffee is placed before you, Front Street suggests not rushing to drink it. Instead, like drinking tea or appreciating wine, there should be a process from shallow to deep, in order to release stress, refresh yourself, and enjoy it.

First step, smell the aroma, and experience the rich fragrance of freshly ground coffee wafting toward you;

Second step, observe the color. Coffee is best when it shows a deep coffee color, rather than being pitch black and unfathomable;

Third step, taste. First take a sip of coffee to feel the original flavor of freshly ground coffee—the coffee should have some sweetness, slight bitterness, and sourness without bitterness. Then sip it little by little, not rushing to swallow it all at once. Hold it in your mouth for a moment, letting the coffee mix slightly with saliva and air, then swallow.

If you find it bitter, Front Street suggests adding according to your preferred taste, such as cinnamon spice, sugar, milk, or soda.

The Difference Between Hot Americano and Iced Americano

The higher the temperature, the more active the molecular movement. So hot Americano has the upper hand in aroma. However, iced Americano has a refreshing quality that hot Americano lacks, and because of the added ice, the taste buds are somewhat dulled, so the acidity tastes lower. If you want to enjoy the aroma and aftertaste of coffee, Front Street suggests choosing hot Americano. If you want something refreshing and cool, then iced Americano is a good choice.

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