What is the Water-to-Coffee Ratio for Americano? What Temperature of Hot Water is Best for Hot Americano?

Because American soldiers couldn't get used to the highly concentrated small cups of coffee local to Europe during World War II, they asked the shops to add hot water for dilution, mimicking the taste and flavor of American drip coffee. And because this cup of coffee was widely welcomed by American soldiers, it was named Americano.

From the above, we can learn that Americano is made with espresso as a base and added with water. Hot Americano is espresso plus hot water, iced Americano is espresso plus iced water, it's that simple. Although simple, there's quite a bit of knowledge contained within, for example: "Is there any requirement for the water temperature in Americano coffee?" This was a recent question raised by a friend at FrontStreet Coffee.

Like most other coffees, because there are no "hard indicators" for the production parameters of Americano coffee, shops usually make it according to their preferences. How much water to add, how much ice, what temperature the water should be, etc., are all adjusted according to their understanding of coffee. This has led to the situation where the same coffee has different production standards in every shop. And "what temperature of hot water should be used for hot Americano" is not a tricky topic. If you often read FrontStreet Coffee's articles, you would know that coffee temperature directly affects the taste and texture we experience when tasting. Therefore, to make a good cup of Americano coffee, in addition to understanding coffee extraction and controlling the ratio of coffee to water, choosing an appropriate water temperature is equally crucial. (For details, you can move to this article to understand "Does Coffee Have an Optimal Drinking Temperature?")

The Temperature Experiment

So today FrontStreet Coffee will compare the differences between Americano coffees made with hot water at different temperatures. Let's see which temperature of hot water is most suitable for making hot Americano at FrontStreet Coffee's store~ To be able to more objectively explore the results, FrontStreet Coffee will conduct a tasting when the coffee is just made, at the 5th minute after completion, and at the 20th minute after completion, to see how the coffee performs differently over time. Then FrontStreet Coffee will make four Americanos, using water temperatures of: 55°C, 65°C, 75°C, and 90°C, from warm to scalding, covering all ranges.

Experiment Setup

Because FrontStreet Coffee has already conducted an experiment with dark roast and light roast coffee before, this time FrontStreet Coffee used the store's "signature bean" -- Warm Sun Blend. Warm Sun Blend is medium-dark roasted, and when tasting espresso alone, you can feel whiskey aroma, butter cookies, chocolate, and some berry sweet and sour flavors. The parameters are as follows: Coffee amount used: 20g. Grinding degree: 1.8 scale on Galileo Q18. Coffee-to-liquid ratio: 1:2. Extraction time: 30±2 seconds. Americano ratio: 1:4 (that is, 1ml of espresso should be added with 4ml of hot water for dilution).

Initial Tasting Results

FrontStreet Coffee tasted it immediately after making it! Through tasting, it was found that when just made, the 55°C and 65°C Americanos, because the temperature wasn't so high, could be consumed immediately after completion. We could directly taste the whiskey aroma, butter cookies, and berry flavor performance of the Warm Sun Blend, with both sweetness and acidity being excellent, and the aftertaste being clear and distinct. However, the 55°C Americano had a disadvantage: it wasn't hot enough, tasting like a warm Americano; while the 75°C Americano was slightly scalding at the beginning, and could only be drunk slowly through sipping or taking small sips, so its flavor performance was relatively not as rich as the first two at the beginning. We could only taste stronger flavors like whiskey aroma and butter cookies, while the taste had a higher sweetness, almost unable to taste the berry acidity, but it was still very good; and the 90°C Americano, due to the excessive temperature, made it very difficult for us to drink the coffee, only able to take very small sips to feel it. Although the flavor was prominent, it was more an experience brought by inhaling the aroma through the nose, while the taste was just average.

5-Minute Tasting Results

After letting it sit for 5 minutes, the coffee temperatures all dropped by about 10°C on average. At this time, FrontStreet Coffee tasted again: the original 55°C Americano now tasted warm, because it was closer to room temperature, so the coffee's taste and flavor were very prominent at this time, only the aroma began to be less rich, while the bitterness increased; the original 65°C Americano's entry experience changed from slightly scalding to warm, and like the 55°C coffee, its taste and flavor performance was more prominent than five minutes ago. But because its temperature hadn't dropped too low, its aroma was still rich, and bitterness hadn't appeared yet; the original 75°C Americano was now the best performer among these four Americanos, because at this time it was very easy to drink, with rich aroma and rich layers, very close to the performance of the original 65°C Americano when just made; and the original 90°C Americano was still scalding, still needing to be sipped in small sips, with both texture and taste experiences inferior to the first three.

20-Minute Tasting Results

At 20 minutes, the aroma of the coffee was no longer as prominent as before. The original 55°C coffee was no longer warm, tasting like a room temperature Americano, so its texture and taste were greatly reduced compared to before, with the shortest tasting time; followed by the 65°C Americano, its temperature had dropped below 45°C, with texture and taste performance slightly better than the former; while the 75°C Americano was still warm, so we could still experience good texture and taste from this Americano; although the 90°C Americano had dropped to a temperature where it could be drunk in large gulps, due to the loss of aroma, the flavor no longer had outstanding performance. Compared to the first three cups, the quality experience it brought us throughout the process was the least. So if we rank them based on the overall experience when the hot Americano was just made, the order would be: 65°C > 75°C > 55°C > 90°C; and if we rank them comprehensively based on the aroma and overall performance provided by the coffee within 20 minutes, the order would be: 75°C > 65°C > 55°C > 90°C.

Analysis and Recommendations

It can be seen that hot Americano for dine-in is not very suitable for production using excessively high water temperatures. Because hot water not only easily scalds the mouth but also reduces the sensitivity of taste buds, affecting our taste experience. At the same time, excessively scalding temperatures will also cause us to miss the "golden" tasting time of coffee, unable to freely taste when the coffee aroma is most concentrated. Therefore, if producing hot Americano for dine-in, it's best not to use water with too high a temperature. Of course, too low a temperature won't work either. Although a low temperature allows the coffee to immediately enter the optimal tasting temperature after completion, at the same time, the time it takes to cool down will also be shorter. And not everyone will finish a cup of coffee in a short time, so if using water with not high a temperature to make Americano coffee, it will lead to a greatly reduced "hot Americano" experience due to too fast cooling speed.

Therefore, when making hot Americano for dine-in, FrontStreet Coffee will control the water temperature at 75±5°C. This both ensures the coffee has enough temperature to extend the tasting time, and doesn't make it difficult for taste buds to recognize the deliciousness of the coffee due to excessive temperature. But there are two things everyone needs to pay attention to: one is that when serving hot Americano, it's best to use preheated coffee cups for serving. Otherwise, cups that haven't been preheated will absorb the water's temperature, reducing the temperature of the coffee in the cup; also, the temperature recommended by FrontStreet Coffee above only applies to dine-in service, not takeout service. Because takeout has a delivery time of 10-30 minutes, we need to take into account the temperature drop of the coffee during delivery time, so that customers can get a hot Americano at a suitable temperature when they receive it~

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Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473