Iced Americano Coffee Taste Characteristics & Basic Introduction - Is Espresso Americano Black Coffee?

"Would you like a cup of Americano?" "I'll just have an Americano." Whenever watching Korean dramas, you can always hear these familiar lines. As one of the most cost-effective and quickly prepared coffees, the Americano is an essential product in every coffee shop. Why do people love Americanos so much? This article follows FrontStreet Coffee to explore the Americano.

The Origin of Americano Coffee

As one of the mainstream coffees in the coffee world, the Americano has always maintained a light coffee taste to this day. The Americano was born during World War II when American soldiers came to Italy. Because they weren't accustomed to the local espresso coffee, they would dilute it with water before drinking—only at this concentration could they accept it. Therefore, the Italians named this diluted espresso "Americano," which is also a member of the black coffee family.

The Taste of Americano Coffee

Typically, an Americano consists of two shots (about 40ml) of espresso mixed with hot water. Therefore, both in appearance and taste, it appears relatively light. The flavor profile of an Americano depends on the coffee beans themselves and the extraction process. FrontStreet Coffee believes that a good Americano should have balanced richness, with bitterness followed by sweetness, and some may also have slight acidity or other unique flavors from the coffee beans.

If an Americano tastes burnt and bitter, leaving a scratchy throat after drinking, it might be because the coffee beans weren't properly roasted or the espresso wasn't extracted correctly.

How to Make Americano Coffee?

Americano can be considered the simplest espresso-based coffee because it consists of only two parts: espresso and water. Iced Americano simply adds ice cubes. However, don't let this simplicity fool you—the simplest parts are often the most technically demanding. Americano is usually the espresso drink that best tests a barista's espresso extraction technique.

FrontStreet Coffee uses a "Sunflower Warm Sun Blend Coffee Bean" for all espresso-based products in their stores, consisting of 30% Ethiopian natural Yirgacheffe coffee beans blended with 70% Honduras Sherry coffee beans.

Before officially opening for business each day, baristas must calibrate according to the bean condition to highlight the unique wine-like aroma of this blend coffee. FrontStreet Coffee typically uses 19.5-20g of coffee beans to extract 35-40g of coffee liquid in 27 to 35 seconds.

Espresso extraction parameters need to be adjusted based on different coffee machines, grinders, and the coffee beans used. FrontStreet Coffee provides an initial espresso extraction reference: use 20g of grounds at a 1:2 ratio & 9bar pressure to extract 40g of coffee liquid in 25-30 seconds. Make corresponding adjustments based on the actual flavor profile after extraction.

Americano Coffee Dilution Ratio

When making hot Americano, FrontStreet Coffee needs to preheat the cup with hot water, then pour in hot water, and finally pour the extracted espresso. The Americano ratio is generally between 1:6 to 1:8. After multiple adjustments, FrontStreet Coffee chose a 1:6 ratio, meaning 40g of coffee liquid mixed with 240g of hot water.

For iced Americano, FrontStreet Coffee chooses a 1:7 ratio, with 40g of coffee liquid mixed with 280g of ice-water mixture, where ice is 180g and water is 100g.

However, this dilution ratio is what FrontStreet Coffee selected through multiple dilution tests at different ratios to find the suitable Americano dilution ratio for FrontStreet Coffee's espresso. You don't need to follow this completely. Ultimately, you need to decide the amount of water based on your espresso's performance.

Americano Coffee Bean Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee sells four types of espresso blend coffee beans, all formulated according to consumer taste preferences. There are nutty balanced profiles, rich and intense profiles, slightly acidic and rich profiles, and particularly stunning profiles. You can choose according to your taste preferences.

1. Balanced Flavor Espresso Beans - FrontStreet Coffee Premium Blend Coffee Beans

Composed of Colombian washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian semi-natural coffee beans (70%), featuring nut, dark chocolate, and caramel flavors. This comprehensive blend shows relatively balanced performance in acidity, bitterness, and aroma—neither too acidic nor too rich, suitable for those new to espresso.

2. Bitterness-focused Espresso Beans - FrontStreet Coffee Commercial Blend Coffee Beans

Composed of Robusta washed coffee beans (10%) + Colombian washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian semi-natural coffee (60%), featuring nut, cocoa, and caramel flavors with high richness. Considering the diversity of customers, FrontStreet Coffee selects rich-flavored coffee beans to create an intense-tasting blend.

3. Slightly Acidic and Rich Espresso Beans - FrontStreet Coffee Basic Blend

Composed of Yunnan washed small bean coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian semi-natural coffee beans (70%), featuring gentle fruit acidity, caramel, and nut flavors. FrontStreet Coffee's basic blend coffee beans offer extremely high cost-effectiveness, presenting the most mainstream taste and flavor. Whether you're new to coffee or a heavy coffee enthusiast, you can easily accept these espresso beans.

4. Wine Aroma-focused Espresso Beans - FrontStreet Coffee Sunflower Warm Sun Blend Coffee Beans

Composed of Ethiopian natural red cherry coffee beans (30%) + Honduras sherry barrel coffee beans (70%), featuring rich wine aroma, vanilla cream, berry sweet and sour, and roasted nut flavors. FrontStreet Coffee named these espresso beans "Sunflower Warm Sun." Just as the name suggests, the aroma of these espresso beans is as comforting as warm sunshine, and the flavor profile is truly eye-opening.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473