Coffee Shop Special Americano Recipe Tutorial: KFC Apple Sparkling Americano Preparation

When it comes to summer coffee, we often think of classic beverages like iced Americano, cold brew, and iced drip. However, during these scorching summer days, people always crave foods that can awaken their taste buds. Through seeking combinations to make black coffee more palatable, various interesting and delicious homemade specialty drinks have gradually evolved.

In discussions about "What goes well with Americano coffee?" besides orange juice, FrontStreet Coffee has found that apple juice is equally popular. Many believe that the sweet and sour, refreshing apple aroma pairs harmoniously with the rich mellowness of espresso coffee. The ingredients are very simple—almost any shopping platform can provide everything you need. As long as you have a coffee machine or moka pot at home, plus fresh coffee beans, you can replicate this drink.

If conditions permit, fresh apple juice is undoubtedly the optimal choice. For example, the commonly available Red Fuji apples are known for their crisp, tender, and juicy characteristics, making them frequently used as juicing ingredients.

Of course, if you're busy with daily life, purchasing ready-made apple juice from stores is also feasible. One of today's main characters in FrontStreet Coffee's article is a directly available product. According to information provided by experienced enthusiasts, since apple juice will be combined with bitter coffee, if the sweetness level is too high, the combined taste can easily become disjointed—both burnt-bitter and cloyingly sweet. Therefore, when choosing apple juice, not only should you pay attention to the ingredient list, but also avoid selecting products with excessively high sugar content. However, as the saying goes, "a thousand people, a thousand tastes"—everyone should choose according to their own preferences, so FrontStreet Coffee won't make specific recommendations.

Coffee Selection and Preparation

As the second main character, the coffee requirements are relatively less demanding. Whether using espresso extracted from an espresso machine or coffee liquid made with a moka pot, both can satisfy the needs as long as the concentration is sufficient. Here, FrontStreet Coffee uses their deep-roasted Mandheling Brazil blend coffee, where the extracted espresso combines the wild character of Mandheling with the balanced cocoa aroma of Brazilian beans.

Three Methods for Apple Coffee Creation

Unlike the "assertive" characteristics of fruits like lemon, orange, and lychee that FrontStreet Coffee has previously mixed, apple flavor is mild with a relatively light aroma, making it easily overpowered when added to coffee. To ensure the final product allows you to taste both the fresh aroma of apple and the rich mellowness brought by coffee oils, FrontStreet Coffee will enhance the presence of apple juice through three different details, making both elements harmonious in the cup.

1. Increase the Proportion of Apple Juice

Prepare apple juice. Here, 3 apples were used, peeled, cut into pieces, and then juiced for later use. (To prevent the juice from oxidizing and turning dark, the apple flesh can be soaked in salt water for 5 minutes first, then washed before juicing.)

Prepare a glass, add 60g of ice cubes, and pour in all 180g of freshly squeezed apple juice. Use 20g of coffee grounds to extract 40g of double espresso in 26 seconds, drizzle it over the apple juice, and you're done. (Extraction parameters should be based on daily calibration.)

With this approach, the ratio of espresso, ice, and apple juice approximately falls at 1:1.5:4.5. The first sip will be slightly sweet, but as the ice dilutes and cools, the fruit aroma becomes light, the coffee has a burnt aroma without bitterness, and the taste is sweet, sour, and juicy.

2. Add Carbonated Water

FrontStreet Coffee mentioned in their article "Making Flavored Sparkling Iced Americano This Way! Refreshing and Delicious" that adding carbonated beverages to flavored coffee can effectively stimulate the aroma of ingredients, thereby enhancing the layered complexity of the coffee. The same applies to apple Americano.

First, put 60g of ice cubes in the glass, add 100g of apple juice, then fill the glass with carbonated water to about 80% full (approximately 80-100g). Next, use 20g of dark-roasted Mandheling Brazil coffee grounds to extract 40g of coffee liquid, and finally drizzle it gently over the top. Remember, when stirring, don't be too hasty, otherwise, like FrontStreet Coffee experienced, you'll generate a lot of foam.

Compared to the fresh taste of the previous drink, the version with carbonated beverages obviously adds more stimulation. With the assistance of rich bubble clusters, the sweet and sour of apple and the mellowness of coffee bring a stronger "impact" to the taste buds—bitter first, then sweet, with a gradual aftertaste. On this scorching afternoon, it makes one unable to resist taking several more sips.

3. Freeze Apple Juice into Ice Cubes

Based on the method of making coffee ice bricks, FrontStreet Coffee came up with the idea of freezing apple juice into blocks first, then combining them with espresso. This allows the "apple juice" to melt into the coffee before regular ice cubes, thereby making the fruit aroma more intense.

Pour apple juice into ice trays, place them in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator, and after 5 hours, remove 3 cubes and place them in a glass.

Next, add carbonated water to the glass until 80% full (approximately 120-140g). The final step is similarly to extract double espresso and pour it in. Before drinking, you can stir several times with a straw to release the apple juice!

Compared to the first two drinks, FrontStreet Coffee believes that the sparkling Americano made with "apple juice ice cubes" performs better in both fruit aroma and integration. It combines the rich fragrance and mellowness of coffee with the refreshing sweetness of apple, without showing any bitterness.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473