Americanos How To

How to brew "Americanos"

Background

"Americano" is a funny name for a drink, as is "latte". The differences between what people serve and what people expect is vast in both cases. Two weeks ago I took a client out for a latte and the passionate Italian Barista just served the poor guy milk. We laughed. I was partly embarrassed and partly intrigued.

Firstly I believe that to make a great Americano, you are making a recipe. It is an extension of your espresso drink, which can be a very technical balance of coffees. When I develop a coffee for espresso I want the coffee to be able to "stretch" (or dilute) without becoming a harsh, over extracted horror.

What we are attempting to do with our Americano is take the intensity of these wonderful vibrant, silky, visceral coffees and add them to water enabling them to be drunk as a longer beverage as opposed to an intense shot.

Method

I am quite a fan of bell shaped, heavy porcelain cups. 6oz is the best size for this. Firstly I take my warmed cup from the top of my machine. I add some 3 fl.oz (75ml) of hot water. Then I put a double espresso on top of the water (that's 2 oz or 50ml approx.). If you are careful with your pouring you can get the coffee to hit the inner side of the porcelain; this creates a deeper crema. The advantages are that you don’t burn the coffee with boiling water. You don’t lose all of the presentation by blasting the surface with pressurised hot water. The result is a full bodied coffee.

Recommendations:

Don’t use coffees that are too "big", and especially not those which are under roasted. Coffees that develop oils and depth without an overwhelming roast taste are good as a base. Such coffees include traditional Malabars, Sulawesi Kalosi, or Faz. Cachoeira Bourbons which can all work well.

Courtesy of "PeterJ"