What is American Style Coffee?

When it comes to different styles of coffee, most people will just give you the name of their favorite drink and think that’s all there is to it. However, when you dig a little deeper you will find out that what makes coffee different isn’t so much where it comes from, but how it’s made and where it is consumed. Coffee is a cultural thing, and different cultures see coffee in very different ways. 

Italians have very hard and fast, yet unspoken, rules about coffee consumption. According to coffeebene.com Americans and Italians simply see coffee differently. For example, Italians only drink cappuccinos and lattes before 10am because they feel that drinking milk after that time will throw their digestive system out of whack by the end of the day. Americans have a different view on this. Americans drink coffee mixed with sugar, milk, multiple flavors, even hot and cold at all times of the day or night. Americans use coffee for a boost of energy while Italians simply like so savor and enjoy the flavor extracted from the beans.  

Another difference between American and Italian coffee is how the drinks are made. Drip coffee and Instant coffee are considered American while Espresso is Italian. 

What makes these coffees so different?

Drip coffee and espresso seem similar enough, but there are some major differences between the two. Wholelattelove.com explains that the differences include the fineness of the ground coffee bean and the way it is prepared. Espresso is ground much finer than beans used for drip coffee. Espresso is made under high pressure with very little water, only making one drink at a time, while drip coffee is made with boiling water filtering through the grounds and making multiple servings. 

Instant coffee is made from real coffee according to huffingtonpost.com. The beans are roasted, ground and brewed. The coffee is then either spray-dried or freeze-dried. The result is coffee granules that can be made a mug at a time by simply adding boiling water to it. 

These are two coffee drinks that seem very similar at first glance, but are in fact very different. Drip coffee is made when hot water drips through coffee grounds while an Americano is made by pouring water over an already made espresso shot. While it seems like the set up is the same, water and coffee, they have very different flavors. Not all coffee beans can be made into espresso, but all can be ground to make drip. This causes the flavors of these two drinks, one American one Italian based, takes very different.