What is the Grind Size for Starbucks Americano Coffee? The Correct Way to Make Americano

Every time I go to Starbucks to buy coffee, I always see office workers lining up to order a cup of Americano coffee, then hurriedly taking their to-go coffee to work. Why do office workers love Americano coffee so much? How does Starbucks make their Americano coffee? Today, FrontStreet Coffee will take you to understand the standard drink in coffee—Americano coffee.

Did Americano Coffee First Appear in America?

This statement is half right and half wrong. Why? Because there are two types of Americano coffee: drip-style Americano and espresso diluted with water. The equipment used and production methods for these two approaches have different origins, so the statement that Americano coffee first appeared in America is half right and half wrong.

Since the popularization of coffee in the early twentieth century, the coffee that Americans most commonly drink is actually drip coffee, which is coffee made using a drip coffee maker (American coffee machine). At that time, it was almost an essential item in every American household. Just put coffee grounds into the coffee machine, and the machine will automatically add water to drip out coffee, which flows into the filter pot on the warming plate, allowing you to drink from morning till night. In modern society, however, Americano coffee refers to concentrated coffee extracted at high temperature by an espresso machine and then made by adding hot water. There are still differences between the two.

This style of Americano coffee first appeared in Italy... (What? Isn't Italy known for espresso coffee? Why did Americano coffee first appear in Italy??)

Legend has it that Americano coffee originated during World War II when American soldiers in Italy, not accustomed to the strong, bitter taste of Italian espresso, added boiling water to dilute it when tasting... In fact, clues can be seen from the name of Americano coffee itself. Americano is called "Americano," which is actually not English but Italian for "American"! Although the diluted espresso in taste and texture is close to the drip coffee that Americans are accustomed to, it is precisely because of this flavor dilution that Europeans are full of contempt for this type of coffee. The French even call this coffee "sock coffee" (French soldiers during wartime would use socks to filter coffee grounds to make and extract coffee).

Later, when Starbucks, which originally only sold roasted coffee beans, began to provide coffee beverages, they introduced espresso extraction technology to America and, according to national habits, began selling strong Italian espresso and diluted espresso, naming it Americano coffee. Due to its short preparation time and the resulting coffee having the rich mellowness of brewed coffee, it quickly spread throughout the United States. Major coffee houses also began selling Americano coffee, which eventually became the national beverage of America.

What Coffee Beans Make Good Americano Coffee?

Today, Americano coffee beans are usually medium-dark to dark roast blended coffee beans. Through the automatic stable pressure (9bar) of an espresso machine, hot water quickly passes through finely ground coffee powder, and then espresso is extracted in a short time. As for how much water to add to espresso to make Americano, generally, a cup of Americano coffee consists of one to two shots of espresso, diluted with hot water/ice water in a suitable ratio (1:4-1:9, of course you can adjust according to your own taste).

Flavor Characteristics of Americano Coffee

The flavor and texture characteristics of Americano coffee depend on the flavor of the coffee beans themselves. Regarding the question of what coffee beans make good Americano coffee, FrontStreet Coffee recommends Italian-style blended coffee beans. The reason is that blended coffee beans have stable coffee flavors.

For example, FrontStreet Coffee's specialty Italian blend coffee beans are blended from two well-known regions: Brazil and Colombia. The extracted coffee flavor has rich nutty aroma and soft berry-like acidity. When made into hot Americano coffee, the flavor will present hazelnut aroma with a hint of berry acidity and chocolate aftertaste. When made into iced Americano coffee, the acidity will be slightly brighter than hot Americano, but not too sour, with the aftertaste of nutty dark chocolate lingering in the mouth for a long time.

But if you're pursuing differentiation, FrontStreet Coffee recommends the Warm Sun blend coffee beans currently used in our stores. It's blended from Sherry and natural-processed red cherries, with a very obvious fermented sensation. Whether it's hot Americano or milk coffee, it can be perfectly matched, with prominent cream and chocolate flavors and full of wine aroma.

Which Tastes Better: Espresso or Americano?

FrontStreet Coffee believes this question cannot be generalized. If you like the taste of black coffee and hope to taste the flavor characteristics of different coffee concentrates from a cup of black coffee, then Americano coffee is your best choice. However, if you're interested in milk, the addition of milk will somewhat weaken the intensity of the coffee, making the coffee beverage more palatable, and perfectly blended milk coffee is even more fragrant and mellow.

How to Extract Good Americano Coffee?

The espresso used for Americano coffee does not have fixed extraction parameters. As the coffee bean variety and roasting degree vary, the grind size and extraction time will also vary. Therefore, after purchasing coffee beans, you need to adjust and taste according to the extraction parameter suggestions mentioned below until you find what you think is suitable~ FrontStreet Coffee suggests using a 1:2 coffee-to-water ratio for espresso extraction, with extraction pressure of 9bar and extraction time of 23-30s~

Friends who often drink coffee should all know that coffee beans have many grind sizes. FrontStreet Coffee divides all sizes into three categories: fine, medium, and coarse.

Americano coffee made using an espresso machine is often made with finely ground coffee. The reason is very simple: under high temperature and high pressure, water will quickly penetrate the powder layer in the coffee powder bowl. At this time, extremely fine grinding and manual pressure on the coffee powder are needed to prolong the contact time between water and coffee for better extraction of coffee liquid. So, what grind size should be used for household drip coffee makers? In other words, how coarse should the grounds be for an Americano coffee machine?

Actually, everyone can try it themselves at home, but FrontStreet Coffee gives everyone a simple parameter: the grind size for drip machines can be kept consistent with pour-over coffee. That is, medium grind.

Starbucks' coffee machines are generally divided into three types:

1. La Marzocco, fully manual coffee machine, production takes slightly longer, process is more complex.
2. Mastrena, belongs to automatic
3. Verismo, belongs to automatic

Currently, Starbucks in the market generally uses the latter two. Before 2000, Starbucks mainly used semi-automatic coffee machines from Italy. Baristas needed to operate manually, controlling extraction time and pressure. However, with the expansion of Starbucks stores, most stores have switched to fully automatic coffee machines like Mastrena and Verismo. Of course, both brands are customized for Starbucks by Thermoplan from Switzerland. Mastrena is an upgraded version of Verismo. It is said that these coffee machines customized for Starbucks cost as much as over 100,000 RMB each and are not sold to the public.

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