Americano coffee is formed by diluting espresso with water. Generally, medium-dark or dark-roasted espresso beans are used. The taste will show different tones depending on the coffee beans. So some people want to know which coffee beans should be better for home production?
What kind of coffee beans are used in Americano coffee?
There are two types, one is blended coffee beans, and the other is SOE (single origin espresso). The biggest difference between the two is the number of types of coffee beans contained in it. The blended coffee beans are at least two types of coffee beans, while SOE only has one type of coffee beans.
Bean blend
The purpose of blending is to bring together the flavors of coffee beans from different producing areas to present a new flavor to achieve a more balanced effect. For example, if a coffee bean is smooth but lacks aroma, another bean with rich aroma can be added to complement each other and enhance each other's strengths and weaknesses. The blending suggestion is to choose three types of coffee beans for blending. If there are too many types, it will be difficult to control the flavor of the combination, and you may lose sight of one.
SOE
The coffee beans selected by SOE actually highlight the flavor of the production area. If you simply like coffee beans from a certain production area, choosing SOE will also suit your taste. Although SOE has outstanding performance, since it comes from a single origin, its shortcomings are relatively easy to be magnified. If the coffee beans are not of high quality, the SOE coffee will not taste good and cannot even be concealed. Therefore, in the actual operation process, SOE coffee has relatively high technical requirements in all aspects, which is one of the reasons why SOE coffee is usually more expensive than ordinary Espresso.
Introduction to American coffee beans with different flavors:
Acid American coffee beans
The lighter the roasting degree, the more acidic substances are retained in the coffee beans, and because the texture is harder, it is more difficult to extract flavor substances, so the American taste is more sour, such as the Front Street Oiran SOE with strawberry and guava flavors, and the citrus and citric acid Front Street Yirgacheffe Sun-Dried Red Cherry SOE;
Suggested production parameters for acidic Americano coffee: 18 grams of powder with a double handle (deviation of plus or minus 1 gram of powder), extract 36 grams of coffee liquid, extraction time is 28 seconds, pour the coffee liquid into a 330ml cup filled with ice cubes and water. If you like the coffee to be richer, you can reduce the amount of water appropriately. If you want a more dilute taste, you can add more water.
Full-bodied American coffee beans
The darker the roasting degree, the more caramelized substances in the coffee beans, the lower the acidity, the higher the American mellowness, and more fat than the light roasting. I recommend the Front Street commercial blended Italian coffee beans, which combinesColombian coffee beans, Brazilian coffee beans and Robusta coffee beans are roasted medium to dark, so that everyone can easily create the same taste as in the cafe. The flavor has the sweetness of caramel, the flavor of nuts, cocoa, and dark chocolate, with a balance of sweet and sour, a little bit of sweetness and bitterness, and a long-lasting aftertaste.
Recommended parameters for making American coffee: 18 grams of powder with a double-ended handle (plus or minus 1 gram of powder), extract 36 grams of coffee liquid, extraction time is 25 seconds, and pour the coffee liquid into a 330ml cup filled with ice cubes and water.
American coffee beans that are not sour, not bitter, and have a balanced taste
Different from the previous dark roast and light roast, if you want to make an American style that is not sour or spicy, you must choose medium roast coffee beans. We recommend the Front Street Strawberry Candy Italian Blend, which is presented with Colombian coffee beans and Costa Rican coffee beans to maximize the aroma of strawberries, grapes, almonds and cream.Oil is medium, the American-style flavor has a soft and fragrant floral aroma, and the taste is refreshing and not bitter.
Recommended parameters for making American coffee: 18 grams of powder with a double-ended handle (with a deviation of plus or minus 1 gram of powder), extract 36 grams of coffee liquid, the extraction time is 33 seconds, and pour the coffee liquid into a 330ml cup filled with ice cubes and water.
Front Street Americano Coffee Beans
The above three blends of beans have different flavors when making American coffee. Some friends like to drink sour coffee, so the Front Street Yirgacheffe SOE is very suitable. If you want a mellower drink, then use the Front Street Commercial Coffee Bean Blend. If you don’t want it to be too sour or too heavy, you can choose the Front Street Strawberry Candy Italian Blend.
Tasting steps
When a cup of coffee is brought to you, don't rush to drink it. There should be a step-by-step process like tea or wine tasting, in order to achieve the purpose of relaxation, refreshment and enjoyment.
The first step is to smell the aroma and experience the strong aroma of coffee;
The second step is to observe the color. It is best for the coffee to appear dark brown, rather than completely black and bottomless;
The third step is to taste. Take a sip of black coffee first to feel the taste of original coffee. The coffee should be sweet, slightly bitter, slightly sour but not astringent in the mouth. Then taste it in small sips. Don't rush to swallow the coffee. Hold it in your mouth temporarily and let the coffee and saliva mix with the air for a while before swallowing.
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
