For people who rarely drink coffee, ordering coffee is not an easy task. The dazzling array of items on the menu can make one dizzy. What are the differences between them? Is Americano the coffee that Americans like to drink the most? What is the difference between Americano and Latte? Today, Front Street Coffee will chat with everyone about the differences between the two.

The difference between Latte and Americano

Latte and Americano are both derivatives of espresso. The biggest difference between the two is that the former adds milk to espresso, while the latter adds water to coffee. Latte is one of the most representative drinks in the milk coffee series, and Americano is one of the most representative drinks in the black coffee series.

What is espresso?

Espresso can be simply understood as a super concentrated, super small amount of coffee liquid. Authentic espresso requires a pressurized extraction coffee machine, allowing hot water to quickly pass through extremely finely ground coffee powder under sealed pressure (above 9 bar) to extract a rich coffee liquid.

Generally, espresso is mostly made with blended coffee beans due to low cost and stable flavor quality. As coffee consumers further pursue flavor, some coffee shops now start using single-origin coffee beans (single-origin coffee beans) to make espresso, also known as SOE (Single Origin Espresso).

Front Street Coffee uses Front Street Strawberry Candy espresso coffee beans to make espresso. This is based on two major origins: Front Street Costa Rica Tarrazu, known for its honey processing, and Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee. On this basis, Colombian coffee beans are added, so that the espresso blend not only is not irritating, but under the extraction of the coffee machine, it has good crema and a smooth texture, while also having a sweet and sour taste like strawberry gummy candy.

The extraction parameters of espresso need to be adjusted according to different coffee machines and grinders, and then the extraction parameters should be adjusted. Previously, Front Street Coffee provided an initial espresso extraction reference data: use 20g of powder at a ratio of 1:2 & 9 bar pressure to extract 40g of coffee liquid, time 25-30 seconds. Adjust accordingly based on the flavor performance of the coffee after actual extraction is completed.

The Front Street Coffee store uses a Q18 grinder and a Lelit brand coffee machine. The daily extraction parameters are approximately 19.8-20g of extremely finely ground coffee powder to extract 35-38g of coffee liquid, with a time of about 27-30 seconds. The espresso extracted from the Warm Sun blend coffee beans shows a rich fermented wine aroma, the sweet and sour of berries, the smoothness of vanilla cream, and the finish of nuts and caramel.

What is Latte?

Latte can be simply understood as coffee with milk added. The method is also very simple: add heated and frothed milk with fine milk foam to the extracted espresso, and then various latte art patterns can be made.

After adding hot milk to the espresso made from Front Street Coffee's Warm Sun blend, the sweetness is very obvious, accompanied by a soft fermented wine aroma. The mouthfeel is as soft and silky as vanilla cream, with a finish of hazelnut chocolate. After adding cold milk, the latte will show a soft vanilla cream + whiskey-like smoothness and aroma, soft berry acidity, and a finish of nutty caramel.

What is Americano?

Americano can be simply understood as espresso diluted with water. Add hot water/ice water to the extracted espresso to adjust the concentration of the coffee. You can choose the proportion of water added according to your preference.

For daily store offerings, Front Street Coffee uses Warm Sun blend coffee beans and adds hot water/ice water mixture at a ratio of 1:5. The flavor of hot Americano is expressed as vanilla cream, fermented aroma, slight berry acidity, and a finish of caramel dark chocolate. The flavor of iced Americano is expressed as whiskey aroma, soft berry acidity, and a finish of hazelnut chocolate.

Why is Americano so bitter?

The flavor of Americano depends on the taste of the espresso. The flavor direction of espresso itself is rich and full-bodied. Everyone's perception of bitterness is different, so as long as it is not an uncomfortable bitterness, it is normal.

If there is an abnormal bitterness, it may be that the espresso has not been properly extracted. You can adjust it by increasing the water dilution ratio. If it still tastes uncomfortable, then the extraction parameters of the espresso need to be adjusted.

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