If there’s one popular coffee in North America, it’s the Americano! Although the espresso is quite nice, you can get an even sweeter taste with the Americano for a long time. It also has many scientifically proven health benefits Trusted Source 13 Health Benefits of Coffee, Based on Science Coffee is the biggest source of antioxidants in the diet. It has many health benefits, such as improved brain function and a lower risk of serious diseases. www.healthline.com .
Although you can easily buy an Americano at any of the cafes around you, it’s even better when you can make it yourself at home. You can enjoy a nice cup of Americano every morning before you go out. Here’s how to make an Americano in your home.
Americano is from American Spanish, and originating from the 1970s. It means American, and Caffe Americano is Spanish for American Coffee. One popular story about the origin of this drink is the one where American G.I.s in Italy will weaken espressos they got with hot water so they can increase the amount of coffee they got.
An Americano is simply a coffee drink consisting of hot water and espresso. Its other name is Caffe Americano and can be made with shots of espresso and matching ratios of water. Adding espresso with hot water gives a similar taste to drip coffee, which is another idea of where the name comes from.
In Americano there is no milk like the latte, macchiato, or cappuccino. Although you can add milk, but that wouldn’t be the true Americano.
If you pour hot water into your espresso, this doesn’t automatically make it an americano. Once you make the Americano, you’ll know what separates it from regular coffee.
To make an Americano, you need the following:
Step 1:
Firstly, get good espresso coffee beans to start. Since the Americano is a diluted espresso, you need proper coffee beans to get the taste right.
Step 2:
Next, measure your beans. You shouldn’t prepare an Americano with one shot, as it won’t be strong enough. Instead, measure for a double shot which should be between nothing more than 18 grams.
Step 3:
Using your grinder, properly and thoroughly grind the beans. Since the beans need to be completely ground for espresso, make sure they are finely ground. If ground coffee beans are less fine, Americano won’t taste right.
By the way, there are models of coffee machines with built-in grinders, which makes the process way easier.
Step 4:
Tamp ground beans with an espresso tamper. You can get an automatic or a manual tamping machine, but whether you’re doing it old-school or not, you should tamp.
Step 5:
Coffee lovers should know how to put the portafilter into the machine the right way. But, if you’re not sure, you should be careful and follow this step properly. Once you’re done with tamping, put the portafilter in its spot on the espresso machine.
Step 6:
Now, it’s time to prepare the espresso with your coffee maker. Since every machine is different, follow the steps for your device and prepare an espresso shot. You can enjoy the soothing aroma of the espresso while making it before it turns into an Americano.
The other way to quickly make espresso would be with the Nespresso Essenza Mini, which has a 19-bar pressure pump and Thermo block heating element, or the Caffe Vergnano with 10 Nespresso compatible capsules and it’s good with making full-bodied espressos.
Step 7:
Now that your espresso is ready get your hot water. How much hot water you use depends on your preference, but between 70 and 76 degrees works fine. If the water is too cold, the quality of the espresso reduces, but if it’s too hot, it takes too long for the coffee to cool down.
Step 8:
Pour the espresso shot into the hot water! For every single espresso you put, ensure there’s double water. If you make the americano the other way around, you can burn it, and it can also disrupt the taste. So make sure you pour it in slowly.
There are different variations of the Americano depending on what you prefer. One popular variation is the iced Americano. Instead of using hot water, you can put ice and cold water to get a cool cup of coffee during hot summer days. Your cold water to espresso ratio should be 1.5 to 1 in this case.
You can also mix things by adding flavored syrups to your Americano if you want something sweeter. Some also add sugar to the espresso while making it to make it sweeter, and this won’t take away the fact that it’s an Americano.
You can add different variations of black coffee to your Americano if you want to experiment and make things more interesting. You can add dark roast or light flavored coffee, depending on what you prefer.
Your Americano can taste even better when you add ice cream, cinnamon, or brown sugar to it. When adding cinnamon, do so right into the filter and brew the cinnamon with the coffee beans.
The typical ratio of water to espresso is 2 to 1, which is two parts of hot water and one of espresso. This ratio will allow the drink to taste bitter but lightened.
The main distinction between the two is the ingredients. While an Americano contains hot water and espresso, regular black coffee is made by putting ground beans into a filter and pouring water into it.
An Americano has smaller caffeine than regular coffee, although not by a lot.
Every morning, you can start your day with a delicious cup of Americano made by yourself. Using the easy steps provided to you, you can make an Americano whenever you want within minutes. Like any other coffee drink, an Americano can taste even better when you personalize it. While some prefer theirs’ classic, others like adding spice to theirs. Once you find your favorite style of making an Americano, you can stick to it and enjoy coffee.
