Do you enjoy having a huge cup of coffee in the mornings, but you’re getting tired of regular old filter coffee? You should switch to americano instead. You may have had a couple of americanos in your local coffee shop but you’re unsure of how to make it on your own. Take a look at this article to find out what makes a perfect homemade cup of americano.
What Is An Americano?
Americano coffee is essentially a diluted shot of espresso, but instead of diluting the strong taste with milk, it’s watered-down. It has an interesting piece of history behind it. The first mug of americano coffee was made by American soldiers during World War II. They watered-down shots of espresso with hot water so that one cup would keep them warm for much longer. Nowadays, it’s most commonly enjoyed in The United States, though Europeans are slowly catching up with the americano craze.
How To Make Americano At Home
Making cafe americano at home is much easier than making other espresso-based drinks since you only need espresso and water. Additional equipment for steaming milk or making special syrups isn’t required to make a perfect mug. Of course, if americano is your coffee of choice, that doesn’t mean you can’t experiment with it. You may also follow this recipe for iced americano by perfectbrew.com if you feel like cooling down with your cup of joe.
Collect your supplies
As mentioned earlier, you don’t need much for a great mug of americano. The essential equipment includes an espresso machine, ground coffee, and hot water. If you’d like to be more authentic, you may opt for whole coffee beans which you’ll need to grind yourself beforehand. If you’d like to take your espresso game further, you can get a kitchen scale so you can measure the number of coffee beans you’ll use. Though this will result in more flavourful coffee, it is not required for beginners.
Prepare your espresso
Before you begin making a shot of espresso, you’ll need to heat your espresso machine. While it’s heating up, measure out the number of whole beans or ground coffee you’ll need. The more beans you use, the stronger your coffee will be. If you’re grinding your coffee make sure it’s very finely ground, almost resembling powder.
Gently press the coffee into the portafilter of your espresso machine with a tamper and put the portafilter back into the machine. Once you’re done with the final step, take out your favorite coffee mug, place it on the espresso machine and start pulling the coffee.
Warm up the water
While you’re pulling the espresso, you should start heating the water. Depending on how much water you use, you’ll end up with a different potency of the drink. More water means that your americano is milder in taste.
Mix the two ingredients
When combining your hot water and espresso, you need to make sure you pour the espresso into the water. If you do it the other way around, you will destroy the fine layer of coffee crema on top of your drink. Also, if you add water to your espresso, you’re risking it tasting bitter and losing the fine aromas.
Add some flavorings (optional)
Usually, people have their americanos without additional flavors. The only standard addition is some sugar, added to taste. However, if you’re feeling a bit quirky today you may decide on some mix-ins. You can make your kitchen into a coffee lab and experiment with different ingredients – the possibilities are endless. You may add some spices like cinnamon or nutmeg for a whiff of autumn. If you have a sweet tooth you may enjoy some whipped cream and caramel syrup on top.
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