Saturday, May 04, 2002


bright sunny day, but a tad windy. . .

after coming back from buying a new computer chair at a.i. friedman, the slight briskness made me feel like an americano.

making the perfect americano is subject of some consideration. most definitions of the americano frankly get it wrong. you'll commonly read that to make an americano you should pull a double shot of espresso (about 1-1/2 or 1-3/4 oz.) and dilute it with an equal amount of water. or less frequently you'll hear that it's a double with 6 oz. of water added.

so what's an americano? most snobby types like myself will insist that it's a double shot mixed with 4 to 4.5 oz. water, according to your personal taste. but you have to mix it a certain way. . .

first, take your 8oz cup and heat it with hot water from the wand on your espresso machine. the cup has to be hot! after a minute or two, your cup will be properly pre-heated. while the cup heats, pour your espresso. pop on top of the machine to keep it warm. discard the water in the cup and from your espresso machine, draw off your 4 oz. water. then add the espresso; the crema should float nicely on top, still capable of supporting sugar. i do add sugar and some milk to my americanos. . .

but of course, you don't have to. . .i don't heat the milk with steam, but you can. . .even coffee snobs like myself leave some room for personal variation. . .

i've come to feel that an americano is an excellent use for those shots that aren't quite perfect, not really drinkable on their own. but they're also enjoyable in and of themselves. short of a kona made in vac pot, they may be the perfect big cup of coffee.

posted by fortune | 8:35 PM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments