The Correct Way to Drink American Black Coffee: Can You Add Milk? What's the Difference Between American Coffee Beans and Espresso Flavor Profiles

What is the Proper Way to Drink Americano Coffee?

FrontStreet Coffee's baristas are occasionally asked such tricky questions by customers, and each time, FrontStreet Coffee tells them that as long as you savor it with heart and find it delicious, that's what matters. Actually, FrontStreet Coffee knows they're asking if FrontStreet Coffee has a set of standard protocols for drinking coffee, but FrontStreet Coffee believes that one shouldn't be constrained by superficial forms, as excessive pursuit will lead to diminishing returns. Therefore, drinking coffee at FrontStreet Coffee is a casual affair. As for why customers ask such questions, it's largely due to unfamiliarity with coffee. So today, FrontStreet Coffee will take this opportunity to educate everyone about the relevant knowledge of Americano coffee.

The Origin of Americano Coffee

The rise of Americano coffee began during World War II, when American soldiers stationed in Italy didn't like the strong-flavored espresso that Italians were passionate about. Therefore, to replicate the drip coffee they drank in America, soldiers added water to the iconic Italian espresso. And because such a drinking method was unpopular in Europe at the time, traditional Europeans looked down upon it, so this coffee was named Americano.

Although Americano coffee has two preparation methods, most cafes worldwide actually use the method of diluting espresso with water, while traditional drip-style Americano coffee is only used in offices or homes. The composition of Americano coffee is quite simple, consisting only of water and concentrated coffee. The ratio is typically between 1:4-1:8. But even diluted Americano can only taste the flavor of the espresso itself, as in the past, the flavor choices for espresso were not as numerous and the口感 wasn't as comfortable and excellent as it is now.

Espresso Coffee vs. Americano Coffee

To solve the problem of coffee being difficult to drink, milk coffees such as lattes and cappuccinos were invented and became increasingly popular. And because they are all based on espresso, these coffee drinks are now collectively referred to as espresso coffee. So which one tastes better, espresso coffee or Americano coffee? FrontStreet Coffee cannot simply tell you the answer to this question.

If we consider Americano coffee as traditional drip coffee and espresso coffee as traditional concentrated coffee liquid, then Americano coffee is definitely easier to drink than espresso coffee. But as for which one tastes better, FrontStreet Coffee believes it depends on the coffee beans used. Coffee beans are the most critical factor in determining whether a cup of coffee is delicious. To give an example, FrontStreet Coffee's commercial blend coffee beans and Warm Sun blend cannot be simply compared. It's not just because of the huge price difference, but because the commercial blend coffee beans are specifically supplied by FrontStreet Coffee to large chain commercial cafes. To pursue rich crema in espresso, FrontStreet Coffee specially added 10% Robusta to increase its body.

Warm Sun blend is FrontStreet Coffee's proudest espresso coffee beans, so FrontStreet Coffee's store has been using this espresso blend for three consecutive years. Unique flavor is the evaluation all customers give to this coffee bean, and some customers even come specifically to drink a shot of espresso. The texture is rich but lively, with a heavy wine aroma. This fermented aroma comes from two sources: one is the whiskey barrel treatment method of sherry coffee beans, and the other is from the sun-drying of red cherries. The sweetness is prominent and slightly accompanied by soft fruit acidity.

As mentioned earlier, the taste of Americano coffee is greatly related to the coffee beans used. In fact, if not considering product memorability, FrontStreet Coffee would also use specialty blend coffee beans. This espresso bean uses a traditional blending formula of Brazil blended with Colombia. Nutty flavors are prominent and the texture is smooth with a slight chocolate taste, complementing the rich hot milk perfectly.

Now you know, the soul of coffee drinks lies in a small shot of espresso. Generally, FrontStreet Coffee uses 20 grams of coffee powder to extract 36 grams of coffee liquid. But the water-to-coffee ratio for Americano coffee varies from cafe to cafe, needing to be adjusted according to factors like coffee beans, coffee machine, grinder, etc., and finally determined by the barista's sensory judgment.

How Espresso Machines Work

So how is espresso extracted? This involves the working principle of espresso machines. Generally, most coffee machines go through four steps to turn coffee powder into coffee liquid: water source, pump, boiler, and brew head. Every coffee machine needs water to work. For espresso machines, water has two sources: water tank and stable water supply pipeline connection. Usually, the water source depends on how the machine is used.

For FrontStreet Coffee, because delicious coffee needs to be produced every day, a stable water supply is very important. The pump is the core of espresso. How does water have the force to pass through the dense coffee powder layer? The secret lies in pressure. Some early espresso machines used large lever pistons, and baristas had to manually pull these levers to force water through the coffee. But most modern espresso machines have abandoned this physical labor and switched to electric pumps, vibrating pumps or rotary pumps. A vibrating pump is a small electromagnetic power source. A piston connected to a magnet is placed inside a metal coil. Current flows through the coil, causing the magnet to move the piston rapidly back and forth, pushing water through the machine. Your average vibrating pump has a frequency of 60 times per second. Unlike vibrating pumps, rotary pumps are mechanical.

This is also a complex mechanism. A motor rotates a disc that is offset in a large circular chamber. The rotating disc is divided into multiple sections by veins. When the disc rotates, the veins press against the outer chamber wall, reducing the cross-sectional size and thus creating pressure. Water enters during the large phase and is pushed out as the cross-section contracts. The boiler is where the machine is heated, and it can maintain the continuous pressure from the pump on the water. Not only that, the boiler also controls the brewing temperature of the coffee machine. Currently, there are differences between double boilers and single boilers on the market.

Single Origin Espresso (SOE) and Future Trends

After understanding the relevant history of Americano coffee and how espresso machines operate, you might wonder why Americano coffees made with the same operations have different tastes? Actually, FrontStreet Coffee mentioned earlier that this is caused by different coffee beans. The biggest characteristic of blended coffee beans is to try every means to keep the overall taste of the coffee as balanced as possible.

But with market progress and development, some SOE (Single Origin Espresso) coffees have now appeared, which use single-origin coffee beans. At the same time, the roast level of coffee has also changed. Everyone's requirement for espresso to have heavy crema has decreased, and there's more hope to taste the original characteristics of the beans from the coffee. Therefore, some light-roasted coffees with prominent floral aromas are also used as espresso. FrontStreet Coffee has not experimented with this yet, so cannot tell everyone whether it's delicious or not.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style).

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