Differences Between Americano Black Coffee and Pour-Over Single Origin Coffee - Is Americano Drip Coffee? How to Make Americano Coffee

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Everyone knows that both American coffee and pour-over coffee are called black coffee. Friends who often drink American coffee know that making American coffee is very simple - just pour a shot of espresso into a cup of water and mix it, and you have a cup of American coffee. At first glance, how does American coffee relate to Italian coffee? In fact, American coffee was custom-made by Italian baristas during wartime for American soldiers who were not accustomed to the rich, thick espresso. Over time, it became known as American coffee. According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, authentic American coffee is made using a drip coffee maker and is actually drip coffee. So in this article, FrontStreet Coffee will explain the differences between American coffee and pour-over coffee and how to make them.

What are the differences between American coffee and pour-over coffee?

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, American coffee in cafes is currently made by diluting espresso with water, making it very simple in preparation. Pour-over coffee, on the other hand, refers to the method of brewing under atmospheric pressure, using a filter holder and filter paper to hold appropriately ground coffee beans, with the brewer pouring water of appropriate temperature and volume over the coffee grounds using a stable pouring technique to extract coffee liquid. Since grind size, water temperature, pouring method, and brewing time all affect the extraction of coffee flavor, this brewing method requires considerable skill and professional coffee knowledge. Therefore, from the perspective of brewing techniques, pour-over coffee demands more professional expertise than American coffee.

Furthermore, pour-over coffee typically uses single-origin coffee beans. So what kind of coffee beans are used for American coffee? As mentioned above, the espresso base for American coffee is made using an espresso machine. A characteristic of espresso machines during extraction is that they amplify the flavors of coffee beans under high pressure.

Therefore, single-origin coffee beans sold in the specialty coffee market are not suitable for espresso machines, as this can easily amplify their flavors and create undesirable tastes. Instead, blends of coffee beans from multiple regions are used, typically two or three varieties. The purpose of blending is also obvious - to bring together the flavors of different coffee beans, present a completely new flavor, achieve a more balanced effect, and also serve as the shop's signature.

However, this doesn't mean that single-origin coffee beans cannot be extracted with espresso machines; it's just that the parameters and roasting curves need to be adjusted, which is quite complicated. Coffee made in this manner cannot be called espresso but is instead known as SOE (Single Origin Espresso) coffee.

So the most significant differences between American coffee and pour-over coffee are the different coffee beans used, different brewing methods, and naturally different brewing parameters. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will explain how to make American coffee and pour-over coffee.

How to make American coffee?

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, making American coffee is simply adding a shot of espresso to a cup of water. The natural consideration here is the water-to-coffee ratio for American coffee - how much water is needed, and how much coffee grounds should be used to make the espresso? Since every coffee shop's American coffee ratio is different, FrontStreet Coffee will use its own American coffee preparation as an example to explain.

American Coffee Water-to-Coffee Ratio

FrontStreet Coffee experimented with multiple American coffee ratios, from 1:6 to 1:8, constantly tasting to find an espresso base that would be most suitable for the general public while highlighting the coffee's flavor. Ultimately, FrontStreet Coffee settled on a 1:6 ratio for American coffee. That is, 40 grams of coffee liquid mixed with 240 grams of hot water.

Because FrontStreet Coffee's American coffee blend is made from Honduras Sherry coffee beans and Ethiopia natural-processed red cherry coffee beans in a 6:4 ratio, using the 1:6 ratio best highlights the wine aroma and cocoa aftertaste of this "Warm Sun" blend.

In summary, recommended American coffee brewing parameters: double portafilter with 20 grams of coffee grounds (±1 gram), extract 40 grams of coffee liquid, extraction time 28 seconds, pour the coffee liquid into a 330ml cup containing ice cubes and water. If you prefer a stronger coffee flavor, you can appropriately reduce the amount of water. If you want a more diluted taste, you can add more water.

Similarly, when making iced American coffee, pre-chill the cup with ice cubes, then add water, and finally pour in the espresso. Because ice cubes need to be added, FrontStreet Coffee's iced American coffee uses a 1:7 ratio, with 40 grams of coffee liquid mixed with 280 grams of ice-water mixture (180 grams of ice cubes and 100 grams of water).

How to make pour-over coffee?

When making pour-over coffee, you naturally need to prepare the corresponding pour-over equipment. Secondly, you also need to pay attention to the water-to-coffee ratio for pour-over coffee, as well as the grind size, water temperature, and brewing technique. FrontStreet Coffee mentioned the water-to-coffee ratio for American coffee above, so now let's introduce the water-to-coffee ratio for pour-over coffee!

Based on SCA Golden Cup extraction theory, FrontStreet Coffee has determined the extraction parameters for pour-over coffee water-to-coffee ratios and their resulting flavor differences:

[Bold Flavor] 1:10-1:11 (equivalent to Golden Cup standard 1:12.5-1:13.5)
[Medium Flavor] 1:12-1:13 (equivalent to Golden Cup standard 1:14.5-1:15.5)
[Light and Fresh] 1:14-1:16 (equivalent to Golden Cup standard 1:16.5-1:18.5)

The optimal pour-over brewing ratio, meaning coffee bean weight to black coffee milliliters, is between 1:12-1:13. This corresponds to the four major Golden Cup systems in Europe and America, where coffee bean grams to water weight is 1:14.5-1:15.5, most likely to hit the "Golden Cup Square" extraction rate of 18%-22% and concentration of 1.15%-1.35%, avoiding either overly concentrated coffee with tangled flavor profiles or watery coffee with weak flavors. This is why FrontStreet Coffee's baristas recommend using a 1:15 water-to-coffee ratio.

Pour-over Coffee Grind Size Standard

Next is the grind size, which is an important reason for many problems in coffee brewing. Perhaps the shop owner will provide a pour-over coffee grind size standard and reference objects, but every grinder is different, so you need to pay attention to whether your grinder grinds evenly, the amount of fine powder, particle size, etc. Even with the same model of grinder, the ground coffee state will be different (usage time can cause grinding deviations), let alone when you and the merchant are not using the same machine.

The solution to this problem is to establish a unified standard. For example, FrontStreet Coffee uses the national standard #20 (850 microns) sieve for screening calibration. According to SCAA cupping standards, the cupping grind size should have a 70-75% pass rate through a #20 standard sieve. FrontStreet Coffee's grind size for brewing pour-over light roast coffee is generally in the 75-80% range.

Next, FrontStreet Coffee will demonstrate pour-over parameters using Yirgacheffe Gudina coffee beans as an example!

FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Gudina Coffee Beans

Country: Ethiopia
Region: Yirgacheffe
Altitude: 1900-2300m
Variety: Local native varieties
Processing Method: Washed
Flavor: Tropical fruits, cream, honey, berries, citrus

FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Brewing Data Sharing

Filter: V60 #01
Water Temperature: 90-91°C
Coffee Dose: 15g
Water-to-Coffee Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: BG6m/Medium-fine grind (sieved to 80% with #20 sieve)

Brewing Technique: Three-stage extraction

First stage: Pour 30 grams of water for a 30-second bloom, then pour 95 grams more (scale shows about 125 grams), finishing in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100 grams (scale shows about 225 grams), finishing in about 1 minute 35 seconds. Complete dripping between 2'00"-2'10", remove the filter holder to finish extraction.

Washed Gudina Brewing Flavor: The entry shows citrus and black tea notes. As the temperature changes, cream, caramel, and almond aftertaste emerge with obvious sweet aftertaste and a clean, sweet mouthfeel.

The above is FrontStreet Coffee's organized content regarding the differences between American coffee and pour-over coffee and how to make them. We hope this helps all coffee enthusiasts so they can make American coffee and pour-over coffee themselves in the future.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473