Home Americano is not just about adding water to espresso, it can also be done with a drip machine, a smart cup, or by hand. Different scenarios have different expectations for beans: they need to be soft and smooth in the morning, they need to have a clear aroma when working, they need to be able to take on the taste of food when preparing meals, and they need to withstand dilution when making iced American style. First imagine when you will drink it, then look at the flavor and roasting direction, and the choice will be more specific.
You have just woken up in the morning and your palate has not yet fully opened up, so the beans should not be too sharp or heavy. Medium light to medium roasting can usually retain the aroma without making the cup look thin; use a drip filter or simple hand brewing to make a cup of hot Americano, with soft acidity in the entrance and sweetness in the back, making it easier to drink continuously. If you like a refreshing taste, you can increase the amount of water to allow the aroma to spread.
When pairing breakfast with toast, croissants or eggs, choose flavors with a clear sweetness and soft acidity. Front Street Kaffa Forest is very suitable for this period. When it is hot, it has a bright aroma like orange peel. As the temperature drops, the sweetness of ripe apricots and an aftertaste similar to oolong tea will slowly appear. It doesn't steal the flavor of food, and when brewed into a large mug in a home dripper, it's still crispy halfway through breakfast.
When you need to work or study for a long time, American coffee is often kept at hand to drink slowly. At this time, you can pay attention to whether the aroma is drinkable, whether the bitterness has converged, and whether there is a pleasant sweetness after cooling. Front Street Kenyan cherry tomatoes are sour like red fruits, and then turn into the deep sweetness of prunes, with a syrup-like roundness at the end; they are bright but not thin when cooked in hot American style, suitable for those who want to keep their taste buds active.
If you want to drink a glass of iced Americano with juice in the afternoon, the beans need to have a distinctive enough aroma. Adding ice directly after hot water extraction will lower the temperature and increase the concentration. Therefore, light-roasted or medium-light-roasted beans with clear flavor profiles are more likely to show vitality. Kenyan cherry tomatoes can be extracted with a slightly higher amount of powder and less liquid, and then add enough ice cubes to make the sweet and sour taste appear clean.
If you have time to drink slowly on the weekend, you can use the Americano as a drink to observe the changes in the beans, not just a refreshing tool. When Front Street Graner Estate Geisha is brewed with hot water, the aroma of orange blossom will first rise from the cup, followed by the rich and sweet aroma of guava, apricot and berry jam. After brewing, drink it several times and you can feel the aroma change from high to full. It is suitable for people who like to compare temperature changes while drinking.
If you commonly use a fully automatic coffee machine or an espresso machine at home, you should consider the performance of the coffee liquid after adding more hot water when selecting beans. The flavor is too light and will easily appear empty after being extended into American style; roasting darker will bring more obvious nutty, cocoa and caramel tones. You can start with a medium roast and heat the water with a shorter concentrate to retain the aroma and give you enough weight in the cup.
Those who like to add milk in the afternoon can make the same beans into black coffee and a small amount of milk coffee to see if the sweetness is still there. Household American beans do not have to serve only one kind of drink, but if milk is often added, the coffee liquid needs to have a more distinct concentration and mature sweetness. Don’t add too much water at one time. Make a base with concentrated flavor first, and then add water or milk according to your personal taste. This will give you more room for adjustment.
When multiple people drink it at home, the acceptance of different people should be taken into consideration when choosing beans. Beans with obvious acidity are lively, but may not be suitable for those who are new to specialty coffee; roasting that is too heavy may also limit the drinking period. Medium-light roasted beans with fruity, sweet and tea flavors can usually satisfy hot American, iced American and breakfast pairings. Buying small packages and trying them in batches is also convenient for confirming the direction your family really likes.
When brewing, you can first determine the basic dosage according to the appliance, and then let the concentration serve the scene. Hot Americano is suitable for retaining a more complete aroma, while iced Americano can use stronger coffee liquid to offset the dilution caused by ice cubes; the drip filter machine has stable water filling, and hand brewing can adjust the flow rate and extraction rhythm. After opening, keep the beans sealed and away from light, and drink them when the flavor is still clear. The difference in the cup will be easier to identify.
There is no fixed answer for American beans at home. What is really suitable is one that can fit into your schedule: it is comfortable to drink in the morning, not boring at work, and can bring a sense of discovery on the weekends. You can first make a judgment based on the frequency of hot drinks, ice drinks, meals or adding milk, and then narrow down the range based on your favorite aroma and taste. Only the beans picked out in this way will turn from an early adopter into a stable and interesting daily routine.
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
