What Is An Americano Coffee? Why Is This Different?

The growing popularity of the culture of drinking coffee has now made it a daily necessity. Many people have begun to explore variations of coffee drinks, even exploring the story behind the drink. One of them is an Americano coffee, this drink is quite popular, especially for Koreans.

If you are a coffee fan, of course, you already know this. However, if you are new to various types of coffee drinks, you might be wondering what exactly these drinks are.

Truth be told, some coffee shops like Starbucks have listed American coffee on their menus. Maybe you’ve ordered an Americano, just to get something different, but without realizing what it really is

The large selection of types of coffee to choose from makes an  Americano seem to be largely abandoned these days. Through this article, we would like to remind you again that an Americano is not a low-quality coffee, but a delicious coffee drink that is also quite versatile.

What Is Really The Americano Coffee?

Many people believe that Americano is basically watered-down espresso, but this isn’t quite true. That’s just a rather harsh way of putting it.

There is speculation that Italians are not that interested in drinking coffee other than espresso. So when Italians see Americans drinking espresso coffee with hot water added, they call it American coffee.

But Americano coffee should still be respected like any other coffee out there. This is one of the variations in the presentation of coffee. This concerns the taste and style of each person, where we know that they must be different from one another.

History of The Americano Coffee

The name Americano is taken from the Italian language which literally means America or American. Then why is the term Americano used to name a coffee variant? this is none other than because the name of this coffee has a correlation with the origin of its creation.

We certainly think that Americans are behind the discovery of the drink, and that is the truth. Many people believe that the origins of Americano go back to the time of World War II.

When American soldiers were stationed in Italy, they made efforts to make drip coffee just like in their homes. Unexpectedly, there they found only the iconic Italian espresso drink. But the American soldiers didn’t really like the very strong taste of this espresso.

Finally they added extra hot water to their espresso shots in an effort to imitate their drip coffee at home. Since then the Italians have named Americano as the way Americans serve espresso diluted or brewed rather than ordinary Italian espresso.

How is The Taste Of An Americano Coffee

If you think Americano tastes almost like espresso, then that’s wrong because Americano has more water. So the taste is not as bitter as regular espresso coffee but tends to be like a richer, bolder black coffee.

If you are a beginner in the world of coffee, this americano taste is still quite bitter. Even so, Americano has a different subtlety and appearance to the drip coffee imitated years ago.

In addition, Americano has a foam layer called “Crema” on top which is made by the rapid push of water through a coffee grinder. This crema is also one of the things that makes it so different from regular drip coffee.

How To Make An Americano Coffee

An Americano is a great choice for those who aren’t interests of making their coffee with milk added. It is something that gives you a little stronger caffeine kick.

About 10-16 ounces, it’s made of only espresso and hot water. Now you can learn how to make the Americano yourself!

Ingredients

• Espresso grounds (16.5 grams)
• Hot water (8-10 ounces)
• A 10-12 ounce cup
• An espresso glass

Instructions

1. Grind the espresso grounds.
2. Extract 2 shots (2 ounces total) of espresso into espresso glass.
3. Pour hot water into a cup from an espresso machine.
4. Pour extracted espresso on top of hot water. Done!

American Coffee and Koreans

Although South Korea is one of the largest green tea producing countries in the world, the majority of its citizens have the habit of drinking coffee every day.

Korean people place great importance on their appearance and they are also very disciplined in their work. So what is the relationship with Americano coffee?

Korean people who work every day really need caffeine to support their activities. Their busyness makes them have little time to sleep. They use caffeine as energy intake to keep them awake while working. However, they need caffeine intake which does not make them gain weight and worsen their appearance.

Therefore, Americano (usually added ice) is their choice to meet caffeine needs. Americano has very little sugar content compared to sweeter coffees such as Caramel Macchiato, Cappuccino, and others.

Espresso Coffee Vs American Coffee Vs Black Coffee

Actually, Espresso, Americano, and black coffee are drinks that both consist of coffee and water. The three of them also have similarities in terms of their basic ingredients. Then what’s the difference? how to serve it that makes a difference.

Espresso, forcing hot, high-pressure water through a very fine coffee grinds. You can make a cup of espresso much faster than a cup of regular black coffee or americano.

Americano is made by adding hot water in one shot of espresso, resulting in a cup of ‘diluted espresso’. These different serving methods mean that Americano cannot be confused with regular drip coffee.

Regular black coffee, or drip coffee, is made by the drip method. This means letting hot water drip through the coffee grinds and into the cup.

Can I Add An Ice To Americano Coffee

Mostly, coffee fans expect a relaxing hot drink to accompany morning time before activities. They would certainly be grateful for that.

However, sometimes we need a little change. Maybe it’s too hot outside for a cup of hot coffee. Keep in mind that there is something amazing about most coffee drinks that is changing them from hot to cold drinks, Americano is no exception.

How To Make It?

Making the perfect Americano really depends on your taste. If you’ve done your research and refined your recipe, you know how much water and espresso you need to prepare to make your favorite hot Americano.

The amazing thing about Americano is that it makes it into an Iced Americano that is so fresh and perfect. To make it very easy, as simple as it sounds, you just need to pour your americano coffee into a bigger cup then add ice to it.

How If You Don’t Have An Espresso Machine

To make an Americano you only need to have a shot or two of real espresso. Then what if you don’t have an espresso machine? You don’t need to worry, you can still make a very good concentration of espresso even if you don’t have an espresso machine.

Nespresso Machine

This capsule-based machine uses small portions of ground coffee to brew coffee in very concentrated doses. This can be a great alternative to making true espresso.

Normally they are able to reach a pressure of nearly 15 bar, but that pressure is often inconsistent and fluctuates during the brewing process. For this reason, Nespresso machines are not claimed to be able to make true espresso.

A must-know fact is that many fine European hotels and restaurants use Nespresso machines as a great alternative to traditional espresso machines.

Moka Pot

The Moka pot is one of the oldest coffee makers that still exists today. The inventor was Luigi di Ponti in 1933, the way it works is similar to a pressure cooker.

The Moka pot will blow pressurized steam through the coffee grounds in the filter basket above. This pressurized vapor is generated by boiling water from the lower chamber.

This process produces coffee that is strong and super strong and has a thick crema. this character is very similar to true espresso.

AeroPress

AeroPress can also be used as an alternative to brewing americano coffee because it is capable of producing concentrated coffee close to true espresso.

The drawback is that the resulting coffee won’t have the right crema and the taste is less rich than the original espresso. This is because the pressure generated by this tool does not meet the minimal demand for making espresso. However, Aeropress is a pretty good alternative if you don’t have a mocha pot and a Nespresso machine.

Variations of An Americano Coffee

As we discussed above, variations of americano coffee are simply about being served hot or cold and varying the ratio of water used. Every barista and coffee shop has a recipe they like, but you can always tell them how to make it especially for you.

One serving of americano coffee usually uses one or two cups of espresso. Everyone has different tastes, but espresso is usually diluted in a 1: 1, 1: 2 or 1: 4 ratio with water.

The Conclusion

If you’re looking for your relaxing drink but aren’t interested in a lot of milk and sugar, Americano is great to add to your selection. If you have read up to this point, you should be able to conclude that Americano is not worthy of scorn.

Americano is a coffee variant that many people like, with a variety of recipes that you can choose according to what you like. You can order it at the coffee shop or brew it from home. After all, this is a simple classic drink, its strong taste should not disappoint you.