Best method for Americano - Page 2

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Nunas
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#11: Post by Nunas »

An espresso with hot water added is an Americano. Doing it some other way, such as pulling a really long shot is some other drink. :)

coffeechan
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#12: Post by coffeechan »

My preferences now are to pull the shot into hot water rather than the reverse. It's nice to preserve the crema and what I perceive to be gentler method to fold it back into the water that's slightly cooled prior.

A question for the Americano drinkers is what type of shot do you prefer to pull? I am leaning towards ratios underneath normale to highlight the acidity a bit more. Today I pulled a ristretto using a VST basket 20g in and 20g out for a pretty tasty whatever its called.

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Terrence7 (original poster)
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#13: Post by Terrence7 (original poster) »

Chert wrote:So do I understand correctly: you make an espresso into a large cup. Then without removing the portafilter, you raise the lever and extract through the puck again and repeat to fill your cup? How many times? Depending on how much ground coffee goes into the basket you might get 40 ml or more volume per pull. So for an 8 oz cup your level would travel 6 or more times, each time the water probably a bit hotter through the grounds.

Pull a single time then add hot water and skim off the floating crema. Compare the two.
Yes, I am pulling many times, I usually fill a cup about 12-14oz. Tastes great....but then again I have not tried the other ways.

Thank you all for your great input.

rokkuran
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#14: Post by rokkuran »

I pre-fill the cup with ~100 mL of hot water, pour a 2:1ish shot, scoop the crema off, stir, and then drink. The stir at the end really helps maintain the flavour profile through the whole drink.

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JohnB.
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#15: Post by JohnB. »

I've tried it both ways but prefer to pull the shot into a warm cup & then add the hot water. No need to stir as it all mixes together when you add the hot water.
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jpender
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#16: Post by jpender »

Shot first, then water gives you a well-mixed shot. You'll still get crema on top but it will be more homogeneous. Water first, then shot is more layered, with mottled crema on top and liquid that is not well stirred. I personally don't think either is better, they're just different.

Lots of water through the puck is something akin to a Caffè Crema, although 12-14oz is big even for that. You'd want to start with a much coarser grind than normal espresso for that.

Ad-85
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#17: Post by Ad-85 »

First time I tried long black was many years ago at a café and it was awful. I've watched this video over and over cause I was considering both machines ;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhAC5dFJc_w
After reading this post I decided to try it with my robot-Monolith Max and dolce vivace. 19.3g in 43g out in 47s few seconds preinfusuon then added 150ml hot water and it was amazing. Thanks guys! I discovered that I liked it more than drip :mrgreen:
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LObin
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#18: Post by LObin replying to Ad-85 »

Funny. I clicked on this topic by accident and got curious about the video. I mean, who wouldn't... it does showcase a very modern and ingenious "single boiler" lever! :P

I couldn't resist and tried it on my Londinium L1. I pulled a light roast Peruvian 19.5g in : 45g out and added 150ml of hot water using the steam wand trick.

This roast WAS one of my all time favorite but this batch was a deception to me. Not as bright. Muddier with some bitterness. Not bad. Just not as good as usual. Well... this americano recipe (poured the water over the espresso) was the most enjoyable coffee I had from this bag!
Guess I will have to add this to my imaginary chalk board coffee menu!

Thanks Ad-85!
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Ad-85
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#19: Post by Ad-85 »

Enjoy the silky mouthfeel :mrgreen:

I really enjoyed watching that video a year ago and today. This Americano thing is a game changer :mrgreen:

I can't wait for my lever machine to arrive and try the steam wand trick!

I had an impression that Americanos are best with dark roasts but I'll try different roast styles too.
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JohnB.
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#20: Post by JohnB. »

Ad-85 wrote:
I had an impression that Americanos are best with dark roasts but I'll try different roast styles too.
I only make them with my single origin home roasts which typically fall in the City-city+ roast range. Any roast that would work well in my vacuum brewer makes a nice Americano.
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