The Difference Between Americano and Espresso? How Espresso Bean Roast Level Affects Coffee Flavor

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Recently, while chatting with FrontStreet Coffee, someone mentioned: "I just learned today that espresso coffee equals espresso, American coffee belongs to espresso coffee, and espresso plus water makes American coffee." After reading this sentence, isn't it mind-boggling? FrontStreet Coffee is here to clarify what espresso coffee is, what espresso is, and what American coffee is.

Q1: What is Espresso Coffee?

Espresso coffee is actually the abbreviation for Italian espresso. Espresso coffee originally referred to quickly extracted strong coffee, a refreshing beverage that Italians used to have while working in the old days. At that time, once the espresso was made, Italians would finish it in a few sips and then continue working with full energy. As espresso gradually spread to different parts of the world, different countries developed different coffee drinking habits, so they started adding milk or water, and even spirits. FrontStreet Coffee's latte, cappuccino, American coffee, Dirty, and flat white can all be collectively called espresso coffee.

Q2: What is Espresso?

The coffee machine for making espresso mainly relies on the pump in the espresso machine to provide pressure. Through pressure, substances in the coffee powder quickly dissolve in water, forming a rich coffee liquid. At the same time, due to the pressure, the carbon dioxide released from the coffee powder during extraction and the passing hot water present a supersaturated state. The carbon dioxide cannot be released and directly integrates into the coffee liquid.

At the same time, under the high-pressure environment, the natural oils of the coffee powder cannot be released. Through pressure, they reach an emulsified state. When extraction stops, we can see a layer of golden oil floating on the extracted espresso. FrontStreet Coffee calls it Cream. The formation of Cream is because carbon dioxide under high pressure emulsifies the oils, so after extraction is complete under normal atmospheric pressure, the carbon dioxide will begin to dissipate, and the cream will also slowly disappear.

Q3: What is American Coffee?

The emergence of American coffee came when an American soldier tasted espresso in Italy and found it too strong to accept, so he added water and felt it was much better than drinking espresso directly. Thus, it spread from one to ten, and this method of diluting espresso with water spread throughout the world. Because this coffee hadn't been named, and it was the American's favorite way to drink espresso, everyone started calling this coffee American coffee.

Q4: What Roast Level of Coffee Beans is Suitable for Making Espresso?

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using medium-roasted coffee beans when making espresso. Espresso pursues a rich coffee taste. The deeper the roast level of coffee beans, caramelization gradually produces bitterness. For example, chlorogenic acid lactones and phenylindanes in coffee beans transform into rich flavor substances as the roast level deepens. Secondly, when coffee beans are roasted darker, water-oil imbalance occurs within the beans. Moisture evaporates, and the oils in coffee beans increase. As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, the crema layer of espresso is formed by carbon dioxide and pressure emulsifying oils, and deeply roasted coffee beans contain more carbon dioxide, so the crema layer floating on the surface after espresso extraction will be richer.

Q5: Is Espresso Extracted from Darker Roasted Coffee Beans Better Tasting?

No, when coffee beans that are too darkly roasted are extracted under high temperature and high pressure, the coffee's flavor will be concentrated and amplified, resulting in espresso that appears very strong and hard to swallow. That's why FrontStreet Coffee recommends using medium-roasted coffee beans. Coffee beans at this roast level mainly present nut and cocoa flavors. Of course, this mainly depends on the regional flavor and variety of the beans to determine the final flavor direction.

Q6: Water-to-Coffee Ratio Recommendations for Making American Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee uses espresso blend coffee beans for making espresso. The advantage of blend coffee beans is that the beans complement each other. This time, FrontStreet Coffee uses sun-dried Yirgacheffe to provide sweetness and soft berry acidity, paired with sherry barrel-processed coffee beans to provide nuts and whiskey aroma in the Warm Sun blend coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee's double espresso extraction parameters are as follows: espresso machine extraction pressure: 9bar±2, extraction water temperature 92℃-94℃, grind size: 90% passing through #20 standard sieve, dose 19g, brew ratio 1:1.8, extracted coffee liquid 35ml, extraction time 27-28 seconds.

The traditional American coffee water-to-coffee ratio is 1:8, but the concentration of coffee extracted from each bean is different, so everyone can extract double espresso first, start testing and tasting from a 1:4 ratio to determine the final American coffee ratio suitable for their coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee's Warm Sun blend coffee beans have a relatively fresh and unique flavor, full of wine aroma. Therefore, when FrontStreet Coffee makes American coffee, it uses double espresso diluted at a 1:4 ratio. This way, the resulting American coffee better highlights the wine aroma and cocoa aftertaste of the Warm Sun blend coffee beans, while maintaining the richness of the coffee.

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

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