Is it normal for iced Americano to taste sour? Why does my iced Americano have acidic flavors?

Many coffee lovers begin their journey with instant coffee, then muster up the courage to step into a Starbucks, only to be intimidated by the menu. Fortunately, they spot the familiar Americano. Compared to hot Americano, iced Americano is more popular. Whether in winter or summer, a glass of iced Americano can bring a refreshing and palate-cleansing sensation to drinkers.

The Origins of Americano

Among many coffee enthusiasts, the most widely circulated story about the origin of Americano is related to World War II. American soldiers, while supporting Europe, couldn't get used to the strong coffee in southern Europe, so they added water to espresso. Europeans couldn't stand this watered-down coffee, so they named it "Americano."

In fact, the origin of Americano might be even earlier. In the late 1920s, an author named Somerset Maugham wrote a character who drank Americano in a play. However, the book never provided any details about how to make an Americano.

Why Some Americano Tastes Sour

Although Americano might seem watered-down to some espresso lovers, this doesn't affect people's love for it. In most people's impression, the typical coffee flavor often carries bitterness. However, after some coffee novices tried the iced Americano from FrontStreet Coffee, besides finding its flavor unique, they might wonder: "The Americano I drank before was bitter, but today I suddenly had a sour one. What's going on? Is the coffee spoiled?"

Actually, this is related to coffee beans. It's not because the coffee beans are spoiled, but rather due to their origin and roast level. Some chain coffee shops like Starbucks use espresso beans with a darker roast. This darker roast ensures the stability of coffee beans and extends their shelf life. However, as the roast level increases, the regional flavors of coffee beans gradually disappear, replaced by more prominent nutty and dark chocolate flavors, or even burnt bitterness.

After World War II, the quality of green coffee improved significantly, and coffee roasters as well as coffee bean roasting techniques were greatly improved. As the third wave of specialty coffee developed, coffee enthusiasts worldwide increasingly pursue regional terroir. To preserve the original richer fruit-toned acidity and some elegant aromas of coffee beans, the trend in coffee bean roasting leans toward medium and light roasts.

Single Origin Espresso and Flavor Profiles

Additionally, some specialty coffee shops might use single-origin coffee beans to extract SOE (Single Origin Espresso) for making Americano. Since the espresso extraction process amplifies the flavor of coffee beans, single-origin beans inevitably have prominent flavors. For example, Ethiopian beans will taste sour when extracted as espresso.

Of course, for extraction stability, many coffee shops still choose to use blended coffee beans for making espresso. However, if an espresso blend contains coffee beans from Africa, the resulting iced Americano will also be sour. Therefore, it's quite normal and likely to encounter sour iced Americano in coffee shops.

FrontStreet Coffee once mentioned in an article about coffee flavors that acidity is good, but it depends on the situation. Some good acidity is similar to fruit juice acidity. If there's sharp acidity, the extraction is basically fine.

FrontStreet Coffee's Approach to Americano

Therefore, the same applies to iced Americano. Acidity is the natural flavor of coffee beans, and it's completely normal to taste it. You can drink it with confidence—it's not because the coffee beans have spoiled. If you don't like this flavor, you can ask the barista in advance about the roast level of the coffee beans, which regions they're from, and whether they'll be acidic, to avoid disappointment. We hope everyone can find coffee they love.

FrontStreet Coffee's espresso uses a blend called "Sunflower Warm Sun Blend." This blend consists of 70% Honduras Sherry coffee beans and 30% Ethiopia natural Yirgacheffe.

Among these, Honduras Sherry coffee beans undergo refined washing before being placed in sherry whiskey barrels for 30 to 40 days of low-temperature fermentation. The aromatic substances from the whiskey penetrate the green coffee beans, bringing vanilla cream and whiskey aromas.

Ethiopia natural Yirgacheffe undergoes natural processing, bringing berry-like fruity acidity to the espresso, with more noticeable sweetness.

Before making coffee each day, FrontStreet Coffee's baristas adjust various parameters of espresso extraction according to the day's temperature and humidity. After adjustment, FrontStreet Coffee uses a Mahlkönig Galileo Q18 grinder set at 1.5 to grind 19.7 grams of coffee powder, brewed with a Lelit Bianca V3 coffee machine for 30 to 32 seconds, extracting 38 to 40 grams of espresso liquid.

The Art of Making Perfect Americano

Americano is made without adding sugar or milk, using only a certain proportion of water to dilute espresso. Therefore, Americano is also one of the most popular black coffees.

FrontStreet Coffee uses a 1:4.5 ratio when making hot Americano. At this ratio, FrontStreet Coffee's hot Americano better highlights the whiskey, vanilla, and chocolate flavors of the Warm Sun blend while maintaining a rich mouthfeel.

When making iced Americano, considering the longevity of the chilling effect and the situation after ice, water, and coffee are combined, FrontStreet Coffee chooses to use larger ice cubes (25 grams each). Finally, they serve it at a ratio of 1:2.5:3 for espresso liquid: ice cubes: water. This way, the coffee won't be too strong at the beginning, and the ice cubes melt more slowly, preventing it from becoming too weak.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473