Coffee has become a daily necessity in everyone's life. Some people use it to stay awake, some to lose weight, and more people drink it simply out of habit. Coffee contains caffeine, which does indeed help with fat burning, but it shouldn't be used as a weight-loss tool—it's just a beverage.

Americanois a type of coffee. It's not as rich in flavor as pour-over coffee, nor as intense as espresso. It sits somewhere between pour-over and espresso in terms of taste. Some also sayAmericanois drip black coffee, and that's a fair description too.

The reason Americano is called that is because during World War II, American soldiers, wanting to get more caffeine, chose to mix espresso with hot water so they could drink twice the amount of espresso in one go. "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 commonly call Americano is the latter.

Front Street Coffee has always told everyone that coffee must be tasted from hot to cold so you can fully experience the flavors in the cup, because the flavors differ at different temperatures. However, as people's preferences for coffee vary, there are all kinds of brewing methods. Sometimes you just want a refreshing iced coffee that satisfies both refreshment and alertness—especially in the hot summer, a glass of iced coffee is incredibly satisfying. Among iced coffees, besides iced Americano, in recent years we've been seeing cold brew, ice drip, nitro cold coffee, and other iced black coffees. So which is better—iced Americano or hot Americano?

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

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

Hot Americano

Hot Americano is black coffee made with a drip coffee maker, or espresso diluted with a large amount of hot water. When making it, speed, convenience, and efficiency are prioritized—it's brewed casually and simply, with a light, sweet, and refreshing taste.

Iced Americano

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

Overall, there are the following differences:

1Appearance: Iced Americano has a lighter color, while hot Americano is nearly transparent—you can even see the brown coffee at the bottom of the cup.

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

3Mouthfeel: Iced Americano has a mellow, astringent mouthfeel, while hot Americano typically offers a rich combination of bitter, sour, sweet, aromatic, and astringent notes.

There is no difference in calories between the two. They're both made from espresso plus water—one with cold water, one with hot water. Espresso has very few calories, negligible really, so it doesn't matter how much hot or cold water you add. Water has no calories, so Americano has almost zero calories. Whether a food is hot or cold has nothing to do with its calories—just like eating ice cream versus melted, heated ice cream liquid: different temperatures, same high calories.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) method for making Americano

The method for making Americano is actually very simple, consisting of two main steps: first, extracting the espresso, and second, diluting the espresso with water.

While making Americano is simple, it also greatly tests a barista's extraction skills. A delicious Americano depends on its most fundamental element—espresso—which is the first main step and the foundation of the entire drink.

Different beans used will result in different Americano flavors, so what Americano bean recommendations are there? The blend used at Front Street's store for making espresso is composed of 70% Honduras Sherry and 30% Ethiopian natural Red Cherry. The 70% Honduras Sherry has been fermented in Sherry whiskey barrels, giving this blend a rich whiskey aroma, while the 30% Ethiopian natural Red Cherry brings berry-like acidity and fragrance to the coffee.

The base-making process is closely related to factors such as grind size, dose, machine extraction pressure, water temperature, and coffee-to-water ratio. If the grind is too coarse, it may lead to under-extraction and a sharp, sour taste; if too fine, it may over-extract and become bitter and astringent.

When Front Street extracts espresso, based on the portafilter basket capacity used at Front Street's store, it can hold 20 grams of coffee grounds. Front Street's espresso machine extraction pressure is around 9 bar, water temperature at 93°C, and the extraction yields 40 grams of coffee liquid.

Front Street uses a Flying HorseE98 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 what is the Americano ratio?

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 test with 1:8 and 1:6 ratios and found that if the espresso made with this blend is diluted at a 1:8 ratio, the resulting Americano flavor is too light, the aftertaste too short, and the mouthfeel even too watery. With a 1:6 ratio, however, it highlights the taste and characteristics of the Americano made with Front Street's Sunflower Warm Sun blend: whiskey notes and a dark chocolate aftertaste, along with a pleasant full body.

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

Room-temperature Americano has a less pronounced aroma than hot Americano, with soft acidity and a smooth mouthfeel. Since the espresso's crema hasn't been dispersed, it offers more of a vanilla cream-like smoothness with nutty and caramel aftertastes.

Iced Americano has the least aroma of the three, but the most pronounced acidity. On the palate, it has whiskey notes, berry-like sweet acidity, and a hazelnut chocolate aftertaste, with a refreshing and smooth mouthfeel.

Human senses perceive taste differently at different temperatures, so the advantage of hot coffee is that you can perceive the flavor changes from hot to cold. At lower temperatures, the tongue's perception of bitterness and sweetness decreases, while sensitivity to acidity increases. Meanwhile, quinic acid in coffee degrades into quinic acid lactone, so coffee becomes more sour as it cools. If you want to enjoy the aroma and aftertaste of coffee, Front Street recommends choosing hot Americano. If you want something refreshing, then iced Americano is a good choice.

Front Street Coffee brewing suggestions:

To brew a delicious cup of coffee, you still need to pay attention to the freshness of the coffee beans. Front Street has always believed that the freshness of coffee beans has a great impact on coffee flavor, so all coffee beans shipped by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) are within 5 days of roasting. Front Street's roasting philosophy is "freshly roasted good coffee," so every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee. Coffee beans need about 4-7 days of resting, so by the time customers receive them, they're at their optimal flavor.

For those who need ground coffee, Front Street offers a friendly reminder: once coffee beans are pre-ground, they no longer need resting, because during shipping, the pressure from carbon dioxide inside the packaging also helps round out the coffee flavor. So once you receive ground coffee, you can brew a cup right away. However, ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly, because once exposed to air, it oxidizes fairly quickly—meaning the coffee flavor dissipates faster and won't taste as good. Therefore, Front Street recommends buying whole beans and grinding fresh for each brew, so you can better enjoy the coffee's flavor.

Whether coffee tastes good, or which brewing method is better, mainly depends on personal taste preferences—after all, everyone likes something different. Front Street offers half a hundred single-origin coffee beans from different regions, as well as blends. For example: Ethiopian floral and fruity coffees, Brazilian peanut and nutty caramel coffees, or Panamanian Geisha with citrus notes, etc.—fully capable of satisfying everyone's coffee preferences and explorations.

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