Burned, bubbly coffee

Cona

Hi Guys
I am not a coffee expert or anything so am posting this looking for some advice. I go to a well known major coffee franchise for my morning coffee.

It started off fine but lately every cup I get is pretty crap and I want to say something to them about it. Basically I get an Americano and when I get it there is no creme on top just bubbles. It also tastes quite scorched to me. From watching the staff making the coffee, its quite obvious that they dont get any real training or education on coffee. They put an espresso shot into the cup and then pour hot (almost boiling) water rom a tap directly onto the coffee resulting in bubbles and poor coffee.

So my question is, what is the correct process for making a proper americano coffee?

Jezek

It is basically what they do. Pull a shot and pour hot water over it. If you want the shot over the water, to preserve the crema more, ask for a long black.

However the whole process is rotten in most coffee franchises, from buying bad coffee, roasting it too much, using machines that are super automated ( only in some places) and not training the staff at all. I would blame all of this for the bad quality of coffee you're getting. I would say if at all possible go to a new place, maybe one of the local places that take coffee seriously. Maybe if you let us know where you are we will recomment places.

Oh and if interested to make a similar drink at home we could advise regarding that as well. As simple as a moka pot, a small grinder and high-quality beans make an americano that's 100x better than most shops.

Zagato

As Jezek says, Americanos made by adding water to the espresso. I only really appreciated the effect this has on the crema when I got my own espresso machine. If you want to keep the crema do it the other way around and add the coffee to the water.

Cona

Cheers guys. Yeah I assumed as much. And yes it is down to both an automated machine, clueless staff and pouring scorching water on the coffee.

I really start to wonder why people visit the shop at all, guess its the cool thing to do I suppose.

If you have any recommendations for a cheap and cheerful solution for making good coffee at home, I'm all ears. Americano is my blend of choice

Jezek

AS above, moka pot, grinder and beans! This won't be espresso but it can be very good. Actual espresso is 10x more expensive, and can be harder to master. I 'm happy enough with moka pot for the moment!

Baratza Encore is a good grinder ( hario mini mill is a manual alternative if money is a factor), moka pots are widely available, and good beans (roasted in last 2-3 weeks) can come from many roasters such as 3FE, bailies, hasbean, squaremile, coffeemojo.ie, etc.