How to Prevent Bubble Iced Americano from Overflowing? Tips for Making Tonic Water Americano Coffee without Foam

Sparkling water is a beverage that provides a stimulating sensation when tasted, thereby amplifying the flavors of its base. As a member of the carbonated family, sparkling Americano has already gained popularity across the country with its chilled, refreshing taste and the mellow aroma inherent to black coffee. Today, it has become a popular specialty drink that countless people enjoy recreating at home.

Every summer, a group of "sparkling Americano enthusiasts" leave messages for FrontStreet Coffee, sharing their disastrous experiences: "My coffee splatters everywhere every time, what should I do?" There's no time like the present, so FrontStreet Coffee has specially compiled a "splatter prevention guide" for everyone today. All sparkling beverage enthusiasts should remember to save this!

How to Make a Sparkling Iced Americano?

Similar to a regular iced Americano, making a sparkling Americano requires just three simple steps: add ice, add water, pour espresso. However, the drinking water here should be replaced with carbonated beverages. When recreating this at home, you can purchase original sparkling water as the base, or choose fruit-flavored varieties to enhance the coffee's complexity.

FrontStreet Coffee's parameters for recreating sparkling Americano are roughly the same as for regular iced Americano. First, find a large enough glass, add 3 ice cubes (100 grams), and pour in tonic water or sparkling water until it's 80% full. Then use 20 grams of Sunflower Warm Blend coffee grounds to extract 40 grams of espresso. Pour it gently, give it a slight stir, and you can begin experiencing the main melody formed in your mouth as coffee and sparkling water react with each other.

Why Does Foam Suddenly Gush Out?

The abundant bubbles in carbonated beverages are both key to providing a stimulating mouthfeel and the "culprit" behind coffee overflow and even spillage. When the oils from espresso enter sparkling water, large amounts of carbon dioxide gas begin to escape, and the oils quickly transform into a thick yellow foam floating on the surface. Moreover, the greater the force when pouring espresso into sparkling water, the more obvious the impact from the carbonated beverage, and the more "exaggerated" the gushing scene will be.

Finally, those foams quickly dissipate due to the loss of carbon dioxide, forming a bumpy "lumpy texture." At this point, not only does the coffee gain a visually striking appearance, but it also lacks the refreshing stimulation that carbonated beverages should provide, and the taste is often predominantly bitter. Therefore, to prevent everyone from falling into this trap again during preparation, we can approach this from several methods:

1. Find Something to Cushion the Impact of Espresso

When FrontStreet Coffee shared "Why Doesn't Your Dirty Coffee Layer?" we mentioned that if the espresso's impact is too strong, it will directly penetrate the milk surface and quickly reach the bottom of the glass, thus failing to create a layered effect. The same applies to making sparkling Americano. If the force of pouring coffee is too great, the oils will rush to the bottom and react with the carbon dioxide inside first, causing the foam to expand rapidly - catching people completely off guard.

So we need to minimize the impact when pouring coffee. First, we can place the shot cup as close to the liquid surface as possible, then let the espresso drizzle gently over the ice cubes. Alternatively, we can use a small spoon to hold the espresso coffee - this not only reduces external impact but also prevents direct contact between oils and carbonated beverages that causes gushing. FrontStreet Coffee practiced this several times and found that the foam layer produced on the surface of sparkling Americano made this way is minimal.

Of course, you can also add a fresh lemon slice on top like FrontStreet Coffee does, pour the espresso over the lemon, and a lemon sparkling Americano is ready!

2. Add a Small Amount of Drinking Water for Buffering

Considering that some people don't like putting ice in their sparkling Americano or drink it with other foods, but pouring coffee directly can easily cause overflow, FrontStreet Coffee has a little trick: add water. The operation is very simple. For example, if our glass has a capacity of 300ml, after filling the sparkling water to 80% full, add about 10 grams of drinking water. This creates a buffering layer, and finally, you still need to pour the espresso slowly while keeping it close to the liquid surface.

3. Cool Down the Espresso in Advance

FrontStreet Coffee mentioned in previous articles that rich coffee oils are the nightmare of sparkling water, so scraping off the oils can reduce much of the foaming. However, crema is the soul of our espresso - how can we just discard it?

With the heart of saving the oils, FrontStreet Coffee discovered a method while "surfing the web": first, when preparing sparkling water, don't fill it too full - about 60-70% of the glass capacity is sufficient. Next, add an ice cube to the shot cup before extracting the espresso, allowing the coffee liquid to cool down in advance. This reduces the temperature difference between the two, effectively minimizing the troubles caused by foam expansion when pouring. However, during operation, you must also maintain close and gentle movements to ensure that no crazy foaming occurs at the end.

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FrontStreet Coffee
No. 10, Bao'an Qianjie, Yandun Road, Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

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