Introduction:Want to enjoy the refreshing taste of a café-style sparkling Americano at home? This article will teach you how to make a sparkling Americano using either espresso or pour over methods, and explain the science behind how coffee oils react with carbon dioxide to create foam. We also provide practical ratio suggestions, along with three key techniques to prevent foam from erupting, so you can create a perfectly bubbly drink that still retains the true essence of coffee.

The sparkling Americano can be considered a creative evolution of the iced Americano. While preserving the original flavor of the coffee, it adds a refreshing and invigorating twist through the inclusion of carbonated bubbles. Making this drink is actually quite simple—just replace the hot water in a regular Americano with sparkling water, while keeping almost all other brewing parameters the same. If you love the boldness of coffee but also want to experience a bit of the crispness from carbonation, the sparkling Americano is definitely worth a try.

The recommended base recipe is: a double shot of espresso (about 40g), 120ml of sparkling water, plus 100g of ice cubes. If you don’t have a professional espresso machine at home, don’t worry—you can also use the pour over method to brew a highly concentrated coffee. Based on testing, for pour over, you can use a two-stage pouring method: first pour 40ml and bloom for 2 minutes, then pour another 80ml. After dripping is complete, you’ll get about 80ml of concentrated-flavor coffee liquid.

However, when you pour the espresso into the sparkling water, you might encounter an annoying issue: the crema (the oily layer) on the surface of the coffee, upon contact with a large amount of carbon dioxide, can quickly expand, causing the foam to surge and even overflow from the rim of the cup, forming clumps of rough, lumpy foam. This not only affects the visual appeal but also ruins the drinking experience. So how can you avoid this?

First, it’s recommended that you scrape off the crema from the surface of the espresso before pouring. Although the crema is an important source of flavor in traditional espresso, in a sparkling Americano, it tends to react violently with the carbonation. Removing this layer not only reduces the chance of foam surging but also makes the overall taste of the drink smoother and clearer.Remember, this is the first step to making the perfect sparkling Americano.

Secondly, slowly pouring the espresso into the sparkling water is a crucial technique. Many people are used to pouring the coffee quickly into the cup, but this can cause the liquid to sink instantly while stirring up the bubbles at the bottom, resulting in a cup full of thick foam. Similar to the layering concept of a Dirty coffee, we want the coffee and sparkling water to blend smoothly without any violent collision.

The most practical approach is to place a small spoon at the edge of the cup, then slowly pour the espresso along the back of the spoon. This effectively reduces the impact caused by the liquid directly hitting the sparkling water, allowing the coffee to gently seep into the bubbles and significantly minimizing foam production. This way, you can enjoy a sparkling Americano that’s full of bubbles while still maintaining a distinct coffee flavor.The spoon-back buffering method is a little secret shared among many baristas.

Additionally, many beginners wonder why the crema becomes so unstable when it comes into contact with sparkling water. This actually has to do with the composition of the crema—it mainly consists of coffee oils, proteins, and tiny air bubbles, giving it a naturally fluffy structure. When this delicate foam structure comes into contact with high-pressure-released carbon dioxide, it rapidly expands and merges together, forming clumps of rough and uneven foam, which is the “lumpy foam” we often see.

Therefore, in addition to the three key techniques—scraping off the crema, slow pouring, and spoon-back buffering—getting the ratio of espresso to sparkling water right is also very important. It’s recommended to maintain the golden ratio of a double shot of espresso (40g) with 120ml of sparkling water. This maintains the coffee flavor without diluting the refreshing quality of the bubbles due to too much liquid. If you prefer a stronger coffee taste, you can slightly increase the amount of espresso, but it’s best not to exceed 60g, as it may overpower the refreshing character of the bubbles.

In summary, making a successful sparkling Americano isn’t difficult. The key lies in understanding the interaction between coffee oils and bubbles, and making simple adjustments to avoid common foam issues. Whether you’re using an espresso machine to brew a concentrated shot or using the pour over method to extract a high-concentration coffee liquid yourself, as long as you master the ratio and steps, you can easily enjoy this refreshing and flavorful specialty drink at home.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.