Making yourself an Americano in the morning, sometimes it tastes clean, sweet and smooth, while other times it is so bitter it scrapes your tongue, leaving you baffled. An Americano looks like nothing more than espresso diluted with water, but to get a clean, delicious flavor, the key lies entirely in the balance between extraction and strength. Many people easily confuse strength with extraction; in fact, once you clarify the relationship between the two, the coffee machine in your hands can be tamed to be remarkably obedient.

Extraction is like the process of washing the aromatic substances out of the coffee grounds. Wash out too little and it will be sour and thin; wash out too much and it will drag out all the woody, burnt, astringent notes. Grind size and the length of time are exactly what determine the extraction yield. Strength, on the other hand, depends on how much water is added afterward. Add too much water and it feels weak; add too little and it is heavy and harsh. First make sure the extraction is just right, then adjust the strength, and the skeleton of the whole cup stands firm.

When pulling a regular espresso in daily practice, if it tastes astringent and slightly bitter on entry with a dry mouthfeel, it is usually over-extraction caused by grinding too fine, so you might as well coarsen the grind by one small step; if it tastes sour and thin with no sweetness, it is most likely under-extraction, and grinding a little finer will do. Once the espresso is extracted smooth and full, then increase or decrease the amount of water until you taste the body that suits your own palate, and the charm of the whole bag of beans will be fully displayed.

When a cup of Americano is warm and you pick it up, there is an art to tasting it too. At first, you might as well lower your head and take a gentle sniff, experiencing the roasted nut or floral-fruity sweetness that rushes toward you; then examine the color. A high-quality cup shows a clear dark brown under the light rather than a murky burnt black; on entry, take a small sip first, hold it in your mouth and let the coffee liquid mingle gently with the air, letting the sweetness and soft acidity slowly melt across the surface of your tongue, then swallow slowly, with a long, lingering finish.

If you want a rich, full-bodied classic taste, Qianjie Classic Blend Espresso Coffee Beans are well worth keeping on hand. When extracted with professional parameters, use 19 g of coffee grounds to extract 38 g of espresso within 26 seconds, then add 200 g of hot water. This cup of hot Americano has a layer of dense golden crema floating on the surface, accompanied by obvious caramel sweetness and cocoa flavor, with a nutty sweet aftertaste at the finish, especially refreshing and eye-opening to drink in the morning.

For friends who prefer a thick dark chocolate sweetness, Qianjie Black Cocoa Blend Espresso Coffee Beans will bring a pleasant surprise. Likewise use 19 g of grounds to extract 38 g of espresso, taking about 27 seconds, and dilute with 220 g of hot water. It has a smooth, syrupy tactile feel, and a faint, gentle fruit acidity skillfully sets off the mellow aroma of dark chocolate, with the caramel sweetness lingering at the base of the tongue, very suitable for making a full-bodied large hot drink.

If you are fond of a light floral-fruity profile, Qianjie Strawberry Candy Espresso will bring a completely different experience. This blend combines Costa Rica Tarrazu honey-process, Ethiopian and Colombian beans. Use 18 g of grounds to extract 36 g of coffee liquid in 25 seconds, and add 180 g of warm water. On entry it is like a cup of strawberry fruit candy water, with a hint of rose fragrance, almost no bitterness, very clear, transparent and soft.

When choosing beans, you should actually also consider the habit of drinking strong or light. Beans with a dark-roast profile, focusing on nutty and dark chocolate flavors, can stand up to being drunk strong; add a little less water and they present a solid, full-bodied, syrupy feel. Beans with floral-fruity sweet acidity and a light-to-medium roast style, on the other hand, are suited to a little more water, or even adding ice to make an iced Americano, as refreshing and pleasant as drinking fruit juice. Different personalities each have their own merits.

Brewing coffee is never a rigid dogma, but an interesting exploration of understanding your taste preferences. As long as you figure out the rules of how water and grounds interweave, and fine-tune the grind and strength according to the flavor of the beans, whether it is a clear, tea-like fruity Americano or a thick, fragrant nutty flavor, you can easily reproduce it at your own coffee corner and enjoy a pleasant, mellow time whenever you like.