What is an Americano?

Not everyone can handle the strong taste a well pulled espresso. Legend has it that during WWII, US soldiers in Europe watered down the espresso shots, to make a concoction similar to the coffee (drip coffee) they drank back home. This is how the Americano came into being.  Simple to make, the Americano consists of just two ingredients, water and espresso.

Since there are only two ingredients, there is a big debate as to what goes in first. You can pour an Americano in two different ways, the traditional way is by first pouring your espresso into a cup and then adding the hot water, the other method starts with the hot water already in the cup and then add the espresso (Starbucks does this). There have been adamant supporters on both the ends. However, while this does not seem so important, the choice effects one important element of coffee and that is the crema. 

For those who are not familiar, crema is a thick, tan layer of foam that sits on top of a shot of espresso, it is a result of the mixing of oils and carbon dioxide that naturally occurs during the extraction of espresso. People prefer the second method because it results in more foam on top, since it doesn’t dissolve when the water is added into the espresso. Actually, both these pouring methods lead to two different beverages, which are very similar to each other:

The Americano is slowly becoming a favourite pick amongst coffee lovers who are looking for a bold, strong cup that is not touched by milk, there is an Iced Americano as well to beat those long summer days.  You can use Coffeeza machines to brew an Americano, first insert a coffee pod of your choice and pull an espresso shot, then use the lungo function without inserting a capsule to brew hot water. Our Classico, Single-Origin Ethiopia and Decaf blends are best suited for making an Americano.