What Does Iced Espresso Taste Like? Can You Make an Iced Americano Without Water?

As everyone knows, FrontStreet Coffee's menu is quite simple, but behind it lie quite a few hidden items. Flat White, Dirty, and other coffees, though not listed on the menu, are all available at FrontStreet Coffee.

Then one day a customer walked in and said, "Boss, could I please have an iced Americano without water, thank you!" We more often hear requests for an iced Americano without ice, but what was this request for an iced Americano without water about?

Some people can't drink beverages that are too cold, but with the weather extremely hot, hot drinks only add fuel to the fire for them. So they settle on a compromise: iced Americano without ice.

FrontStreet Coffee's iced Americano ratio is 40g of espresso, 120ml of water, and 100g of ice. When making an iced Americano without ice, to keep the coffee from becoming too concentrated, since the ice in a regular iced coffee would gradually melt, FrontStreet Coffee adds 180ml of water to the 40g of espresso.

But what if a customer orders an iced Americano without water? This way of drinking does exist, and it goes by many names: exploding ice Americano, iced espresso, espresso with ice.

Generally, people who choose to drink it this way prefer a stronger iced coffee. A regular iced Americano tastes too weak for their taste buds, so they prefer an Americano without water. Why, though, is it called an "exploding ice Americano" or an "iced Americano no water" when it is really more like a cup of espresso?

Understanding the espresso system would clarify the relationship between espresso and Americano coffee, but for most people who simply drink coffee, the Americano is more familiar. They only need to request a small adjustment to their Americano to get the result they want. Iced Americano without water and espresso with ice refer to the same beverage.

How to Make Iced Americano Without Water

So how should one make an iced Americano without water? It's just like making a regular Americano, only replacing water with ice. FrontStreet Coffee's recommended approach is to pour the espresso over ice, or to extract the espresso directly into a cup already filled with ice. This way the espresso passes through the ice and cools quickly, giving a better flavor and texture.

How Does This Taste?

This method reminds FrontStreet Coffee of Hugh Kelly, an Australian barista who introduced a concept called "Extract Chilling" during the 2021 WBC competition. His method for extracting espresso during the competition involved placing a frozen metal block between the espresso cup and the spout of the portafilter. As the espresso flowed from the spout, it passed through the metal block to cool down before finally reaching the cup.

Hugh said, "The first 12 grams of coffee liquid contain the most volatile compounds, the aroma. By rapidly cooling the coffee liquid, more flavor and aroma are retained in the coffee."

This is somewhat similar to our iced pour-over method. With a regular hot pour-over, the flavor is very rich and the aroma obvious right after brewing, but as time passes and the coffee cools, the flavor and aroma fade noticeably because volatile substances have evaporated. With iced pour-over, ice is added while the coffee is still hot to cool it rapidly, giving a better flavor than coffee that has cooled naturally.

So an iced Americano without water, also known as iced espresso, is still quite strong to drink. FrontStreet Coffee used Sunflower Warm Sunshine Blend beans to make both hot espresso and iced espresso for comparison. Compared with hot espresso, the iced version tastes less bitter, with a bit more sour and sweet notes, creating a bright, uplifting sensation across the whole cup.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Because a drink like this lives entirely on the espresso underneath, an easygoing, full-bodied blend works best. FrontStreet's Classic Blend is a strong choice: it carries a butter-and-cheese profile with a full body, low acidity, and rich, fine crema, so it stays smooth and rounded even when poured straight over ice.

If you prefer your espresso with fruit instead of chocolate, FrontStreet's Strawberry Candy espresso blend has very low bitterness and brings full grape and blueberry flavors with a balanced sweet-sour edge. Served as iced espresso it stays bright and juicy, and it also makes a wonderfully creamy milk coffee.