The Cafe Americano is defined as watered down espresso. It is a very popular drink in coffee shops around the USA and abroad. The name for this insipid excuse for delicious coffee comes from World War II American GI's that were stationed in Europe. They longed for the brewed black coffee of home but even to this day, European coffee houses only serve espresso. Always inventive and ingenious, the Americans added hot water to their espresso to attempt to produce something that resembled the "Maxwell House" and "Folger's" brands of home. Baristas of Europe probably didn't name the drink Americano so much as mumbled, annoyed, the word in the presence of a military man. "here comes those crazy American's again with their dumb coffee habits...well they did save us from the Nazis." Happy to oblige, the good bartender always gives his customer what he/she wants.
I find myself with this same dilemma. Just as I imagine the baristas of 1940s Europe were frustrated at the ignorant Americans, I am likely more annoyed with Americano drinkers today. Here's why:
1)I spend a lot of energy and care in making perfect espresso. Adding water to it ruins it.
2)There isn't any more caffeine in espresso than a cup of regular brewed coffee. Now if you were to order an entire 16oz cup full with as many shots of espresso that would fit in it, then you'd probably have a heart attack but I couldn't argue with you about what has more caffeine.
3)Coffee in the States hasn't always been great. There was no craft coffee and no places to get espresso. It was just your typical boiled down glass pot of freeze dried crystals reconstituted with city water, fluoride, and chlorine. You'd make it taste better with copious amounts of cream and sugar. Ever had coffee at Denny's or someplace similar? Maybe your grandparents or even your parents still claim they like their coffee that way...sure they do. Therefore the GI's in WWII didn't know any better. Well we for sure know better now. The USA is at the forefront of coffee house culture and consumption, roasting quality, etc. There is no excuse for bad coffee. the rise in coffee culture has a similar arc to the rise in technology and the information age...connected? I wonder. Just as we've moved on from using fax machines, we've moved on from drinking bad coffee...well most of us.
4)Americano's are too much of a pain in the ass for something that tastes like ass. To grind, dose, tamp, clean, and pull two whole shots with a line of people at the counter is nerve-wracking. To do it for one drink is annoying. To ruin both of those carefully made shots by diluting the flavor is maddening. I could argue this same fact about many other drinks that go across my counter but do remember this is just about Americanos.
5) The war is over and your local coffee shops offer regular brewed coffee too: Thanks to the world war for bringing knowledge and love of espresso home to us in the good old USofA. Let's think about the American coffee house's offerings vs. the European coffee house's:
Europe- Espresso with varying amounts of steamed milk. Liquor
USA- Brewed coffee, french press, pour over, chemex, espresso, mocha, white mocha, chai tea latte, cappuccino, latte, breve, cortado, gibraltar, shot in the dark, red eye, decaf, iced espresso drinks, cold-brewed coffee, and the list goes on and on endlessly. some coffee shops in the states have liquor too but more often than not, they don't. sad. Back to coffee.
The American coffee houses' variety aims to replicate the coffee houses of the old country, or should I say countries. See, the French are different from the Italians whom differ from the Spanish when it comes to how they like their coffee too. Some drinks have different names but are essentially the same thing. Like the cappuccino the latte and the cafe con leche. The only difference is where you get them. If you come to the States, all of these drinks exist, sometimes at one coffee shop. Yet they are all different...Why? Because we are a bunch of pretentious idiots over here. We have to have so many choices...ALL the choices. It's like when the sexual revolution happened. We had to have all the sex with everyone that we possibly could. Then we calmed down and went into the 80's.
I've heard said that the cappuccino is just foamier than a latte and that's the only difference. Ask an Italian and they will tell you they are the only people that know how to make a true Cappuccino. Ask the French and they will tell you they don't give a fuck what the Italians think, their coffee is better. Ask the Spanish and they will look at you all stank-eyed and tell you not to worry about things so trivial when the nation is in a financial crisis. I've had the famed Primanti Brothers' Sandwich at the original location but I bet I could make a better sandwich. I'm awesome at making sandwiches and I am awesome at making coffee. So trust me, let the watering down of the espresso STOP! In the future, Americano drinkers, just get brewed coffee. It tastes better and does the same thing.
Fabulous rant!
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