How to Choose Coffee Beans for Americano_What Coffee Beans to Use for Americano_How to Brew Coffee Beans for Americano

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Americano Coffee

"Americano" (English: Americano, Italian: Caffè Americano) is a type of coffee and the most common variety. It is black coffee made using a drip coffee maker, or espresso mixed with a large amount of water.

Americano coffee has a relatively light taste. Because the general extraction time is relatively long (about four to five minutes), the caffeine content is higher.

Brewing Methods

Equipment

After each use, rinse with clean hot water and wipe dry with absorbent paper towels or towels. This ensures your coffee equipment is absolutely clean.

Americano Coffee Beans

Try to purchase freshly roasted coffee beans. Freshly roasted beans are very important for a top-quality cup of coffee. Buy small amounts of coffee and try to use them within a planned period. It's best to buy fresh coffee every one to two weeks.

Grinder

If you buy whole coffee beans, the best time to grind is just before brewing coffee. It's better to use a burr grinder or mill grinder because all coffee beans are ground to the same size. Using a blade grinder will result in uneven particle sizes, making it less popular. If you usually use a blade grinder at home, try going to a store to use a burr grinder. You might be surprised by the results!

Don't underestimate the importance of the grinder for coffee flavor. If your coffee tastes bitter, it might be because the coffee is ground too finely or for too long. On the other hand, if the coffee lacks flavor, it might be because it's ground too coarsely.

Never reuse coffee grounds. Once brewed, the desired coffee flavors have been extracted, leaving only bitter substances behind.

Water

The water you use is very important. If you use tap water, let the faucet run for a few minutes before filling the coffee pot. Remember to use cold water, not distilled or softened water.

Water to Coffee Ratio

A general rule is six ounces of boiling water (about 175.62ml) to 1 to 2 tablespoons of ground coffee. You can adjust according to personal preference.

Water Temperature

For optimal extraction, your coffee maker's water temperature should be maintained between 90 to 96 degrees Celsius. If the temperature is too low, extraction will be insufficient, making the coffee flat and tasteless. If the temperature is too high, it will also worsen the taste. If you brew coffee manually, bring water to a boil but don't overdo it. Turn off the heat source and let the water cool for one minute before brewing coffee.

Enjoy Freshly Brewed Coffee Immediately

Pour coffee into a pre-warmed large mug or coffee cup to maintain the temperature as long as possible. Brewed coffee will immediately begin to lose its best flavors, so only brew the amount you need. Never leave coffee on a stove for more than 15 minutes, or it will develop a burnt taste. If coffee isn't used immediately after brewing, it should be poured into a pre-warmed, insulated thermos and consumed within 45 minutes.

Never reheat your coffee.

A carefully prepared coffee should be savored slowly, just like the process of preparing it. Take time to smell its aroma. Take a small sip and notice the coffee's flavor. How does the coffee you brewed compare to others in terms of body, acidity, and balance? Savor and enjoy every sip!

Characteristics

Americano coffee is light and clear, almost transparent, allowing you to see the brown coffee at the bottom of the cup.

Observing Aroma and Color

You can add a little sugar and milk to pure black coffee; you can also do it the European way, adding spices like cinnamon to your coffee as they do in African and Arab regions; if you're not used to the bitter taste of coffee, you can also add some juice you like to your coffee... However, drinking a cup of original black coffee allows you to taste the rich flavor of the coffee itself and will be seen as the mark of a coffee connoisseur. However you drink it, tasting coffee still has some etiquette and knowledge.

Steps

• When a cup of coffee is served before you, don't rush to drink it. You should have a gradual process like tasting tea or wine to achieve relaxation, refreshment, and enjoyment.

Step 1: Smell the aroma, experience the rich fragrance that wafts from the coffee;

Step 2: Observe the color. The coffee should ideally present a deep brown color, not pitch black and unfathomably deep;

Step 3: Taste. First, take a sip of black coffee to experience the flavor of original coffee. When coffee enters your mouth, it should have some sweetness, slight bitterness, slight acidity without astringency. Then take small sips, don't rush to swallow the coffee in one gulp. Hold it temporarily in your mouth, let the coffee mix slightly with saliva and air, then swallow.

Temperature

The optimal temperature for drinking coffee is 85 to 88 degrees Celsius. Because the texture of regular coffee is not very stable, it's best to enjoy it while hot. To avoid reducing the coffee's flavor, pre-warm the coffee cup in boiling water. The appropriate temperature for coffee is 83 degrees Celsius at the moment of brewing, 80 degrees when poured into the cup, and 61 to 62 degrees when it reaches the mouth - this is most ideal.

Generally speaking, enjoying the coffee served by your host while it's hot is also basic coffee etiquette. For a quality coffee, besides reduced aroma when cooled, the taste performance remains consistent with when it's hot, or even better.

Flavor

Coffee beans contain about 5% to 8% sugar, most of which converts to caramel during roasting - this is the source of aroma and bitterness, while unconverted sugar retains a slight sweetness; tannic acid is released during roasting, combining with caramel to produce a slightly bitter sweet taste. Therefore, people's taste perception of coffee generally includes bitterness, acidity, sweetness, aroma, and astringency.

• Americans drink coffee as if playing a game without rules - casual, unrestrained, and without taboos.

Simple Americano coffee is divided into two categories: strong and light. The American East Coast drinks stronger coffee than the West Coast, and the South drinks stronger than the North. In terms of ethnicity, Southern Europeans and Latinos prefer stronger coffee than British, German, and Nordic immigrants. Americans disregard the various refinements Europeans use when brewing coffee. Americans drink coffee freely, and coffee is deeply integrated into their lives, so much so that life without coffee is not considered life. Whether at home, in the office, in public places, or at roadside vending machines, Americans are almost inseparable from coffee 24 hours a day. They consume one-third of the world's coffee production, making them the largest coffee-consuming country globally. It is said that during the Apollo 13 spacecraft mission, the third manned moon landing, a life-or-death malfunction occurred. At that time, the ground staff comforted the three astronauts with these words: "Keep going! Delicious hot coffee is waiting for your return."

Generally speaking, American life is more busy and tense. Unlike people in Europe and the Middle East who can enjoy life with a leisurely attitude, this is reflected in their coffee consumption - often a large pot of electric drip coffee (Drip Coffee Marker) from morning to night. Because more water is added and less coffee is used (10 grams of coffee to 200cc of water), the taste is particularly weak, so many people criticize Americano coffee as truly unpalatable. In fact, throughout the United States, coffee enthusiasts can still taste their preferred coffee flavors with a little more effort.

Additionally, although the United States is the largest exporter of instant coffee, not many Americans actually drink instant coffee themselves. In recent years, due to their increasing emphasis on healthy eating, the market for decaffeinated coffee (Caffeineless Coffee) has gradually grown, and the trend of drinking coffee without sugar has become increasingly common.

Anecdotes

Editor

• Americano coffee is very, very light coffee. The French jokingly call Americano coffee "jus de chaussette," meaning sock water. In Europe (France and Italy), ordering Americano coffee might invite ridicule.

There are several aspects of how Americans drink coffee that Europeans disapprove of:

First, drinking coffee during meals. This is a uniquely American habit.

Second, excessive frugality. Actually reheating cold coffee before drinking!

Third, keeping coffee pots brewing for several hours until the coffee dehydrates - even such coffee isn't thrown away!

Fourth, overemphasizing convenience, strongly promoting ground coffee. Little do they know that regardless of how well-sealed canned coffee is, as long as it's ground coffee, freshness will be greatly reduced.

• Americano Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted popular Americano coffee beans: Yirgacheffe coffee, Golden Mandheling coffee, Brazilian coffee, etc., all have full guarantees in terms of brand and quality. More importantly, the cost-performance ratio is extremely high. A half-pound (227 grams) package costs only about 70-90 yuan. Calculated at 15 grams of powder per cup of pour-over coffee, one package can make 15 cups of coffee, with each Americano costing only about 5-6 yuan. Compared to the dozens of yuan per cup sold in cafes, this is extremely cost-effective.

END FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find various famous and lesser-known beans, while also providing online store services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

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