Do you drink Americanos? How can you make them taste better...
... this was a project which James Hoffmann recently took on through a YouTube video.
Firstly, what is an Americano? It's an espresso diluted with hot water. The typical ratio being one part espresso and four parts heated water. Assembly order (according to most internet sources) is that one extracts the espresso and then pours the hot water over the top. I'm a fan of extracting the espresso over the hot water...
What is the source for the heated water? Most cafés use the hot water tap on their espresso machine which draws water directly from the machine's steam boiler. The main issue with this water is that if you're not emptying water from the steam boiler on a regular basis then the act of regularly steaming water increases the mineral concentration in the steam boiler... which doesn't taste great in the cup. The other usual source is a kettle.
Hoffmann thinks that Americanos are bitter with a sharp texture. His explanation is that the bitterness which is inherent in an espresso is dominated by the concentrated flavours in that espresso, the bitterness is less front and centre, whereas the lower concentration format of the Americano means that the bitterness has nowhere to hide.
So what's the recommendation which Hoffmann provides to improve your Americano? His suggestion for heated water is to use the espresso machine's steam wand and steam the water from cold. And it turns out that an Americano made on water which has been steamed tastes significantly better than the same drink made on water from the other sources mentioned. We've tested it out ourselves and we totally agree. These Americanos taste sweeter, with mellower bitterness, and a beautiful texture which is slightly creamier than you'd otherwise expect. The reason is likely that the level of dissolved gases in the steamed water is higher.
I would never have thought to steam water for an Americano... and the result is so good that it retains a regular spot on the coffee roster at our place.
If you try this out, please let me know what you think!
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