How to Make Americano Coffee, Best Coffee Beans for Americano, and Whether Americano is Bitter

Americano is made by diluting espresso with water to bring down its concentration, and it is traditionally built on dark-roasted Italian coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee uses a blend of single-origin beans from two producing regions for its Americano, which offsets the low acidity of traditional Italian coffee and creates a richer flavor profile. Many people ask whether Americano must be made with Italian blend coffee beans, and what kind of flavor other beans might produce. To answer that question, FrontStreet Coffee ran a comparative experiment using two of its signature blends.

What Coffee Beans Are Used for Americano?

There are two options: blended coffee beans and SOE (Single Origin Espresso). The biggest difference between them is the number of varieties involved. A blend contains at least two or more varieties, while an SOE contains only one type of coffee bean.

FrontStreet Coffee's Americano Beans

The point of blending is to combine the flavor characteristics of beans from different regions and present a new, more balanced profile. If one bean is smooth but lacks aroma, for example, a bean with a rich aroma can be added so the two make up for each other's weaknesses. Three types of coffee bean is the recommended number to blend. With too many varieties it becomes difficult to control the resulting flavor, and the cup can turn out imbalanced.

SOE (Single Origin Espresso) instead highlights the flavor characteristics of one specific region. If you particularly enjoy the beans of a certain origin, an SOE will suit your taste. Superb as SOE can be, its single-origin nature also makes its flaws easy to amplify. If the beans are not of high quality, the resulting SOE coffee may not taste good, and the defects cannot be easily hidden. In practice, then, SOE places relatively higher technical demands on the barista, which is one reason SOE usually costs more than a standard espresso.

How FrontStreet Coffee Makes Americano

Americano Beans with Bright Acidity

Take FrontStreet Coffee's Sunshine Blend as an example.

This blend pairs Honduras Sherry coffee beans with Yirgacheffe Red Cherry coffee beans in a 6:4 ratio. The flavor shows distinct fruit acidity, a light berry aroma, wine notes, rich chocolate and a noticeable sweet aftertaste.

Recommended Americano parameters: use 18g of coffee grounds in a double portafilter, with a deviation of ±1g, and extract 36g of coffee liquid in 28 seconds. Pour the espresso into a 330ml cup filled with ice and water. If you prefer a stronger coffee flavor, reduce the water a little; if you want a lighter taste, add a bit more water.

Americano Beans with Rich Body

Take FrontStreet Coffee's Commercial Blend as an example.

This blend combines Colombian coffee beans, Brazilian coffee beans and Robusta coffee beans in a 3:6:1 ratio. The flavor features caramel sweetness, nutty and cocoa notes, dark chocolate, balanced sweet and sour, with a slight bitterness and a lingering aftertaste.

Recommended Americano parameters: use 18g of coffee grounds in a double portafilter, with a deviation of ±1g, and extract 36g of coffee liquid in 28 seconds. Pour the espresso into a 330ml cup filled with ice and water.

Americano Beans with Neutral Balance

Take FrontStreet Coffee's Premium Blend as an example.

This blend uses Colombian coffee beans and Brazilian coffee beans in a 3:7 ratio. The flavor shows gentle, mild acidity, light sweetness and a nutty aftertaste, with an overall feel that is calm rather than sharp. The crema is of medium thickness.

FrontStreet Coffee's Americano Beans

The three blends above each produce a different flavor as an Americano. If you like acidity, the Sunshine Blend is the one to choose. If you prefer a richer, fuller body, FrontStreet Coffee's Commercial Blend fits best. If you want something neither too acidic nor too heavy, go with FrontStreet Coffee's Premium Blend.

Is Americano Bitter?

Bitterness in an Americano comes almost entirely from the espresso base, and it is the roast level and the extraction that decide how much of it you taste. A dark-roasted base gives more roast-derived bitterness, while a light or medium roast leans toward fruit and acidity; an over-extracted shot turns harsh, and an under-extracted one turns sour. Water then sets the final intensity: the same shot diluted in a large cup tastes noticeably milder than one taken straight. This is exactly why the blend you choose matters. FrontStreet Coffee's Commercial Blend carries a slight bitterness and a lingering finish, FrontStreet Coffee's Premium Blend is calm and not too stimulating, and the Sunshine Blend keeps its brightness with very little bitterness underneath.

Tasting Steps

When a cup of coffee is served, don't rush to drink it. Approach it the way you would taste tea or wine, following a gradual process that lets you relax, refresh yourself and enjoy it.

First step: smell the aroma. Take in the rich fragrance rising from the cup.

Second step: observe the color. Coffee should ideally appear deep brown rather than pitch black and opaque.

Third step: taste. Begin with a sip of black coffee to experience the original flavor. The coffee should have some sweetness, slight bitterness, and a mild acidity without astringency. Then taste it in small sips rather than swallowing it in one gulp. Hold it briefly in your mouth so the coffee mixes slightly with saliva and air before you swallow.

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FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation: Which Bean for Your Americano?

For a traditional Italian-style Americano with plenty of crema, choose FrontStreet Coffee's Classic Blend, built from Indonesian Mandheling, Brazilian Red Bourbon and washed Vietnamese beans: butter, nuts, spice and dark chocolate, with a low-acid, full-bodied, wild character. Want value with a softer edge? FrontStreet Coffee's Black Cocoa Blend pairs Yunnan small bean with Brazil Cerrado for nuts, chocolate and cream rounded by a ripe plum acidity. If you would rather skip bitterness altogether, the Strawberry Candy Espresso — Colombia, Costa Rica and Ethiopia roasted medium — brings rose, grape, dried blueberry and sweet orange at low bitterness.