When customers who don't usually drink coffee walk into Front Street Coffee's offline stores, they often ask the baristas a question: "What is espresso? What is its relationship and difference with Americano?" This is a good question. At Front Street Coffee, there are only two small blackboards serving as menus—one for pour-over coffee and the other for espresso. On the espresso coffee bean menu, it clearly lists Americano, Latte, Cappuccino, and Mocha.
Many people think that espresso is Italian coffee and Americano is American coffee, so they get confused by Front Street Coffee's coffee bean menu: Why is Americano placed under espresso? Next, Front Street Coffee will use this article to answer your questions.
Actually, the above guess is not wrong—Americano is indeed American-style coffee. When it comes to Americano, there are two ways to make it: the first is coffee made with a traditional American drip coffee maker, and many households still use American drip coffee makers today. Because it is convenient and practical, it is also called a foolproof coffee machine. The method of using this American drip coffee maker is very simple, with the following steps:
Step one: Add an appropriate amount of coffee grounds.
Step two: Pour an appropriate amount of water into the water tank.
Step three: Press the switch button.
As for the water-to-coffee ratio for Americano, Front Street Coffee believes you can adjust it according to personal preference, but it is recommended to start with a 1:20 ratio. Generally, the time to make a pot of coffee will be about 5-8 minutes.
But it is worth noting that the Americano made this way is completely different from the Americano you can buy in coffee shops now. Most Americano on the market today is basically made by diluting espresso with water, and this method originated during World War II. At that time, American military officers first tasted traditional Italian coffee, which is espresso, in Europe. But for Americans accustomed to drinking American drip coffee, the taste was too strong, so they added water to the espresso to dilute its flavor, ultimately obtaining a drink with a flavor similar to coffee made by an American drip coffee maker. Europeans were very disdainful of this and jokingly called this coffee "Americano."
Regarding the extraction time and amount of coffee liquid for espresso, Front Street Coffee will make appropriate adjustments based on the day's coffee beans and other factors. Taking today's Front Street Coffee espresso extraction parameters as an example: using 19.5 grams of coffee grounds with an extraction time of about 28 seconds to extract 35 grams of coffee liquid.
It can be said that espresso is the foundation of all coffee drinks, so whether a cup of coffee tastes good or not is greatly related to the espresso. Even abroad, espresso itself is a type of coffee drink and has been played with in various ways. Espresso is also called espresso, and the extraction parameters generally use 7-9 grams of coffee grounds, under 9 bar of pressure, with water at around 92 degrees, extracting about 14-18 grams of coffee liquid in 25-30 seconds. Most of Front Street Coffee's coffee drinks are based on a double shot of coffee liquid. Therefore, about 20 grams of coffee grounds are needed to extract about 35 grams of coffee liquid.
Front Street Coffee believes that whether the espresso tastes good or not is closely related to the espresso beans. The coffee beans currently used in Front Street Coffee's stores are Front Street Coffee's own Warm Sun Blend coffee beans. This espresso blend is made from a combination of Honduras Shirley coffee and Ethiopia Red Cherry coffee beans. The coffee liquid extracted from this blend has a strong fermented feel. Compared to ordinary low-acidity blends that highlight nutty flavors, Warm Sun Blend coffee has higher and more lively acidity. The chocolate flavor is obvious, and the mouthfeel is very heavy and textured. Many consumers are attracted by this coffee bean and even bought Warm Sun Blend coffee beans at Front Street Coffee to make espresso drinks at home. There are always consumers who ask questions about espresso bean blends: Why use a blend of two coffee beans?
Front Street Coffee will briefly introduce this to everyone. A long time ago, the overall quality of espresso was not high, so high-quality coffee would be mixed with some lower-quality coffee, making it hard to detect. This was a business strategy. The second reason is to satisfy complex taste preferences and requirements, blending coffees from different regions together to achieve an effect where 1+1 is greater than 2. The third reason is for the stability of the coffee beans. You should know that coffee is, after all, an agricultural product, and this year's flavor and taste characteristics may differ somewhat from next year's, so blending coffee can achieve the standards required for coffee output. Mix two kinds of coffee and adjust the ratio to ensure a balanced taste.
According to the method of diluting espresso with water, Front Street Coffee's hot Americano has a ratio of coffee liquid to water of 1:4, while iced Americano has a ratio of coffee liquid to water (including 100 grams of ice) of 1:8. As for how much water to add to espresso to make Americano, Front Street Coffee believes that first controlling the ratio of coffee liquid to water at around 1:4-1:8 is fine, but it can be adjusted to a certain extent according to your own needs. So which is better tasting, Americano or espresso? Front Street Coffee believes there is no standard answer to this question. If you don't like black coffee, then you will naturally prefer espresso drinks other than Americano, but if you can accept black coffee, then it is recommended to drink Americano. Because you can taste the flavor and taste characteristics of various coffee beans.
Milk coffee among espresso drinks is a good choice for many coffee novices, because the bitterness in the coffee liquid will be neutralized by the sweetness of the milk. And for good milk coffee, the milk and coffee can blend perfectly together, rich and mellow, leaving a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth, with a soft mouthfeel. Of course, more and more coffee shops are now choosing to launch the market-popular SOE coffee. So what is SOE coffee?
It is actually espresso from a single origin. The reason for doing this is to highlight and amplify the flavor characteristics of a single origin. But considering various factors, Front Street Coffee does not have SOE coffee drinks. Of course, not all SOE coffee beans are made very well. Front Street Coffee has also drunk some SOE milk coffee where the heavy milky taste has already covered the original flavor of the coffee, losing the original intention of making SOE coffee.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
