A fragrant espresso can be enjoyed in many ways: add fresh milk to turn it into a rich milk coffee, add hot water at the right temperature to make a hot Americano, or add ice cubes to make an iced Americano. Of course, you can also drink a single shot of espresso straight, and the lingering aftertaste will leave a deep impression of that coffee bean. So today, Front Street Coffee would like to share with you how to make an Americano and roughly what the coffee-to-water ratio for Americano should be.
Every coffee shop'sAmericano coffee-to-water ratiois different, so Front Street will use its own Americano as an example. Generally, Americano is made withespressoas the base, with a certain amount of water added to dilute the extracted coffee. For example, if you like a stronger-tasting Americano, add less water; if you want a milder-tasting Americano, add more water. A hot Americano better restores the coffee's own flavor, without the emphasis on regional flavor that pour-over coffee has, and the coffee's floral aroma will not be very prominent.
Americano is a single-origin coffee with a very high order rate among black coffees. Although there are many brewing methods, it does not depart from the so-called Golden Cup Standard. The golden ratio of extraction yield and concentration found through research by international coffee organizations is called the Golden Cup Standard: extraction yield -> 18%~22%, concentration -> 1.15%~1.55%. In other words, taking coffee liquid brewed from 10g of coffee grounds as an example, it should fall between 191ml and 116ml without tasting too weak or too strong.
Using 15g of coffee beans with an espresso machine, a double shot basket, and appropriate grinding, extract 60ml of espresso, catching it in three stages: the first 25ml, the middle 25ml, and the last 10ml (this is the fun part of an espresso machine—you can catch the extraction in stages). Then dilute the espresso according to the Golden Cup Standard and taste the first, middle, and last stages separately. Generally speaking, the first stage will be very aromatic, but depending on the roast level and blend of the coffee beans, it may be just right or on the sour side. In fact, that is exactly the concentrated espresso diluted to the Golden Cup Standard (Espresso Ristretto).
Front Street repeatedly changedthe coffee-to-water ratio of the Americano, tasting Americanos at ratios of 1:4, 1:4.5, and 1:5, searching for an espresso base that best suits the general public while highlighting the coffee's flavor, and finally settled on a base ratio of 1:4.5 for the Americano. This is because the Americano beans used by Front Street are a blend of Honduras Sherry coffee and sun-dried Red Cherry from the Yirgacheffe region of Ethiopia in a 7:3 ratio, and the 1:4.5 ratio best brings out the winey aroma and cocoa aftertaste of this Warm Sun blend.
Of course, many customers also ask at Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee),what kind of coffee beans are better for Americano. Generally, Americano is made withespresso beans. Compared with traditional pour-over coffee beans, the roast level is darker, and the beans used for espresso are usually blends of multiple coffees. Of course, beans from a single origin and single estate can also be used to make an espresso base, and the resulting coffee is simply called SOE single-origin coffee. SOE single-origin coffee magnifies the strengths of a particular coffee bean, though the price is also much higher.
At Front Street's shop, there are four flavor profiles of espresso blends that can be used to make Americano. The first is a more balanced espresso bean. It uses dark-roasted beans from Guatemala, Colombia, Brazil, and Tanzania blended in a 3:3:2:1 ratio to make espresso beans. This blend is very suitable for friends just starting out with espresso, because this espresso bean performs relatively balanced in acidity, bitterness, and aroma, with the acidity of Tanzanian Kilimanjaro coffee beans, the rich fruity and smoky notes of Guatemala, and the nutty, chocolate flavors of Colombia with higher body. After Front Street blends these coffee beans in proportion, it forms a very balanced espresso.
If you want to highlight the bitterness of Americano, Front Street suggests adding an appropriate amount of Robusta coffee beans to increase the richness of the crema. Robusta coffee beans can play a very big role in coffee blends. At Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), espresso beans blended from Colombia, Brazil, and Robusta coffee in a 3:6:1 ratio have a rich nutty chocolate flavor paired with the full-bodied, oily mouthfeel of Robusta beans. For an Americano with an acidic taste, you can try using Tanzanian coffee beans and Yirgacheffe coffee, plus Brazilian and Colombian coffee beans to reduce the acidity brought by the African beans, in a 4:2:2:2 ratio. Then, based on the Americano coffee-to-water ratio you personally prefer, you can make a delicious cup of Americano!
The weather in Guangzhou has been quite hot recently. You can use a 1:1 ratio of ice water, then pour the extracted espresso into the prepared ice water, and finally stir it so the temperature of the iced Americano is even, and then you can enjoy a cup of iced Americano. Now that Front Street has mentioned iced Americano, Front Street will briefly talk about cold brew coffee as well, because many customers do not understand the difference between Americano and cold brew coffee.
Cold brew coffee takes longer to make than Americano, and the production method is different too. Americano is made by extracting coffee liquid from an espresso machine at high temperature and high pressure, then adding hot water, and the Americano is done. Cold brew coffee, on the other hand, is made by putting freshly ground coffee powder into a filter bag, sealing it, soaking it in ice water, and then placing it in the refrigerator for about twelve hours, and the cold brew coffee is done. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) previously used Yirgacheffe coffee beans to make cold brew coffee. It smells of light floral and berry aromas, and tastes refreshingly citrusy and sour, very cool. Compared with Americano, one advantage of cold brew coffee is that it can be kept for a long time, and even after being stored in the refrigerator for a long time it still carries the corresponding citrusy acidity. However, Front Street still recommends drinking it as soon as possible, so you can perfectly taste the best flavor of each coffee bean.
For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID:kaixinguoguo0925
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
