Why Does Americano Coffee Taste Bitter? How to Fix It? Why Do People Love Iced Americano Despite Its Bitterness?

Introduction

Americano coffee is arguably one of the most popular coffee types among consumers. It's convenient, quick, and can rapidly satisfy most people's caffeine needs. Composed of only water and espresso, it belongs to what we commonly call black coffee. Black coffee reflects the quality of the coffee beans and their inherent flavors, which is why many "SOE" (Single Origin Espresso) coffees are made into Americanos, creating something akin to a fuller-bodied pour-over coffee.

The preparation of Americano coffee is extremely simple: first extract espresso, then add water to serve. However, often the simplest things test a barista's skills the most. Without factors like milk that can alter or modify the coffee's flavor, Americano coffee is the beverage that best demonstrates a barista's espresso extraction technique and a shop's quality control capabilities. Many baristas say that when visiting other coffee shops or needing a caffeine boost, their first choice is Americano coffee.

However, many customers also report experiencing bitter Americano coffee. So, is Americano coffee supposed to be bitter? In reality, besides bitterness, coffee also has acidity and sweetness. Through our sense of taste, we can perceive the sweet, sour, bitter, and salty aspects of coffee. Different varieties, processing methods, and other factors affect the proportion of these final flavors, making us more likely to perceive certain tastes. For example, Panama Geisha coffee has relatively low bitterness, while the SL28 and SL34 varieties adapted to Kenya's high-phosphate soil exhibit exceptionally high acidity.

But what causes excessive bitterness in Americano coffee?

Reason One: The inherent flavor of the coffee beans

Black coffee like Americano is primarily influenced by the inherent flavor of the coffee beans themselves. Therefore, the first reason Americano coffee might be bitter could be that the selected espresso beans naturally have rich and heavy flavors.

The rich flavors of espresso beans come from their distinct regional characteristics and deeper roast levels. For example, one of FrontStreet Coffee's specialty blend coffee beans combines washed Colombian coffee beans with Brazilian coffee beans. The Colombian beans provide a dark chocolate base note to this blend, while the Brazilian beans contribute nutty notes and higher body. FrontStreet Coffee's roaster roasts this blend to a medium-dark level, creating a wonderful balance with medium-low acidity and medium bitterness.

FrontStreet Coffee's shops used this specialty blend for many years until switching to the Warm Sun blend at the end of 2019. Compared to the specialty blend, the Warm Sun blend reduces bitterness and increases acidity, with flavors leaning toward liqueur-filled chocolate. This is an example of how bean selection affects the flavor of Americano coffee.

Reason Two: Over-extraction

Besides bean selection, the bitterness in Americano coffee also comes from extraction mistakes, such as channeling causing uneven extraction, or over-extraction due to overly fine grinding.

FrontStreet Coffee often shares that, calculated by coffee bean weight, only about 30% of coffee beans can be extracted. However, more extraction isn't necessarily better. According to the Golden Cup Standard recommendations, extraction between 18% and 22% is most suitable. Below 18%, we call it under-extraction, which manifests as sharp acidity and weak flavors. Above 22%, we call it over-extraction, commonly known as over-extraction, which typically manifests as intense bitterness and astringency.

To ensure coffee stability and keep daily flavors within the ideal range, FrontStreet Coffee's baristas need to adjust espresso parameters before opening each day, making adjustments based on the daily condition of the coffee beans. For example, today FrontStreet Coffee's baristas adjusted the parameters to extract 35g of coffee liquid from 20g of coffee grounds, with an extraction time of 25 seconds. Compared to the previous parameters of extracting 40g from 20g, today's parameters reduce bitterness by decreasing the tail section, achieving a more balanced flavor.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473