Nav: Home > Coffee >

The Difference Between Americano and Espresso Coffee! The Benefits and Effects of Iced Americano! How Much Water to Add to an Americano? What's the Right Ratio?

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Have you noticed this phenomenon? Whether in the scorching summer or the cold winter, most people prefer iced Americano when choosing Americano coffee. Unlike lattes, which adapt to seasonal changes with hot versions in winter and cold versions in summer, Americano seems to maintain its preference for the iced version year-round. So, why is that?

Why Is Iced Americano More Popular?

Have you ever noticed this phenomenon? Whether it's a scorching summer or a freezing winter, most people tend to prefer iced Americano when choosing this coffee drink. Unlike lattes, which adapt to seasonal changes with hot versions in winter and cold versions in summer, Americanos don't follow this pattern. So why is iced Americano more popular? Since this is a frequently discussed topic, FrontStreet Coffee has gathered quite a bit of customer feedback. This feedback can be summarized into two points: "Iced Americano tends to be sweeter and not as bitter," and "The mouthfeel is more refreshing."

Generally, the main factors that can affect coffee flavor are the choice of coffee beans and changes in extraction. Americano is a beverage made by adding water to dilute coffee after extraction is complete. Therefore, the difference between iced and hot Americano is caused by the impact of water temperature. FrontStreet Coffee plans to conduct another comparison to see what differences Americanos have at different water temperatures, and why iced Americano is so popular among everyone.

Extraction Experiment

For this comparison, FrontStreet Coffee will use the same coffee beans, the same extraction parameters, and the same ratio to make Americanos at different temperatures. Let's see what different performances Americanos at different temperatures will have! Because the presence of ice cubes would cause the concentration of iced coffee to differ from other coffees, to minimize discrepancies, this experiment will use pre-chilled ice water to make the iced Americano. This way, all coffees can have identical parameters except for water temperature, making the comparison fairer.

Similarly, the coffee beans used for espresso extraction will still be FrontStreet Coffee's Sunflower Warm Blend, a medium-dark roast espresso bean with prominent flavors and balanced taste! Today's extraction parameters are 19.7g of coffee grounds to extract 38ml of coffee liquid, taking 27 seconds. In daily shop preparations, to ensure that visiting customers can drink an Americano with suitable concentration and prominent flavors, FrontStreet Coffee generally uses a 1:4.5 ratio to make Americanos. Therefore, all Americanos in this experiment will be made using the same ratio.

Preparation Method

Similarly, first pour the extracted espresso into a cup, then pour in water at different temperatures (hot water: 70°C, room temperature water: 25°C, iced water: 6°C), finally stir well, and you can start tasting!

Tasting Results

Through tasting, FrontStreet Coffee experienced the following results:

Hot Americano: Rich aroma, we can directly smell the fragrance of whiskey and butter cookies. The mouthfeel is also very full-bodied. When the coffee enters the mouth, we can clearly feel the full flavors of whiskey, chocolate, honeydew melon, and caramel, with a hint of berry sweetness and acidity, and a long aftertaste with the sweetness of vanilla cream.

Room Temperature Americano: Compared to the hot Americano, the aroma of the room temperature Americano is not as prominent and is somewhat softer. The taste when entering the mouth is very balanced, not as bitter, with more acidity. In terms of flavor performance, it still has the distinct aroma of whiskey and butter cookies, while the chocolate flavor is slightly weaker, and the berry sweetness and acidity are more prominent.

Iced Americano: The iced Americano has the weakest aroma among the three groups! In terms of taste, it belongs to a very lively type, because its overall flavor has shifted towards acidity! The first sip reveals the wine aroma of whiskey, the sweetness and acidity of berries, with a faint chocolate flavor, and the mouthfeel is very silky and light.

It can be seen that although water doesn't directly participate in extraction, its temperature will cause changes in the coffee flavor we taste. This is not because iced water changes the flavor of the coffee, but because low temperature affects our taste perception ability. Studies have shown that when the temperature of the beverage we drink drops to a certain level, it will make the taste buds on the surface of our tongue numb, reducing our sensitivity to taste. In other words, we cannot perceive the flavor of iced coffee very sensitively, which has the greatest impact on bitterness. The three flavors of sour, sweet, and bitter are mutually balanced. When our ability to perceive bitterness is reduced, it is equivalent to enhancing the sour and sweet flavors in the coffee, so although iced Americano is "bitter," its bitterness is much lower compared to hot Americano. For many friends who can't handle bitterness but still want to drink coffee, iced Americano couldn't be more suitable.

Secondly, low temperature will also change the mouthfeel of coffee, making it taste smoother and more refreshing, with the function of cleansing the palate. In addition, such coffee will stimulate the nerve endings in our mouth, making us crave it more and have more desire to drink it.

Combining all the above advantages, we can understand why iced Americano is welcomed by so many people. Of course, FrontStreet Coffee is not saying that hot Americano is inferior to iced Americano. Hot Americano also has its advantages: diverse layers, rich aroma, and prominent flavors. Everyone can choose according to their own preferences.