American Coffee Characteristics and Flavor Profile: Americano vs Latte - Which Tastes Better?

Americano coffee is one of the most popular coffee beverages. Whether it's office workers during their commute or people enjoying a weekend outing, holding an Americano has become a standard choice. So what makes Americano coffee so magical that everyone loves it so much?

What is Americano Coffee?

Composed only of espresso and water, Americano coffee is virtually a signature drink at every coffee shop and a well-known representative of black coffee. Legend has it that this world-class beverage was born after World War II when American soldiers couldn't handle the strong taste of Italian espresso, so they diluted it with water until it suited their palate, earning it the name "Americano."

Why Americano is So Popular

1. Caffeine Boost

Americano is made by diluting espresso with water. The original Italians liked to enjoy a shot of espresso around noon to refresh themselves, but outside Italy—especially in America—people couldn't handle the intense coffee flavor. Italian-American café owners developed a coffee suitable for American tastes, essentially diluting the espresso Italians drink with water. This makes it less bitter and strong in taste, with a larger cup size that seems cost-effective, making Americano an essential refreshing tool for working people.

2. Affordable

Since it consists only of espresso and water, Americano is basically the cheapest coffee in coffee shops, which also makes it the most popular choice. For example, if you're not particularly fond of coffee but want to spend time in a coffee shop, ordering the cheapest coffee becomes the best choice, which is why Americano has the highest order volume.

Additionally, with the rise of specialty coffee beans, more and more premium beans are being used in Americanos. For instance, FrontStreet Coffee uses the Sunflower Warm Sunshine blend coffee beans to make Americano. This blend is composed of two specialty beans: Yirgacheffe Red Cherry and Sherry.

To highlight the sherry barrel flavor, a 20-gram coffee bean dose was chosen to extract 40 grams of coffee liquid in 27-28 seconds. Then, 200ml of water is added to make the Americano. For iced Americano, considering the chilling and ice melting effects, FrontStreet Coffee chooses larger ice cubes, each weighing about 25g. FrontStreet Coffee's iced Americano ratio is 40g espresso, 100g large ice cubes, and 120g water (1:2.5:3). This prevents the coffee from being too strong initially and causing discomfort, while the large ice cubes melt slowly and won't make it too watery, ensuring it stays cold for a long time (coffee at room temperature provides a poor experience).

The Americano made with the Warm Sunshine blend has rich flavors of vanilla cream, sherry wine, milk chocolate, and caramel.

Americano vs. Latte: Which Tastes Better?

Some people might ask whether Americano or Latte coffee tastes better?

Latte originates from the Italian word "Latte." Latte coffee refers to coffee made by adding a certain proportion of milk to espresso, belonging to the category of flavored coffee. The original latte originated in Vienna, the city of music. Viennese people have been drinking coffee since the 17th century. At that time, the Turkish army failed in their attack on Vienna and left behind 500 bags of coffee beans in their hasty retreat. These coffee beans became the raw material for Vienna's first coffee shop (Blue Bottle). To cater to European tastes, the café owner filtered the coffee grounds and added a large amount of milk, making the bitter black coffee smooth and sweet—a flavor that captivated the Viennese. Milk coffee then became popular worldwide.

The ingredients for latte are simple—only espresso and milk. There's also no fixed ratio, mostly varying between 1:5 to 1:8. FrontStreet Coffee uses a 1:6 ratio: 40g espresso liquid added to 240g of milk. When preparing hot latte, FrontStreet Coffee adds espresso liquid to a pre-warmed coffee cup, then uses the espresso machine's steam to froth the milk. The milk temperature is best controlled between 55-65°C to create dense foam with moderate thickness, which is then evenly blended with the coffee liquid. The final latte art is the perfect finishing touch. FrontStreet Coffee's hot latte presents a sweet aroma of liquor-filled chocolate with cream-like smoothness. FrontStreet Coffee's iced latte will first be filled with 75g of ice cubes + 25ml of fresh milk, then 40g of espresso liquid is extracted and poured over the top. Before drinking, customers are reminded to stir thoroughly.

In FrontStreet Coffee's view, Americano and latte are actually incomparable—it mainly depends on personal preference. If you don't like too strong or bitter coffee flavor, then you can choose latte. Latte is espresso diluted with milk, and the lactose sweetness in milk neutralizes the bitterness of coffee, making the entire cup less bitter. If you want to enjoy the pure coffee flavor, then you can choose Americano.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473