Why is Americano Bitter? Is Adding Sugar to Americano Considered Low-Class? Americano Coffee Bean Characteristics and Stories

Is It Low-Class to Add Sugar to Americano Coffee?

For most people, Americano and Latte are among the most common choices, but most people don't realize that these two coffees represent many differences between the United States, a major coffee market country, and Italy, a major coffee culture country.

Americano is not sold in the United States. Before espresso, which uses high-pressure steam to extract concentrate, became popular throughout America, the most common way Americans brewed coffee was drip coffee. The coffee machine that we often see in American movies, constantly dripping coffee liquid in small diners, is what Americans call coffee.

Americans live a hurried life, perhaps because of this, America has developed a fast food culture; at the same time, convenient drip coffee has also dominated American life. If this coffee brewing method doesn't regularly replace the coffee grounds, the taste will be brewed very light, which might be why everyone now calls that coffee made by mixing a large amount of water with one shot of espresso Americano.

However, drip coffee and that water-mixed Americano are still different. Because espresso quickly extracts concentrate, it actually has less caffeine content. If mixed with a large amount of water, its caffeine content will be less than drip coffee - which is what Americans are used to drinking as coffee. So, contrary to what everyone thinks, espresso's caffeine concentration is not particularly high.

The espresso machine is believed to have been invented by Italians in the 19th century, but its popularity probably began in the 1950s. After Starbucks rose to prominence, it began to be promoted worldwide. Additionally, Italian communities around the world have also helped spread espresso coffee. It's worth mentioning that although the espresso machine might be an Italian invention, some Italians believe that coffee brewed with espresso machines is not quite orthodox.

Italian coffee culture is also not what everyone thinks - it's not the leisurely style like Starbucks; in fact, Italians mostly only drink coffee like lattes or americanos in coffee shops after breakfast, sipping while sitting there. Italians have been drinking coffee since childhood and are very accustomed to the strong, bitter, and acidic taste of coffee concentrate. They often order an espresso at a coffee shop and drink it quickly. Italians believe that the concentrate loses its best flavor within just a few dozen seconds, so it needs to be drunk quickly. Of course, many Italians also add sugar, custard cream, etc., to balance the bitterness, which is somewhat difficult for Taiwanese people to imagine. Is it low-class to add sugar to Americano coffee?

For Italians, lattes with a lot of milk are not considered coffee, but more like a beverage. Additionally, the word "Latte" literally means "milk," so if you order Latte in Italy, the waiter will bring you a glass of milk, not a latte coffee. You need to say "Coffee Latte." For countries outside Italy, smooth lattes or cappuccinos would be more common choices, but for Italians who can drink up to 5 or more espressos a day, so-called coffee often refers to espresso.

FrontStreet Coffee Espresso Recommended Parameters:

Single shot: 14g coffee grounds, extract for 25~30 seconds, yield 21g coffee liquid

Double shot: 21g coffee grounds, extract for 25~30 seconds, yield 40g coffee liquid

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473