Is Black Coffee Also Called Pure Coffee? What Are the Differences Between Pure Coffee, Black Coffee, and Americano

Do You Know the Difference Between Clear Coffee and Espresso?

You drink coffee every day — but do you know whether the coffee your equipment makes is clear coffee or espresso? Which machines make clear coffee, and which make espresso? FrontStreet Coffee walks you through the difference between clear coffee, black coffee, and Americano.

Clear Coffee: Definition

Coffee brewed with nothing added beyond coffee beans and water is defined as clear coffee.

Brewing Methods for Clear Coffee:

1. Pour-over Coffee

Brewed through filter paper and a drip cone, pour-over filters out the coffee oils, producing coffee with prominent flavors and a balanced, smooth taste.

2. French Press Coffee

French press — don't let the word "press" fool you into thinking it makes espresso. A French press involves only a pressing motion, no high-pressure extraction, so French press coffee still belongs firmly in the clear-coffee category.

French press coffee tastes richer than pour-over, with a more mellow mouthfeel.

3. Siphon Coffee

A siphon pot works by heating water so that thermal expansion and contraction drive it from the lower chamber up to the upper chamber, where it brews the coffee at atmospheric pressure. With no high-pressure extraction involved, siphon coffee also belongs to the clear-coffee family.

4. Drip Coffee Maker

Drip coffee makers essentially imitate the pour-over process. They come in fully automatic and semi-automatic versions, and either way the coffee they produce counts as clear coffee.

5. Aeropress

The Aeropress exploits the principle of connected vessels, using it to push the finished coffee into a sharing cup to complete the brew. Aeropress coffee, therefore, also sits in the clear-coffee camp.

Espresso: Definition

Coffee liquid extracted under high pressure is called espresso.

Brewing Methods for Espresso:

1. Espresso Machine

Portable espresso makers, commercial machines, home machines — all of them use pressure to extract the coffee oils, and their output belongs to the espresso family. An Americano is a kind of black coffee made by diluting espresso with water.

2. Moka Pot

Because a moka pot also uses pressure in brewing, the coffee it extracts counts as espresso too.

3. Vietnamese Drip Filter

The Vietnamese filter demands very finely ground coffee — close to the texture of flour. During brewing, the filter's press plate compacts the grounds, then water is added to drip slowly through. The result is rich, more mellow and intense than espresso from an espresso machine.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Whichever camp your brewer falls into, FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling shines in a black cup. One of Asia's most celebrated specialty coffees, it is sorted three times by hand plus once by machine, then roasted medium-dark to bring out rich notes of spice, caramel, cedar, and dark chocolate. Immersion brewers — French press, siphon, Aeropress — get a thick, velvety body with a clean finish; and as an espresso base, its ample golden crema makes a superb Americano.

If you lean toward the fragrant, lighter end of black coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's Strawberry Candy blend — Costa Rican honey-process coffee married with Panamanian washed Geisha — offers rose, citrus, grape, and dried blueberry in a pour-over or French press, and strawberry-marshmallow sweetness with milk. Clear coffee or espresso, low-acid comfort or floral brightness: pick your equipment, then pick your bean.