If you drink coffee often, you must have heard of "Americano".
If you order a cup of coffee like this at Starbucks, the usual method is to use espresso as the base and add about 6 to 8 times the amount of water. However, I clearly heard that Italians don’t drink American coffee (it’s absolutely true), so why do I see Americano on the Italian coffee menu? Is Starbucks Americano really the authentic way?
What is a true Americano?
As the name suggests, Americano refers to American-style coffee, which is the coffee Americans are accustomed to drinking. It's just that Americano is a name given by people outside the United States (just like foreigners don't call themselves laowai). Americans are accustomed to using drip coffee machines to make coffee. Almost all households have a drip coffee machine, or even more than one. (Very few households in the United States use fully automatic coffee machines.) The coffee on the menus of many restaurants in the United States refers to this kind of drip coffee. A large pot of drip coffee is dripped from the drip coffee machine. When the customer orders coffee, he can directly pour a cup from the thermos pot. It is not too convenient, and of course it does not distinguish the place of origin. Because Americans like to drink coffee very much, everyone drinks several cups a day. Over time, people from other countries call the light black coffee they like to drink "Americano“。
How did coffee become popular in the United States?
Beginning in 1607, European immigrants gradually brought coffee and tea to the North American continent. The British Protestants (also known as Puritans) who fled here had strong anti-alcohol sentiments and encouraged the use of tea and coffee instead of alcohol. As a result, tea and coffee became daily beverages in the United States. The famous "Boston Tea Party" occurred in 1773, which solidified the idea of antagonism between Americans and British. The British loved tea, so they switched to drinking coffee, which was the opposite of tea. The Continental Congress announced that coffee would be the official national drink of the United States.
Why do Americans like to drink drip coffee?
The United States is a new country of immigrants. It has no cultural foundation of its own and prefers a free and casual lifestyle. It is not as "ruly" as Europeans in making coffee. Drip coffee is quick and convenient, does not require advanced technology, and is very in line with American temperament.
Going back to the opening question, why is the American style in Starbucks made with espresso mixed with water? Are they lying to us? In fact, this "American" practice originated during World War II, when American soldiers entered Italy. Because it was difficult to swallow the rich espresso, they put coffee into a military kettle and added water to dilute it. This way of drinking was ridiculed by Italian locals, who said: "Americans can only drink coffee that is as weak as dishwater." "
The Yankee's Americano specifically refers to the practice of diluting espresso with water, which has become the "Americano" in today's cafes. For a long time in history, American coffee has been despised by people from other countries. The French say that American coffee tastes like sock wash water. This is because Americans used to be very casual about coffee and didn’t pay much attention to the quality of coffee beans. Therefore, coffee is more of a supporting role with meals, and the taste is really not complimentary. However, the more backward the place, the more development potential it has. Under such circumstances, Ms. Knudsen from the United States first proposed the concept of "specialty coffee" in "Coffee and Tea" magazine, which set off the current third wave of coffee. The current industry standard is set by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA).
single origin coffeeIs it an Americano coffee?
The American drip filter machine completes water injection and extraction through a machine, while single-product hand brewing uses manual control of water injection and extraction. Both are filter-type extraction methods, and the principles are exactly the same. However, Pour over(V60) single-origin coffee is an extraction method of drip coffee, and American drip coffee is also an extraction method. There are differences between the two methods. Americano coffee was originally made by adding concentrated water to it. An Americano drip machine extracts coffee directly by adding water instead of concentrating and mixing water. It is called Americano because the machine used to make it is called an Americano coffee machine, so it is called Americano coffee. It should become Americano black coffee. Hand-brewed single-origin coffee belongs to black coffee, and Americano also belongs to black coffee. This is the correct term.
In addition, Pour over(V60) coffee also has a pre-made product - hanging ear coffee. This is a convenient coffee that is ground into powder in advance and packed in a filter bag for a single person. It can be brewed anytime and anywhere. It has different flavors depending on the coffee beans selected. Here is a brief list for everyone. There are several types of coffee suitable for most people for everyone to choose from: those who like floral flavors, recommend the Front Street Panama Geisha coffee, which is one of the most expensive coffees in the world; those who like fresh and sour coffee, recommend the Front Street Oiran coffee, which tastes like black tea and berries;
For those who like a balanced taste, that is, coffee that is neither sour nor bitter, we recommend Front Street Brazilian Coffee. Finally, those who love a solid and mellow taste are recommended to buy the highest-grade Front Street Golden Mandheling Coffee. This bean has undergone multiple hand selections to minimize the defect rate of coffee beans, thereby making the coffee aroma clearer and the aftertaste better. The above ear-hanging coffees can be purchased and placed at Front Street stores and Front Street Tmall flagship stores.
What is the difference between American and Pour over(V60) flavors?
In order to show you the difference between them, this time I used the coffee beans of [Front Street Yirgacheffe·Red Cherry] for a control experiment.
Origin: Yirgacheffe
Altitude: 1700 to 2200 meters
Variety: native species
Treatment method: Sun treatment
FrontStreet Coffee sun-dried red cherries SOE production
FrontStreet Coffee production SOE parameters: powder amount: 20g coffee extraction amount: 40g extraction time: 26s
SOE flavor description: citrus, berry, fermentation aroma, viscosity, medium bitterness, medium to high acidity, bright and lively acidity.
FrontStreet Coffee Sun-Dried Red Cherry SOE American Style
In order to compare with pour-over brewing, we made SOE into American coffee.
The ratio of concentrate to hot water: 1:7, so this SOE Americano is made by mixing 40ml of SOE and 280ml of hot water.
SOE American flavor description: surrounded by a rich fermentation aroma, the entrance is soft with fruity acidity, citrus acidity, obvious sweetness from sucrose, and a tea flavor at the end.
FrontStreet Coffee sun-dried red cherry coffee brewing
Then we brew the sun-dried red cherry coffee beans by hand.
Filter bowl: Hario V60
Water temperature: 90-91 degrees
Pink to water ratio; 1:15
Grinding size: about the size of granulated sugar
Front Street Brewing Technique: Steam 30 grams of water for 30 seconds. Pour water in a circle with a small flow of water until it reaches 125 grams. When the water level drops and the powder bed is about to be exposed, continue to add water to 225 grams and stop pouring water. When the water level drops and the powder bed is about to be exposed, remove the filter cup. (Steaming starts timing) The extraction time is 2'00".
Brewing flavor: It smells of rich fermented fruit and jasmine flowers, with the sweet and sour taste of strawberry and berry in the mouth, and the flavor of almond and cream in the middle. The aftertaste is like oolong tea.
Summary
After this comparison, FrontStreet Coffee found that the sweetness of the SOE American style made from sun-dried red cherries has been significantly improved, and the flavor will be more balanced, but the taste is thin, the flavor is monotonous, and the level is insufficient; while the black coffee brewed by Pour over(V60) sun-dried cherry coffee has a more distinctive personality, with more diverse changes in flavor and level, and the taste is relatively mellow.
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
