Americano: Pour Water First or Last? What's the Difference Between Americano and Long Black? Should You Pour Espresso Last or First in a Long Black?

FrontStreet Coffee found that many friends are still caught up in the question of whether Americano should be made with water first or espresso first. Because whenever FrontStreet Coffee serves Americano, friends always ask: "The most authentic way to make Americano should be pouring espresso first then water, but why do most Americanos served nowadays pour water first then espresso?"

To find the answer to this question, we first need to know the difference between Americanos made with different pouring orders. But before that, FrontStreet Coffee needs to remind everyone that coffee made by pouring water first then espresso is not necessarily Long Black. Because besides the different pouring order, Long Black and Americano also have differences in concentration. FrontStreet Coffee has explained this in detail in many articles shared before, so we won't elaborate too much here.

Next, let FrontStreet Coffee make two Americanos using the same coffee beans and parameters, with the only difference being the order of espresso and water pouring, to see what differences exist between them!

Where are the differences between Americanos with reversed steps?

For this sharing, FrontStreet Coffee uses the FrontStreet Coffee's Classic Italian Blend from the bean list. Because it is blended from coffee beans from three regions: Brazil, Indonesia, and Vietnam, it not only has a richer and more mellow flavor, but the extracted espresso also has extremely rich crema.

The extraction parameters remain: 20g coffee grounds, 30s time, 40ml coffee liquid.

After the coffee is extracted, we make Americanos in different orders. The specific steps are: one cup first pours 40ml of espresso into the cup, then adds 160ml of 70°C hot water; the other cup does the opposite, first pours 160ml of 70°C hot water into the cup, then adds 40ml of espresso.

The left side of the image above shows the Americano with espresso first then water, while the right side shows the Americano with water first then espresso. We can clearly see that their first difference is in appearance. The Americano with espresso first has water added later, so the impact force when water is injected will disperse the espresso crema, resulting in an Americano coffee with only a thin layer of white foam on the surface as we see; while the other cup, because espresso is added later, preserves the crema well, having a golden and rich layer of crema as we can see.

In addition to appearance, Americanos made in different orders have another difference, which is their taste. The method of pouring espresso first then water allows the water to impact the espresso, perfectly blending coffee, crema, water, resulting in the same taste in every sip;

While the method of pouring espresso later, without excessive stirring, the first few sips of coffee will have some differences from the later sips without using a spoon to stir. This is because the crema floats on the surface, bringing richer aroma and bitterness, and also because the espresso and water haven't blended evenly, with different coffee concentrations in different positions, creating taste differences. However! This difference is extremely subtle. When tasting blindly without direct comparison, most people cannot distinguish between them. For example, FrontStreet Coffee's two Americanos made with the classic Italian blend mainly taste of rich chocolate, butter, and nuts. Compared to the differences caused by pouring water first or later, the differences caused by extracting a little more or a little less espresso are actually greater~

Why did the order change?

Earlier Americanos were indeed made with espresso first then water, and this was because of the serving habits at the time! In many coffee shops, we can see that espresso machines are filled with coffee cups. This serves two purposes: one is to preheat the coffee cups, and the other is for convenient access.

This way, baristas can conveniently take the corresponding coffee cup and place it under the coffee outlet when making espresso. After the espresso is extracted, milk or water is added to the coffee cup according to needs. So initially, most espresso drinks were made with espresso first, then other ingredients added. Later, people started using espresso cups to catch espresso, aiming for faster and more convenient serving. When we use espresso cups to catch espresso, we can prepare other ingredients in advance during the extraction process. For example, for Americanos, we can pour water into the cup first, then just wait for the extraction to finish, and we can pour the espresso into the cup and serve directly.

This method not only significantly speeds up service but also gives the coffee a better appearance. Many customers are amazed when they see FrontStreet Coffee's Americano floating with rich crema, which shows that the visual effect provided by crema is very popular. This is why today's coffee shops don't pay too much attention to the order of espresso and water when making Americanos, focusing on whatever is most convenient/comfortable~

FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)

10 Bao'an Qianjie, Yandun Road, Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473