How to Make Iced Americano? Is It Bitter? A Guide to Perfect Iced Americano Coffee Flavor and Preparation - Can You Use Instant Coffee?

Many friends ask FrontStreet Coffee, "How do you make your iced Americano? It's so delicious!" As a staple on every coffee shop menu, Americano coffee tastes different at each establishment. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee wants to share our Americano coffee making method with everyone.

The Origin of Americano Coffee

Originally, Americano coffee referred to the drip-brewed black coffee preferred by Americans, which has a much lighter flavor compared to the rich, bold coffee enjoyed by Europeans. After espresso coffee spread worldwide, to cater to American tastes, coffee was developed using espresso as a base, adjusted to suit American preferences. Simply put, it's espresso coffee diluted with water to the concentration Americans prefer - this is the Americano in the espresso series, and also the method used by most coffee shops today for their Americano coffee.

How to Make Iced Americano

Hot Americano coffee is made by adding appropriate water to dilute espresso, while iced Americano consists of espresso, water, and ice. Adding water and ice essentially changes the coffee's concentration. Although the extraction rate and concentration of Americano coffee are similar to pour-over coffee, unlike pour-over coffee, it doesn't require balancing extraction rate and concentration simultaneously - these are completely separate operations. Therefore, making a delicious iced Americano lies in the ratio of coffee to ice water.

In terms of extraction rate, you only need to control the extraction rate of the espresso. Typically, following a 1:2 espresso ratio, the extracted coffee liquid will have an extraction rate of 19-20% and a concentration of 9-10%. At this point, the coffee's extraction rate is already fixed, leaving only the addition of water to dilute the coffee liquid's concentration. Actually, there's no precise standard for exactly how much water to add or what concentration to dilute to.

FrontStreet Coffee conducted a test, adding different proportions of water to test coffee concentration and taste. The espresso liquid used FrontStreet Coffee's own house-roasted Frontsteet Sunflower Warm Sunshine espresso blend beans. FrontStreet Coffee's extraction method yields espresso with an extraction rate of 19-20% and concentration of 9-10%. Because different coffee beans and different extraction rates produce different results (as explained below), we must discuss this based on this foundation.

First group: FrontStreet Coffee added 180ml of water, a 1:4.5 ratio, which is FrontStreet Coffee's hot Americano serving ratio. The measured concentration was 1.67%, which according to Golden Cup standards is considered extremely high concentration.

Second group: FrontStreet Coffee added 240ml of water, a 1:6 ratio, which according to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding is one of the mainstream Americano ratios. The measured concentration was 1.34%, hitting the Golden Cup standard.

Third group: FrontStreet Coffee added 320ml of water, a 1:8 ratio, with a measured concentration of 1.05%, which is relatively low.

From a concentration perspective, the 1:6 ratio is more scientific for Americano coffee. However, FrontStreet Coffee ultimately chose the 1:4.5 ratio because we're drinking coffee, and actual sensory feedback is very important. Through continuous comparison, FrontStreet Coffee found that this Frontsteet Sunflower Warm Sunshine espresso blend produces the best wine fragrance, vanilla cream, chocolate, and brown sugar flavors at a 1:4.5 Americano ratio. Although the data indicates a rather high concentration, in actual sensory experience, it doesn't feel too concentrated or create any jarring sensation.

The 1:6 ratio mainly applies to the currently common nutty-chocolate flavored espresso beans. These coffee beans primarily feature bitter flavors, and controlling the concentration within a range acceptable to the general public ensures it's not too strong or too diluted, with sufficient coffee flavor - everything is just right, achieving a balanced, mainstream Americano.

The 1:8 ratio is suitable for very dark roasted traditional espresso beans. The espresso extracted from these coffee beans has very strong bitter flavors, requiring more water for dilution. Actually, the 1:8 ratio was also commonly used for Americano coffee in the past, but as flavor became more important, bean quality became more refined, and espresso extraction parameters gradually changed, this ratio became less common due to this chain reaction (though some chain brands may still use this ratio).

There's one difference between making iced and hot Americano: ice melts into water over time, making the coffee more diluted. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee's approach to making iced Americano is to both ensure the flavor of the iced Americano and maintain low temperature for an extended time. For this reason, FrontStreet Coffee chooses larger, harder ice cubes, which slows down their melting speed. In terms of water ratio, we use less water than for hot Americano, so that as the ice slightly melts, the concentration will decrease to an optimal level.

In actual addition amounts, taking FrontStreet Coffee's espresso made with Frontsteet Sunflower Warm Sunshine espresso blend beans as an example: 40g of espresso, plus 120ml of water and 100g (4 pieces) of large ice cubes. The ratio of coffee, water, and ice is 1:3:2.5. According to FrontStreet Coffee's observations, many customers have about 2 ice cubes remaining after finishing their drink. Of course, this ratio isn't absolute - everyone can understand FrontStreet Coffee's approach and derive their preferred ratio based on the flavor characteristics of the coffee beans they use.

The Importance of Coffee Bean Selection

Finally, many friends say our iced Americano coffee is delicious. Besides the appropriate water-to-coffee ratio, the selection of espresso beans is also extremely important. Different coffee beans express different coffee flavors.

For example, FrontStreet Coffee's stores currently use FrontStreet Coffee's own blended Frontsteet Sunflower Warm Sunshine espresso blend beans, which contain 70% Frontsteet Honduras Sherry coffee beans and 30% Frontsteet Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry coffee beans. Among these, Frontsteet Honduras Sherry coffee beans provide rich vanilla cream and sherry wine flavors, while Frontsteet Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry coffee beans offer intense brown sugar sweetness and chocolate notes. This makes the extracted espresso flavors very special and appealing.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473