Every region has its own way of drinking coffee, and because some regions' methods are quite representative, they've given rise to a local culture—just like Turkish coffee or Italian coffee. When it comes to these coffees, a picture probably already pops into your head. But when it comes to Americano, you might hesitate for a moment, and then two scenarios appear: one is drip-brewed coffee, and the other is black coffee made by adding water to espresso.

Drip 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" wouldn't make sense.

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

It's said that during World War II, American soldiers went to the European continent 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—they 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 kind of coffee "Americano," which means American-style coffee. It's worth noting 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 just say "latte," you'll probably just get a glass of milk.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) method of making Americano

The method of 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 greatly tests a barista's extraction skills. A delicious cup of Americano cannot do without its most basic element—espresso. That is, the first main step is everything for this cup of Americano.

Different beans used will result in different flavors of the final Americano. So what Americano coffee beans are recommended? The blend used in Front Street's shop for making espresso is composed of 70% Honduras Sherry and 30% Ethiopian natural Red Cherry.

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

Region: Honduras & Ethiopia

Variety: Caturra, Catuai, Pacas, local native species

Processing method: Washed & Natural

Seventy percent Honduras Sherry, fermented in Sherry whiskey barrels, provides this blend with a rich wine aroma, while thirty percent Ethiopian natural Red Cherry brings a berry-like acidity to the coffee.

The part of making the base is closely related to factors such as the grind size of the coffee grounds, the amount used, the machine's extraction pressure, water temperature, and the coffee-to-water ratio. If the coffee grounds are ground too coarse, it's easy to under-extract, resulting in a sharp sour taste; if too fine, it's easy to over-extract and become bitter.

After loading the grounds and distributing them, the tamping step is also very important. To outsiders, this step just looks like using a tamper to press the coffee grounds, and some friends who are very proud of their muscular arms might use all their strength—even risking breaking the portafilter basket, thinking that brute force will create miracles, believing that compared to the 9 bars of pressure from the machine, this is nothing. Little do they know, this brute-force approach will make the coffee puck too dense, greatly reducing or even blocking the gaps for water to pass through, which easily causes over-extraction.

In addition, special attention must be paid: the direction of force on 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 portafilter basket capacity used in Front Street's shop, it can hold 20 grams of coffee grounds. Front Street's espresso machine extraction pressure is around 9 bars, water temperature is 93°C, and the extraction yields 40 grams of coffee liquid.

Front Street uses a Pegasus 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,Americano ratiowhat is it?

Traditional Americano has a ratio of espresso to water of 1:8, but this ratio isn't suitable for all coffee beans. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) once conducted a comparative experiment with 1:8 and 1:6, and found that if the espresso made with this blend is diluted with water at a 1:8 ratio, the final Americano tastes too weak, with too short an aftertaste, and even a watery mouthfeel. But if using a 1:6 ratio, it can highlight 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. You should approach it like drinking tea or tasting wine—there's a process from shallow to deep, to achieve relaxation, refreshment, and enjoyment.

Step one, smell the aroma, experience the rich fragrance of freshly ground coffee wafting toward you;

Step two, observe the color—coffee is best when it shows a deep coffee color, not pitch black and unfathomable;

Step three, taste—first take a sip of coffee to feel the original flavor of the freshly ground coffee. The coffee should have some sweetness, a bit of bitterness, and sourness without being bitter. Then sip it little by little, don't rush to swallow the coffee in one gulp. You should 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: spice like cinnamon, sugar or milk, or soda.

The difference between hot Americano and iced Americano

Since the higher the temperature, the more active the molecular movement. So hot Americano is superior in aroma. However, iced Americano has a refreshing feeling that hot Americano doesn't have. If you want to taste the aroma and aftertaste of coffee, Front Street suggests choosing hot Americano. If you want something refreshing, then iced Americano is a good choice.

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