Is Iced Americano Black Coffee? Is Americano Bitter? What Do Americano, Cappuccino, and Mocha Mean?

Whenever we visit a coffee shop, we always see four "regular café guests" on the coffee menu: Americano, Latte, Cappuccino, and Mocha. These are all Italian coffee products made with espresso base. What are the differences between them? When we visit a coffee shop, how should we choose the right coffee beverage for ourselves?

All Italian coffee products离不开 espresso!

Espresso is a concentrated coffee liquid that requires extraction using a coffee machine at 9 bar pressure with rapid extraction. The original purpose of espresso was to allow people to quickly drink a coffee with high caffeine content for refreshment. At that time, espresso was known as the "Italian national refreshment artifact" - it was intense, bitter, and high in caffeine (this was because the quality and flavor of coffee beans weren't as good as they are now, so coffee beans were roasted very dark to cover up undesirable coffee flavors with bitterness).

Later, when American soldiers encountered this coffee, they found it hard to swallow. So they added an appropriate amount of water to dilute the espresso and discovered that the resulting coffee was both quick to make and had rich flavor! They brought the espresso-making technique back to America, and when selling it, they would add an appropriate amount of water to dilute the coffee, which gained popularity among many Americans. Thus, it acquired a new name: "Americano."

The American National Coffee - Americano

After bringing back the practice of quick-made espresso + appropriate water to America, it became deeply loved by Americans! First, because of the short preparation time, and second, because the resulting coffee had rich coffee flavor and a clean taste. Whether paired with breakfast or used for refreshment, these became the reasons why busy people chose Americano.

With the continuous improvement of coffee bean quality, today's Americano is no longer the Americano of the past! The coffee beans used for extracting espresso, whether in terms of roast level or extraction technology, have been continuously improved and refined. Today's Americano is no longer just a cup of rich, burnt-flavored black coffee, but rather a cup of coffee with enticing coffee aroma, rich flavor that doesn't lack complexity.

The flavor of Americano depends on the espresso beans themselves. For example, FrontStreet Coffee's Italian products use a blend of sun-dried Yirgacheffe coffee beans and Honduras Sherry Cask coffee beans, with extraction parameters of 20g of grounds extracting 40g of coffee liquid, with an extraction time of 25-30 seconds. The extracted espresso is mixed with hot/ice water at a 1:6 ratio to make Americano. FrontStreet Coffee's Americano has notes of whiskey aroma, vanilla cream sweetness, and a finish of hazelnut cocoa.

The Wonderful Combination of Milk and Coffee - Latte

Latte is made from espresso combined with fresh milk. When fresh milk is heated and frothed, the sugars in the milk develop their most obvious sweetness, which can reduce the bitterness of espresso when combined with coffee. After the latte is made, it highlights the sweetness of milk while not masking the aroma and richness of coffee, so it still has a slight bitter taste.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that a good hot latte should have perfect fusion of milk and coffee. The finished liquid surface won't show obvious layering colors and will have latte art patterns. The entry is the wonderful combination of coffee's bittersweet taste and milk's sweetness, without obvious bitterness or the situation of one sip being bitter and another being light, with a smooth texture.

The Wonderful Combination of Dense Milk Foam and Coffee - Cappuccino

The biggest difference between Cappuccino and Latte lies in the thickness of the milk foam. Cappuccino is also known as liquid cotton candy. In the first sip of coffee, we can feel the espresso crema blending with cotton candy-like milk foam in the mouth. In the second sip, we can taste the fusion of milk and coffee plus the dense foam. Two sips of cappuccino can bring a triple experience to the mouth!

FrontStreet Coffee believes that a qualified cappuccino will form a raised dome shape, with the milk foam extending about 0.3cm above the cup rim, and surrounded by a circle of golden crema, looking very enticing.

The Collision of Chocolate Sauce and Milk Coffee - Mocha

Mocha coffee originally referred only to coffee beans exported from Yemen's Mocha port to Europe. At that time, the coffee beans exported from Mocha port had rich dark chocolate and nut aromas, soft acidity, and a thick, solid body. Later, due to some historical reasons, Yemen exported fewer and fewer coffee beans to Europe. Europeans at that time missed the cocoa aroma of Yemeni coffee beans very much, so they added dark chocolate to espresso to make a rich chocolate black coffee. Later, as people's tastes became less intense, they added frothed milk on this basis to create the mocha coffee that everyone is very familiar with today.

Today's mocha coffee has become synonymous with chocolate milk coffee. Many coffee shops will use sweet chocolate sauce instead of dark chocolate, so mocha coffee tastes like sweet chocolate flavor paired with coffee richness and milk sweetness, very suitable for friends who don't like bitterness!

Which Italian Coffee Should We Choose When Visiting a Coffee Shop?

If you want stimulating refreshment, you can try espresso. If you want something less intense but without milk and sugar, you can try Americano. If you want a smooth texture, you can try latte. If you want cotton candy-like texture, you can try cappuccino. If you want something sweet, you can try mocha/flavored latte.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473