Mike Panic wrote:I drink it black. I've been told it is about 2:1, but even when I make a quad (out of my Pavoni is only around 3oz ristretto), adding 6oz of water to make 9oz total isnt' as much as i'd like to sip on for 20-30 minutes. Trouble is, any more water makes it too watered down and I don't want to get in the habbit of making a 6 or 8 shot Americano just to get the volume of total beverage that I'd like.

I guess I need to start appreciating small, 8-10oz cups a little more and stop trying to make everything American * supersized

Mr. Mike, I'd be interested in your recipe once you nail the ratio.

I personally enjoy a "venti" six-shot Americano, the only menu item I really enjoy from SBUX. However, if you're worried about making your beverage American*supersized, I'd be interested if you trademark a new name as an alternative to Americano.

caf*fè a*mer*i*ca*no (plural caf*fè a*mer*i*ca*nos)
noun
Definition: beverages
Same as americano
[< Italian, "American coffee"]

June

As far as preserving crema, I find if I pull my shot into the larger volume glass I'm ultimately going to drink it out of, then add hot water from my machine's hot water tap, I keep pretty much all of the crema. Simple... And delicious.

Can't do that on my europiccola - even after I make my portafilter crotchless (hopefully soon) I'll still only have about 3" of clearance.

Good point - I have a Europiccola as well.

As a variation to the tea kettle, have you ever heard of the Hot Shot by Sunbeam? Man they heat up water quickly and should cost less than $20. I got one years ago from Wally World for about $14, and it heats up probably 10 cups of water a day between me and co-workers. Simple and single-purpose - perfect.

Tea kettle doesn't bother me much honestly, even on my electric range if I turn it on high, by the time I grind, dose, weigh, tamp, pull a double, it is just about boiling... I've been trying to add a shot, then water to the cup, then water to the shot glass to get the last of the yummy out. Also tried to add water, than shot, then water in the shot glass into the cup.

FWIW I pull a couple of caps for breakfast with my wife in the morning. An espresso to top breakfast off and then an Americano if I'm headed out the door. I like to pull a double over 6oz of hot water that I pulled from my S1VII. I use the hot water tap alot so find the water in the boiler stays pretty fresh. The Americano ends up being pretty warm at first but by the time I'm on the freeway its ready to drink. I really like the Americano done with SOs. My favorite right now is Counter Culture's Finca Mauritania ... Cheers Ian

I make 2 Americanos for myself and 2 for my wife every morning. On weekends it is 3 each. My ratios are 2 oz. espresso and no more than 4 oz. water or, less than 1::2.

I make them with my Elektra Microcasa a leva almost always but occasionally with my Cremina. I like the clarity of the Microcasa a leva.

I use a double basket and do a double pull on both machines. I grind slightly less fine than for espresso which I make with a single basket + single pull. The target is a 25 sec time for each pull.

I pull the espresso into a cappuccino cup then add the water from a tea kettle.

I find that a far wider range of coffees make great Americanos than make great espressos. Kona makes great Americano and so do many Sumatra coffees. These never make good espresso for me. Same with wet processed Ethiopians. And the same with virtually all Central Americans. Beans that make great espresso do also make good Americanos but usually the espressos are better.

KS

The process I use to create an Americano:
1. Heat fresh tap water using steam wand.
2. Pull shot (heavy normal to ristretto brew ratio double) into cup containing heated water.

Amount (90-120ml) of heated water depends on origin. Prefer single origin(SO) pulls. Extracting the espresso into the cup containing the heated water preserves the crema. Machine of choice for Americanos is the Elektra MicroCasa a Leva (MCaL). It's interesting to note the similarities and differences in the flavors of an Americano and espresso pulled on the MCaL.

Americanos are my favorite. I preheat the cup with hot water from our faucet (our water heater is set pretty high). Then I prime the machine by running some water through the PF and pull 1oz. of water through the steam wand into a shot glass. Pour out the pre-heated water, throw in the 1oz. of hot water and start dosing/tamping.

I pull a 1.5oz. espresso right into the 1oz. of hot water. Crema looks awesome. I drop in about a tablespoon of sugar (depending on how I feel). In retrospect, I don't know if this a "true" Americano, but it draws out the flavor profile of the single origin beans I've been buying lately.

I'm drooling just thinking about it now since our coffee at works is really bad.

Nice to see other folks enjoy americano's as much as I do. It seems a shame to dilute an espresso shot, but I do love an americano if I'm not treating myself to a mochaccino.