The habit of having a cup of coffee every day has become a part of many people's lives today, and pure black coffee, which is very low in calories, not only poses no burden on the body when consumed in moderation, but can even boost metabolism. However, with the rise of many flavored coffees, such as coconut milk lattes, mochas, and so on, they are full of sweet flavors, yet their calorie content is almost equivalent to a bowl of white rice! In other words, what causes the calories to skyrocket is not the pure black coffee itself, but the additives in it.

Take Front Street's most popular Americano, for example. Because of its refreshing taste, no milk and no sugar, and containing a moderate amount of caffeine, it can quickly refresh and wake you up after drinking it, but many friends treat itas a "tool" for weight loss, believing that drinking it will help them slim down. In fact, Americano does have a diuretic and de-bloating effect, but it is merely a cup of black coffee beverage and cannot help us achieve fat loss. If you truly want to lose weight, you still need more exercise + a healthy diet. 

Americano is a type of coffee. It is not as rich in flavor as pour-over coffee, nor as intense as espresso. It falls somewhere between pour-over and espresso in taste. Some people also say that Americano is drip black coffee, and that is also a fair way to put it.

The reason Americano is called by this name is that during World War II, American soldiers chose to mix espresso with hot water in order to get more caffeine, so that they could drink twice the amount of espresso at once. "Americano" (English: Americano, Italian: Caffè Americano) is a type of coffee and also the most ordinary coffee. 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.

Front Street has always told everyone that coffee must be tasted from hot to cold so that you can fully experience the coffee's flavor in the cup, because the flavor of coffee is different from hot to cold. However, as people's pursuit of coffee varies, there are all kinds of brewing methods. Sometimes you just want a cup of refreshing iced coffee that satisfies both coolness and alertness, especially in the hot summer, when a cup of iced coffee is especially satisfying. Among iced coffees, besides iced Americano, in recent years we have gradually seen cold brew, ice drip, nitro iced coffee, and other iced black coffees. So which is better, iced Americano or hot Americano?

Let's take a look at the differences in taste between hot Americano and cold Americano:

Hot water + espresso is called hot Americano, while adding ice cubes and ice water makes it iced Americano.

Hot Americano

Hot Americano is black coffee made with a drip coffee maker, or espresso with a large amount of hot water added. When making it, speed, convenience, and quickness are pursued, and it is brewed relatively casually and simply, with a light taste and a sweet, refreshing finish.

Iced Americano

The most common iced coffee is iced Americano coffee. It is made by extracting espresso at high temperature according to espresso extraction standards using an espresso machine, then pouring it over ice cubes and ice water. The ratio of ice cubes to ice water can be adjusted according to personal preference. The higher the proportion of water, the lighter the coffee flavor will be.

Overall, there are the following differences:

1. Different appearance: Iced Americano is lighter in color, while hot Americano is almost transparent, and you can even see the brown coffee at the bottom of the cup.

2. Different taste: Iced Americano has a less intense coffee flavor, a stronger roasted smoky note, and lighter acidity. Hot Americano releases tannic acid during roasting, which combines with caramel to produce a slightly bitter sweetness.

3. Different mouthfeel: Iced Americano has a mellow, astringent mouthfeel, while hot Americano generally has a rich combination of bitterness, acidity, sweetness, aroma, and astringency.

There is no difference in calories between the two. They are both made from espresso plus water, only one uses ice water and the other uses hot water. The calories in espresso are extremely low and can be ignored, so they have nothing to do with how much hot water or ice water is added. Water has no calories, and the calories in Americano are almost zero. Whether a food is cold or hot has nothing to do with its calories, just like eating ice cream versus melted and heated ice cream liquid: only the temperature is different, but both are high in calories.

FrontStreet Coffee's method for making Americano

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

Although making Americano is simple, it also greatly tests the barista's extraction skills. A delicious cup of Americano is inseparable from its most basic element, which is espresso, meaning the first main step is everything for this cup of Americano.

Different beans used will lead to different flavors in the final Americano, so what Americano coffee beans are recommended?

"Front Street Specialty Blend Coffee Beans" 75 yuan/454g: Colombian washed coffee beans + Brazilian semi-washed coffee beans, with flavor notes of nuts, dark chocolate, and caramel.

"Front Street Classic Blend Coffee Beans" 33 yuan/100g; Brazilian semi-washed coffee beans + Indonesian Mandheling coffee beans + Vietnamese coffee beans, with rich coffee crema and a mellow mouthfeel;

"Front Street Strawberry Candy Espresso" 43 yuan/100g; Costa Rican coffee beans + Panamanian coffee beans + Ethiopian coffee beans, with aromas of roses, strawberry candy, and glucose, outstanding fruity sweet-and-sour notes, and a pleasant taste.

The part of making the base is very 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-liquid ratio. If the coffee grounds are ground too coarsely, it is easy to under-extract and cause a sharp sourness; if too coarse, it is easy to over-extract and become bitter and astringent.

When Front Street extracts espresso, according to the capacity of the portafilter basket used in Front Street stores, it can hold 20 grams of coffee grounds. Front Street's espresso machine extraction pressure is around 9 bar, the water temperature is 93 degrees Celsius, and the extraction yields 40 grams of coffee liquid.

Front Street uses the Pegasus E98 espresso machine, and the extraction parameters are as follows:

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

For traditional Americano, the ratio of espresso liquid to water is 1:8, but such a ratio is not suitable for all coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee once conducted a comparative test with 1:8 and 1:6 and found that if the espresso made with this blend was diluted with water at a 1:8 ratio, the final Americano flavor was too light, the aftertaste too short, and the mouthfeel even too watery. 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 good mellowness.

Hot Americano has a very active whiskey aroma, with不明显 acidity, and shows more hazelnut and caramel notes, with high coffee body.

Room-temperature Americano has a less obvious aroma than hot Americano, with soft acidity and a smooth mouthfeel. Because the espresso's crema layer has not been washed apart, it shows more of a vanilla cream-like smoothness and a nutty, caramel aftertaste.

Iced Americano has the least aroma among the three, but the most pronounced acidity among the three. After entering the mouth, it has whiskey notes, berry-like sweet-and-sourness, and a hazelnut chocolate-like aftertaste, with a refreshing and smooth mouthfeel.

People's senses perceive taste differently at different temperatures, so the advantage of hot coffee is that you can perceive the changes in coffee's taste from high temperature to low temperature. At low temperatures, the tongue's perception of bitterness and sweetness decreases, while it becomes more sensitive to acidity. At the same time, quinic acid in coffee degrades into quinic acid lactone, so coffee becomes more sour after it cools. If you want to taste the aroma and aftertaste of coffee, Front Street recommends choosing hot Americano. If you want something refreshing, then iced Americano is a good choice.

Whether coffee tastes good, or which brewing method tastes better, mainly depends on personal preference. After all, everyone likes different things, and Front Street has nearly a hundred single-origin coffee beans from different regions, as well as blend beans. For example: Front Street Ethiopia Huakui with floral and fruity notes, Front Street Brazil Red Bourbon with peanut, nut, and caramel notes, or Front Street Panama Geisha with citrus flavors, and so on, which can fully satisfy everyone's love for and exploration of coffee.

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