At home I drink either espresso or french press. I have a Cona and one day I'll use it again, but for the moment those two preparation methods suffice for my needs.
However, sometimes I need to make Americanos. Why is the subject of a whole new thread - although some of the longer-term members will know why.
When I make Americanos, I use coffee that is roasted for brewing rather than espresso. The received wisdom from the Americano kings and queens on the Sweet Maria's list is that that is the thing to do. In fact there has been a lot of discussion where people have said that they believe that making Americanos is a superior form of extraction to any brewed method, resulting in the extraction of more flavour.
Nonetheless, when I brew an Americano, the result is totally nondescript. Today for example I brewed an Americano with some lovely Kenya Kariru. It was roasted past first crack but well shy of second. Brewed, the result is gorgeous - a creamy, blackcurranty flavour that is outstanding. As an Americano, the bean is just murdered. It tastes of very little, actually. As an experiment I gave one to my daughter this morning (she's quite a coffee lover too) and she said "Dad, is this instant?".
I nearly wept.
However, this is consistent with my general experience of Americanos. It doesn't matter what I make them with, they don't taste of much.
What am I doing wrong?
If Jim, Trevor, maybe Carolyn or in fact anyone who has useful experience in this area could respond with some constructive advice I'd be incredibly pleased.
Phil.
