As we all know, American-style refers to a cup of black coffee with nothing added except concentrate and water. The taste is relatively light, but it also retains the taste of the coffee itself. It has a burnt, bitter and sweet taste. It may be a bit difficult to accept the first sip, but then you will slowly get used to it and gradually experience the mellow taste.
For people who can't tolerate the bitter taste, a little sugar is usually added to neutralize it, making the American style more delicious. But occasionally, you will encounter some customers on the front street who like to order like this: "Give me an Americano and add some milk to it."
Such a "hidden drinking method" will not only attract the attention of some friends, but sometimes also make some novice baristas subconsciously wonder, doesn't the American style with milk become a latte? Why does American style add milk instead of just ordering a latte? How much milk should be added?
Is American style with milk equal to latte?
As two classic coffees that occupy the top spot on the menu all year round, American style and latte have certain differences in raw materials, production technology, taste, etc. Both are based on single/double espresso. The difference is reflected in the taste gap brought by the barista's handling and control of espresso, milk/water.
But in fact, as long as you explain the concept in a more popular way, you will find that American style is nothing more than Italian espresso with water, and latte is espresso with milk. Therefore, adding milk to American style is equivalent to adding a small amount of milk on the basis of "concentrated + water". This "new combination" obviously cannot be equated with traditional latte coffee, because it still retains the basic characteristics of American style, and milk is more like a supporting "supporting role" here.
Why does American style add milk?
If you ask a friend who has been drinking pure black coffee for many years to take a sip of "Americano with milk", then he will most likely frown, or even find it weird, and finally say loudly: "Return to drink!!". Because in their view, this "destroyed" the original proportions of American coffee. The coffee was neither refreshing nor rich. With the blessing of milk, the aroma was light and the taste was watery.
Since this "hidden practice" doesn't make coffee taste better, why do some people still like to add milk to American coffee?
1. Increase the smooth taste and enhance the deep roasted aroma
As we all know, the upper layer of a standard American cup is often filled with beautiful golden foam - crema. The moderate crema not only brings a good oral feel to the coffee, but also provides us with some aroma substances in terms of smell, and it is also one of the important signs of the freshness of the coffee. In order to increase the richness of oil, many people prefer to use dark roasted beans (Italian beans) for production. The main flavor tone itself is bitter. Once the parameters are not adjusted correctly, the coffee will also show negative characteristics of dryness or roughness.
Adding a small amount of milk at this time not only neutralizes the bitterness of the coffee, but the richness of the milk also adds a viscous texture to the entire cup of Americano, enriching the aroma of caramel and chocolate.
2.Personal taste
Through communication with customers who like to drink "American style with milk", we found that some people do so because they don't like the sweet taste of latte, and drinking American style directly feels too "exciting", so they "improve" it on their own; some people like to taste the taste of the beans themselves, but they find it difficult to accept even a little bit of bitterness in coffee. Adding a little milk can weaken the bitterness without affecting the flavor of the latte. It kills two birds with one stone.
3. The “helpless act” of people with lactose intolerance
Different from the second situation, this type of friends does not dislike milk coffee, but because of physical problems, they "cannot tolerate" it. After a cup of latte, they may have to go to the bathroom immediately. Therefore, in order to improve lactose intolerance, they cannot drink latte "unbridledly", but add a small amount of milk to the American style, which not only allows their gastrointestinal tract to adapt, but also satisfies the craving to a certain extent.
How to add milk to Americano coffee to make it taste better?
When it comes to drinking coffee, Front Street has always felt that standards are secondary and that it tastes good to you. Therefore, rather than whether American coffee can be served with milk, we should explore how to add milk to make it drink better.
Of course, making a delicious cup of American coffee is indispensable for good coffee. The first choice for making your own at home is the Front Street Italian bean series. You can buy the popular style - Front Street Classic Blend, the Nut Pie - Front Street Boutique Blend, the must-have for opening a shop - Front Street Commercial Blend, and the god of cost-effectiveness - Front Street Black Cocoa Blend. Each type of beans has its own characteristics and is suitable for different scenarios.
If you want to have the same taste as a coffee shop, just buy Front Street commercial blended coffee beans, which combines Colombian washed coffee beans + Brazilian semi-dried coffee and a small amount of Robusta coffee beans, with nutty, cocoa, and caramel flavors. Compared with other Italian coffees, Front Street Commercial blends the typical combinations of Brazil and Colombia, and then adds a small amount of Robusta to enhance the original flavor level. The coffee exhibits complex nutty aromas such as toast, almonds, and walnuts. It has good oil fluidity, a low-acid taste, and a mellow taste. Coupled with the price advantage, it is undoubtedly the best choice for opening a store.
In order to maintain a balanced taste between milk and coffee, the concentration of American style can be slightly adjusted when making it, and whole milk with higher protein content can be used first.
Normally, each coffee shop has a fixed ratio of products. For example, Front Street uses a medium-dark roasted Nuanyang blend to make a hot American. It will be served in a ceramic cup with a capacity of 240ml. The coffee is generally 35 to 40ml, and the hot water is 180ml. The ratio is roughly 1:4.5. The hot American made in this way has a moderate concentration, a mellow and balanced aroma, and a slightly sweet flavor.
For those who need to add additional milk, Front Street Club adjusts the ratio of coffee to hot water to 1:4. First, add 160ml of hot water to the cup, and top with 40ml of espresso. Then add 15ml of fresh milk for every 100ml of black coffee, that is, 30ml of fresh milk. This will have a good effect in terms of concentration, taste, and aroma.
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
