This article is an American coffee brewing tutorial from FrontStreet Coffee. Before the article begins, let me first talk about what is Italian style, what is American style, what is Pour over(V60) coffee, and what is black coffee.
Italian coffee refers to the concentrated liquid extracted by an Italian coffee machine. In most cases, the coffee concentrated liquid is not used for direct production. Of course, sometimes some customers order Italian coffee for the sake of refreshing and strong taste. This is not common. Italian espresso is made from coffee in a ratio of 1:2, and its concentration and taste can be imagined.
Italian concentrate with water added is what is commonly known as Americano. Adding different programs of milk or milk foam is latte or cappuccino, which is commonly known as milk coffee. Both American-style and Pour over(V60) coffee are called black coffee. The difference is that American-style is made by adding water directly to the Italian concentrate, while Pour over(V60) coffee is brewed with coffee powder by hand. There is no need to use an espresso machine or the process of adding water to dilute. Let’s talk about Americano coffee in detail.
With the sharing of FrontStreet Coffee, we know that there are currently three waves of coffee. The first wave is represented by instant coffee, the second wave of coffee is represented by espresso coffee, etc., and the third wave is our popular specialty coffee today. Although we are in the third wave of specialty coffee, and there may even be a fourth wave, Italian coffee is still important. The skill of making espresso is a required skill for every barista, and almost every cafe will produce espresso. What we often call Italian coffee is a series of coffee drinks based on espresso, including Americano, latte, cappuccino, etc.
How to make Americano coffee?
Americano can be said to be the simplest Italian coffee, because Americano only consists of two parts, espresso and water, while iced Americano has more ice cubes. But don’t relax just because of Americano. The simplest part is also the most technical part. Americano is often the espresso that most tests a barista’s espresso extraction skills.
Compared with milk-based coffees such as latte, Americano coffee has less impact on the taste of coffee, so the taste of the coffee beans itself can be best perceived. Many barista friends will choose Americano coffee when they go to other cafes. Firstly, it is convenient and fast, and secondly, they can know the quality of the coffee.
Closer to home, we just said that making American coffee is simple. It only has two parts: water and espresso, so you only need to pour the espresso into the water. The espresso part needs to be extracted according to the characteristics of the beans, and different beans have different extraction parameters. For example, the FrontStreet Coffee store uses a warm sun blend - 70% sherry barrel coffee beans mixed with 30% sun-dried Yirgacheffe. The barista has to adjust it according to the state of the beans every day. In order to highlight the taste of sherry barrels, they chose an extraction plan of 20 grams of coffee beans, extracting 40 grams of coffee liquid, and a time of 27 to 28 seconds.
When making hot Americano coffee, you need to preheat the cup with hot water, then pour in the hot water, and finally pour in the extracted espresso. The ratio of Americano coffee is generally between 1:6 and 1:8. After many debuggings, FrontStreet Coffee chose a ratio of 1:6, that is, 40 grams of coffee liquid mixed with 240 grams of hot water.
Similarly, when making iced Americano, pre-cool the cup with ice cubes, then pour in water, and finally pour in espresso. Because it needs to be mixed with ice cubes, FrontStreet Coffee chooses a 1:7 ratio for its iced American style. 40 grams of coffee liquid is mixed with 280 grams of ice water mixture, including 180 grams of ice cubes and 100 grams of water.
The difference in taste between hot Americano and iced Americano
The preparation of Americano coffee is actually very simple. You only need to mix the extracted espresso with a certain proportion of water. In addition to the difference in preference, the hot and cold options of Americano coffee may also have different experiences at different temperatures, just like Pour over(V60) coffee. Human senses perceive taste differently at different temperatures, so the advantage of hot coffee is that you can perceive the taste changes of coffee from high temperature to low temperature. At low temperature, the human tongue will feel less bitter and sweet, while it will be more sensitive to acidity. At the same time, the quinic acid in coffee degrades into quinic acid lactone, so the coffee will be more acidic after being cold.
After comparison on the front street, hot Americano coffee will have obvious aromas of black cocoa and cream. Because of the heat, the aroma is more active in the air and is more perceptible to us; while iced Americano coffee tastes more refreshing, and the overall flavor is more inclined to black cocoa, with refreshing acidity, balancing the richness.
Why is Americano bitter?
Many customers also report that they drink Americano coffee that is bitter. So is Americano coffee bitter? In fact, in addition to bitterness, coffee also has sourness and sweetness. We can taste the sourness, sweetness, bitterness and saltiness of coffee by relying on our sense of taste. Different varieties, processing methods and other factors affect the proportion of these last few flavors, making it easier for us to perceive one or more of them. For example, Panama's Geisha coffee has a relatively low bitterness, and the SL28 and SL34 varieties adapted to Kenya's high-phosphate soil exhibit a super-high sour aroma.
But what would be the reason for excessive bitterness in Americano coffee?
Reason one:The taste of the coffee beans themselves
Black coffee like Americano is mainly affected by the taste of the coffee beans themselves, so the first reason why Americano is bitter is that the espresso beans you choose may have a rich and thick taste.
The strong flavor of espresso beans comes from their rich regional flavor and deeper roasting. For example, FrontStreet Coffee’s Front Street Blend 100% Arabica coffee beans, which mix washed Colombian coffee beans with Brazilian coffee beans. The Colombian coffee beans give this blend the main tone of dark chocolate, and Brazil provides a nutty tone and higher body. The roasters at FrontStreet Coffee roast this blend to a medium-dark roast, giving it a wonderful balance of medium-low acidity and medium bitterness.
FrontStreet Coffee stores have used this 100% Arabica coffee bean blend for many years, and it was not until the end of 2019 that they switched to the Nuanyang blend. Compared with the Front Street 100% Arabica blend, the Nuanyang blend coffee beans are less bitter and more acidic, and the flavor tends to be liquor-filled chocolate. This is an example of how bean selection affects the taste of American coffee.
Reason 2: Over-extraction
In addition to bean selection, the bitterness of American coffee also comes from errors during extraction, such as uneven extraction caused by channeling effect, or over-extraction caused by grinding too finely.
Front Street Coffee Coffee) often shares that based on the weight of the coffee beans, only about 30% of the coffee beans can be extracted, and this 30% does not mean that the more extracted the better, based on the recommended range of the Gold Cup Criteria, the extraction is about 18% to 22% It is most suitable. If it is less than 18%, we call it under-extraction. Under-extraction is manifested in the sour taste of the coffee, and the taste is bland. If the extraction exceeds 22%, we call it over-extraction, which is what we often call over-extraction. Over-extraction is usually characterized by strong bitterness.
In order to ensure the stability of the coffee and the taste of the coffee every day are within the ideal range, the baristas of FrontStreet Coffee need to adjust the parameters of the espresso before opening the door every day, based on the daily status of the coffee beans. For example, today the barista at the FrontStreet Coffee store adjusted the parameters to extract 35% coffee liquid with 20g of coffee powder, and the extraction time is 25 seconds. Compared with the previous extraction of 40g of coffee liquid with 20g of coffee powder, today’s parameters reduce the bitterness by reducing the tail section, achieving a more balanced taste.
Pour-over coffee vs Americano
What is Pour over(V60) coffee? Hand-brewed coffee is a brewing method that uses a filter cup. During the brewing process, water is added and filtered at the same time, so the extraction mode of Pour over(V60) coffee is classified as drip extraction. The characteristics of Pour over(V60) coffee will vary depending on the filter cup. At the same time, the brewer or barista can also adjust the water injection speed or the size of the turbulence to change the taste of Pour over(V60) coffee.
It can be said that the production of FrontStreet Coffee is inseparable from Pour over(V60) coffee. FrontStreet Coffee Coffee) baristas will choose v60 or kono filter cups based on different beans when making Pour over(V60) coffee. Taking the most classic v60 filter cup as an example, 15 grams of coffee beans will be selected for each brewing, the powder to water ratio is 1:15, the grinding degree is medium to fine, that is, the 0.85mm standard sieve pass rate is 80%, and the water temperature is 90 degrees Celsius.
The entire brewing process is divided into three injection stages. In the first stage, 30 grams of water is injected, which we call steaming. The purpose of steaming is to properly discharge carbon dioxide. The steaming time is 30 seconds. In the second stage, 125 grams is injected with an interval of 10 seconds. The final injection is 225 grams. The extraction time is about 2 minutes. When 2 minutes is up, the coffee liquid is almost finished dripping. Remove the filter cup to end the extraction. After brewing, shake slightly to fully mix the coffee liquid and enjoy.
Americano coffee and Pour over(V60) coffee are completely different brewing methods and extraction modes. Americano coffee is a coffee drink that is diluted with espresso and water. When FrontStreet Coffee makes American coffee, it must first extract espresso. The barista needs to adjust the espresso extraction parameters every day before business to achieve the best quality. For example, today's extraction parameters for espresso are 20 grams of coffee powder, 40 grams of coffee liquid, and the extraction time is 26 seconds.
Finally add six times as much water as the espresso, and the Americano is ready. The taste of Americano is basically determined by the base of espresso.
So what is the difference in taste between Americano coffee and Pour over(V60) coffee made from the same beans? For this purpose, the barista at the FrontStreet Coffee store used a Costa Rican Mozart as a demonstration, brewing Mozart's Pour over(V60) coffee and Americano coffee using Mozart coffee beans to make soe.
Needless to say, Costa Rica Mozart coffee beans are used to make Pour over(V60) coffee. The brewing method has been shared in the previous article. The taste is obvious fermentation, medium raisin and citrus, and a more balanced taste. At the same time, the filter paper filters out most of the oil, so the taste is clean. On the contrary, the American coffee made from Mozart soe not only retains the oil, but the high-pressure extraction environment of the coffee makes the oil more abundant and the taste more mellow, but the taste is diluted by water and lacks intensity in the taste. We can still recognize the fermentation of Mozart coffee beans and the dried raisins.
Recommended American coffee beans
What is the core of Americano coffee? It is espresso, and most of the flavor of Italian coffee comes from the espresso part. Latte, Americano, etc. are all coffee drinks that are very influenced by the flavor of espresso. The taste of espresso coffee comes first from the selection of Italian coffee beans, and secondly, it is affected by extraction, so it is very important to choose good Italian coffee beans. If you want to easily make an American style that tastes as good as in a cafe, Front Street recommends using an Italian blend of espresso beans.
The main purpose of blending is to create a stable flavour, that is, to produce a delicious and balanced mouthfeel. FrontStreet Coffee currently sells several Italian coffee bean blends, including Front Street Black Cocoa Blend (100% Arabica), Front Street Boutique Blend 100% Arabica, Front Street Commercial Blend, Front Street Classic Italian Blend, Front Street Sunflower Warm Italian Blend, and Front Street Strawberry Sugar Geisha Blend.
Front Street Premium Blend 100% Arabica Coffee Beans
Front Street Boutique Blend 100% Arabica Coffee Beans is an Italian coffee bean that has been with FrontStreet Coffee stores for many years. To blend a stable Italian coffee bean, you must start from a balanced and high-yielding coffee-producing country. Therefore, when formulating the Front Street Boutique Blend 100% Arabica Coffee Beans, Front Street Roasters chose the two producing countries with the highest and most stable Arabica coffee bean production in the world - Colombia and Brazil.
Washed Colombian coffee beans give this Front Street boutique blend of 100% Arabica coffee beans soft acidic, dark cocoa, and caramel tones, while Brazilian coffee beans are responsible for providing the mellow taste of this coffee beans, as well as the rich aroma of roasted nuts. Therefore, when this Italian coffee bean is made into espresso, it will have a very obvious dark chocolate flavor, a solid and mellow taste, and a nutty aftertaste.
The balance of this Italian blend of coffee beans and the obvious dark chocolate flavor make it very suitable for either black coffee or milk coffee, so FrontStreet Coffee has chosen this blend of coffee beans as its store product for more than 6 years.
Front Street Dark Cocoa Blend (100% Arabica) Coffee Beans
Front Street Premium Blend 100% Arabica is a very stable and high-quality Italian blend of coffee beans, which is very suitable for many independent cafes as daily products, while Front Street Black Cocoa Blend (100% Arabica) is the second option provided by FrontStreet Coffee - high cost performance. The operation of cafe stores is inseparable from costs, and provides stable coffee production while keeping costs down as much as possible.
FrontStreet Coffee's Front Street Black Cocoa Blend (100% Arabica) coffee beans are a more cost-effective coffee bean, derived from the selection of Brazilian and Yunnan coffee beans for blending, with a ratio of 70% Brazilian and 30% Yunnan coffee beans. Coffee beans from both Yunnan and Brazil tend to have nutty tones. At the same time, Brazilian coffee beans give the Front Street Black Cocoa Blend (100% Arabica) a more solid taste and rich oils.
Nuanyang blended coffee beans
In addition to Front Street Blend 100% Arabica and Front Street Black Cocoa Blend (100% Arabica), Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet) Coffee) provides an Italian formula with a more unique flavor. The Front Street roaster mixed sherry barrel coffee beans from Honduras and sun-dried Yirgacheffe red cherry coffee beans. In order to maximize the aroma, they also re-formulated the roasting curves and cooked them into a new high-quality blend of coffee beans, named "Warm Sun Blend".
As specialty coffee becomes increasingly popular, FrontStreet Coffee baristas discovered during store operations that many customers were no longer satisfied with the stability brought by blending 100% Arabica coffee with Front Street specialty coffee. FrontStreet Coffee rethought and perhaps it was time to bring more fresh blends to invigorate the store's products. In 2019, after many adjustments, this Nuanyang blended coffee beans finally appeared on the bean list of FrontStreet Coffee, and the store's Front Street boutique blend 100% Arabica was replaced by Nuanyang blended coffee beans.
The baristas at FrontStreet Coffee believe that of these three blends of coffee beans, the Front Street Premium Blend 100% Arabica is a choice that pursues stability, the Front Street Black Cocoa Blend (100% Arabica) is a cost-effective choice, and the Nuanyang Blend is a choice for flavor. The three have different goals, and the customers they suit are naturally different.
The unique flavor of Nuanyang Blend comes from its Honduran sherry barrel coffee beans. After the coffee cherries are partially washed, they are placed in sherry barrels for low-temperature fermentation and finally dried. This processing method gives the sherry coffee beans a distinct aroma of wine, and the roasters of FrontStreet Coffee mix in sun-dried Yirgacheffe coffee beans to provide more acidity to the Nuanyang blend coffee beans and increase the layering of the entire blend.
FrontStreet Coffee stores adjust parameters every day based on the status of the beans, such as using 20 grams of coffee powder to extract 40 grams of coffee liquid. Extraction time will be between 26 and 28 seconds. The espresso made with this parameter will have medium acidity, medium bitterness, medium body thickness and balance. The flavor is obvious black cocoa and citrus, and the finish is the aroma of fermented wine.
When it is made into an Americano, it will have obvious bouquet of chocolate and citrus acidity; when it is made into a latte, it will have flavors such as vanilla cream and liqueur chocolate.
Front Street Commercial Blend Coffee Beans
Front Street Commercial Blend This coffee bean is different from the other three blends. Front Street Commercial Blend is based on the choice of opening a store. The main notes of Front Street Commercial Blend coffee beans are Colombian and Brazilian. On this basis, Front Street Coffee also adds Robusta coffee beans.
The purpose of this is to add more oil to the coffee, which not only makes the American style taste more mellow, but also has almost no sour taste. It can also be used by baristas when making latte art. Although it is not a 100% Arabica variety, mixing in a small amount of Robusta can increase the body, oil, and rich coffee taste of the coffee beans, making it the best choice for businesses to open stores.
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
