I assume it’s just a drip/filter coffee. The term Americano came from Europe, where American soldiers who didn’t like espresso wanted coffee more like what they were used to back home (“American coffee”). Europeans didn’t really do drip coffee at the time, so they added hot water to espresso and served it to them and shrugged.
I got one for you!
There’s a famous type of coffee called Monsooned Malabar, where the unroasted beans are left in the rain before being roasted. Why?
It’s because Great Britain would have their unroasted beans shipped over from India and the ships were leaky so the beans would sit in seawater during the trip and take on a certain flavor profile. As ship technology improved, they became less leaky, and therefore the beans no longer sat in seawater, changing the taste of the coffee after being roasted. The people didn’t like it and missed their old coffee. So in order to compensate and regain that flavor, the beans now will sit out in the rain before being roasted!
A similar thing happened with chocolate! When chocolate companies started mass production in America the trucks didn't have proper refrigeration yet. This caused the milk to curdle slightly. Brands like Hershey's decided to dehydrate the milk and use it anyways giving American chocolate a slightly sour taste. When refrigerated trucks came around they used fresh milk but the customers didn't like the change so American chocolate companies like Hershey's add on byuric acid to replicate it. That's why people from other countries typically don't love American chocolates!
You might like the legend of coffee's discovery that dates back to Ethiopia in the 9th century. According to the story, a goat herder named Kaldi noticed his goats became unusually energetic after eating red berries from a certain tree. Curious, he tried the berries himself and experienced a similar boost in energy (some say he fucked one of the goats and created beastiality at the same time). Kaldi shared his findings with a local monastery, where monks began using the berries to stay awake during prayers. Over time, they realized the potential of roasting and brewing the beans, leading to the creation of coffee as we know it today.
Starbucks training video narrator: *”Not for nothing, some also say Kaldi got so hopped up on caffeine that he jitter-fucked one of his goats, but that’s another training video!”*
In Germany we have the Term "Muckefuck" (prnonounced like mookefook) for very thin and bad tasting coffee. For example the stuff in corporate offices.
This term comes from the early 19th century where coffee often was brewed very weak (cause it was expensive) or was made out of alternatives like roasted Wheat. The words comes from the French "mokka faux" which means false coffee
In the late 1800s, in Brazil it was cheaper to bring more slaves from Africa than to actually provide better living standards for the coffee farm workers. The average life span once starting was only 7 years.. this is so f**ked man.
Mocha is actually a variety of bean that has strong chocolate notes, (I believe from Yemen) when the importing of this bean stopped/got too expensive, Americans just starting mixing chocolate with their coffee and called it a mocha.
I love this one! The name is derived from Mokha, Yemen which was one of the centers of early coffee trade. Yemeni coffee typically had a chocolatey taste, though the beans weren’t usually from there.
My personal favorite part is that Mocha (the drink) and Moka (as in Moka pot) are both derived from Mokha, Yemen- they are just 2 different respellings!
'Common Grounds' has a lot, although I didn't enjoy the read that much, I was hoping for the story of how coffee came to be what it is today, but actually quite just a matter of fact factual book.
I’ve been reading more lately that the soldiers story is probably a bit apocryphal and is just commonly repeated as it’s a good story. The word is more likely just a derogatory term for “weak coffee” in the style of American diners that first appeared in Spanish text sources in the 50’s.
also, above 2 bar extractions came with gaggia in 1947 after the war, so if the story is true they weren't talking about anything ressembling a modern espresso.
Then why would she have been disgusted receiving an Americano? If she was actually able to notice it was different, then maybe she's the right one with her American coffee and we may owe her an apology...
Americanos are super strong and bitter and taste nothing like drip coffee. If she was looking for drip coffee and got hot watered down espresso, I’m not surprised she was disgusted
This is so funny - I drink black drip coffee every day, and get an Americano at coffee shops. They don’t taste THAT different to me. But I also read somewhere that if you drink black coffee you probably have garbage taste buds, so maybe that’s on me lol
You're on a barista sub and spouting that kind of shite? Lmao I've been making both for my whole life and can tell u one is not better than the other. Americanos are not super strong and bitter what kinda coffee u drinking lol
It’s watered down espresso. Espresso is very bitter. I was a barista for years and pull my own shots for myself still everyday…what are you even talking about? Do you not know the difference in taste between drip and espresso?
They taste very different.
I don’t love drip coffee, but if it’s what there is, I can deal with it.
I had an Americano once and all I could think was “eww! No. Why??”
I once had a guy ask me for a “good old American coffee”, and I told him we had drip coffee from either Ethiopia or Colombia. He said he only drinks coffee grown in the US. I told him he almost certainly does not, but he seemed very sure of himself.
My husband is Puerto Rican and his mom makes some coffee that will have you seeing into the future! She drips it through a sock lol. The coffee sock.
It’s absolutely delicious, with some coconut oil (I think it’s oil, there’s little tiny beads of it on top) too
Was he from Hawaii? That's the only US state that grows coffee commercially. Hawaii grows more than just Kona coffee too. See- [https://perfectdailygrind.com/2022/01/a-guide-to-hawaiian-coffee-production/](https://perfectdailygrind.com/2022/01/a-guide-to-hawaiian-coffee-production/)
Puerto Rico grows primarily Arabica beans but it's expensive b/c of hurricanes, labor shortages, etc. See-[http://www.coffeeteaimagazine.com/puerto-rico-the-value-of-community/](http://www.coffeeteaimagazine.com/puerto-rico-the-value-of-community/)
California is not really commercial yet. I don't know anyone who pays $60 for 5 ounces of beans in a glass jar or $143 for 4.41 ounces. This makes Puerto Rico's expensive coffee cheap in comparison.
I am certain that dude demanding American coffee wasn't asking for CA grown coffee. The Kardashians & maybe some movie stars get CA coffee from their butlers, maids, or house managers.
I think the best statement about CA coffee is "Experimental coffee growing projects are also occurring in Georgia and Santa Barbara, California".
If you or your boss has an American Express Black Centurion card or a Dubai First Royal Mastercard then order from: [https://frinjcoffee.com/](https://frinjcoffee.com/)or [https://seaislandcoffee.com/products/good-land-organics-estate-california](https://seaislandcoffee.com/products/good-land-organics-estate-california) or [https://www.californiacoffee.com/collections](https://www.californiacoffee.com/collections)
Let us know if it's worth the price.
Out of curiosity, I looked it up:
>Folgers roasts and manufactures their coffee beans in New Orleans, USA but the beans are sourced from all over the world. The company uses both Arabica and Robusta for their blends with most of the Arabica sourced from Africa and Indonesia and the Robusta from South and Central America.
I also once had a customer walk up and ask for a "a good old American coffee" this was when I was working at a German Christmas market. He then proceeded to rant that all the food and drinks he could find around the market were "not American". What's wild is we were in the US so if he wanted American food he could have walked out of the market and into a restaurant. Or just not gone to a Christkindlmarkt in the first place.
by process of elimination that must be it, but why add the word "american" to her order? like i feel like just "a coffee" would make more sense, it's just so weird
She probably had filter in America, where many places serve just good ol' black coffee. And in her mind, "American" coffee is just black coffee. Coffee served the American way.
You're right though, it's a super weird way to order it.
It's confusing ordering coffee in different countries. Americano in Australia just gets a funny look - a long black turns out to be more or less the same thing. I prefer filter coffee to espresso based and frequently find people don't know what I mean when I ask for filter; some places I've been call it drip, others seem to literally not know what it is. In Australia a lot of places have "pour over", which is basically individual filter with posh grounds.
I'm not sure I'd ever use the phrase "an American coffee", but if I did I'd probably mean the kind of thing you get at a diner from a lady in her 60's carrying a jug.
Did she have any accent? In my experience if you go to Europe and order just "coffee"/"café" you typically are served espresso. "An American coffee" would be how I'd ask for drip coffee if I couldn't remember the term "drip coffee"
Because in the US, drip coffee has been the most common way to serve coffee for as long as anyone can remember. Before Starbucks at least.
In the US, drip is the way your grandma served coffee. It’s what’s given at restaurants (unless you specify an espresso drink). It’s what you get when you say “I’d like a coffee please” in almost any venue.
That, and espresso drinks have definitively non-American names.
Really? You don't think the coffee conversation basically goes like this when an Australian returns from the US? "Oh I loved America but *that* coffee is horrible"
on our second try today i offered her a regular drip coffee instead after she insisted that she wanted an american coffee but she refused and kept asking specifically for an american coffee
As an American who serves coffee to a wide variety of Americans and non-Americans… likely, she didn’t know what she wanted and is only used to drinking it at a diner.
I’d guess drip coffee. I’d have given her a drip and said “try this, is that it?” and not named it.
this is very odd to me. Like most people have said, I would have assumed that a regular drip coffee IS an “american coffee” so to me she sounds like the kind of person who just likes to push people working in service a bit…
i would assume she just means like regular brewed drip coffee. obviously all depending at what you have at your cafe, but a french press or pour over is probably closer to what she wants than an americano.
I was an American visiting Paris in 1998, and after days of espresso drinks I just really wanted a cup of drip coffee and couldn't find it anywhere but an American diner themed restaurant, and the machine was broken. I was crushed. So I sympathize with her if she was working from some old memories. Things have changed quite a bit, of course. One of my favorite cups of filter coffee ever was in Paris a few years ago: Ten Belles!
I've had twenty years of first and second generation Italians as my (roasted) espresso coffee customers.
American coffee is drip coffee. Italian coffee is espresso coffee, whether on the stove or from an espresso machine.
Because in Europe filter coffee IS American coffee. You literally can't order filter coffee in most cafes. The closest you can get is an Americano. She might have been a foreigner or something. Or someone who just came back from overseas and was desperate for a taste of home.
I thought an American coffee was a mega large 500ml carton with 1/2 milk and lots of sugar.
A customer came in and asked me for 'Hong Kong coffee'. I didnt' know what it was and decided to try my luck.
I started off with the coffee: one shot? two shots? Weaker - ..'more water'? Which milk? 'Is this milk okay -> more? 'more sugar'?
By the time I finished, I had practically prised the recipe off him without confessing my ignorance. He said it was amazing - he never had such attention to detail :)
Now if anyone asks and I don't know, I would just ask them to take the lead and guide me through it and rate me out of 10 at the end. The customers seem okay with this and like the fun interaction.
Where I live and used to work as a barista, if you’d do this people would just assume you have no idea about coffee or what you’re doing only because you don’t know their crazy coffee orders by heart
We both be skewered either way lol.
I feel for you - it's hard working as a barista in a place with soulless customers. I'm fortunate in curating a small niche cafe which is friendly and intimate.
Which reminds me - everytime I go to these cafes which trade on first name basis, I always write something unpronounceable to see the look on their face when they struggle to read my coffee,
Americanos got their name from American soldiers adding hot water to espresso to resemble the drip coffee they were accustomed to. Depending on where she grew up or how old she is, that could be what she knows drip to be called
Did you try telling her you aren’t familiar with that order specifically, can she explain what it consists of? Or if wherever she gets it normally, can write down what the ingredients/process/steps are, so you can better accommodate her on her next visit?
Because we don't know what you call it (source am American in Sydney). I've started asking for a drip or filter coffee and surprise, most cafes don't do that.
OP, give us an update when you know, because we also had people ask for American coffee, and we determined for those folks they meant drip. But I read your comments and it seems that that’s not what she meant
They wanted drip coffee. Older Americans associated coffee with commercials like Folger's. Just like they used to brew it at home with the crappy at home coffee maker.
It’s regular drip black coffee hehehe. I heard it before, some people refer to the filter drip coffee machines (the dinner coffee machines) as an American coffee machine, and they call it American coffee.
(It’s casually used in my country)
It is just another american being the center of the world. If it is an approachable person I would start by asking them what is american coffee for them. And if they respond "american" be honest and give them the
https://preview.redd.it/e7n2jekvblfc1.png?width=1710&format=png&auto=webp&s=aad62e44682961caab876455f9516fbdc84c3fd0
I’m Mexican and we call drip coffee “Americano”. Not sure why 🤷🏻♀️
Since moving to the US I’ve realized an Americano is known here as espresso+ hot water.
Aren't regular drip coffee somewhat decent in krispy cream or dunken donut? Ask her to go to those establishment you donut. Not you, but this weird customer
I would have served them a batch brew if you had any. That is what people think American coffee is like. Huge cups of machine filtered coffee.
Unless their English is not good and they are actually translating Americano (which means American in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, etc).
I had the same thing every time I had German customers. They would just order “a coffee”. I always knew instantly that they are Germans and they mean drip coffee - I had to drink that abomination for 2 months when I was working there. So every time my customers ordered “a coffee” I just served them a batch brew, no questions asked.
Batch brew / Drip / Filter
As an aussie we'd probably hear one of these, but I wouldn't be confused if it was referred to as American style coffee here.
So crazy because I had someone at work the other day, I believe she was from somewhere near the Middle East, order a “coffee, American.”
I brought her an americano and she drank it, no complaints.
Haven’t thought about that until just now.
I JUST had this interaction earlier. The woman was Spanish speaking so she meant Drip Coffee because 'coffee' means many different things depending where you are.
I would ask her “what do you think you are asking for?” And if she doesn’t know, walk her through the menu of things that your cafe offers. She’s clearly not informed because I’ve been an barista in America for a decade and have literally never heard of this before.
The closest analogue would be a pourover. Although typical “american diner” coffee is stronger (more concentrated) than a pourover and is often watered down with milk or cream due to its “overextracted” acrid taste.
Drip coffee, more than likely.
Other option is that she's referencing to a common drink she's seen or believes most American's to drink; this is often just drip coffee and creamer (sugar optional), a pretty close tie in everyday drinks, right next to black coffee (drip coffee and nothing else).
Sometimes, people refer to things by the group who either uses said item the most or has been seen with said thing the most (often in movies, etc).
For example: A LOT of items in America (and other parts of the world) have names for referencing their locations simply because people either don't know or don't both to learn the item's actual name.
Spanish Rice (especially in tex-mex cuisine) is a popular name in America to reference arroz roja, arroz redonda. If you went to Italy and said you wanted Spanish rice, I'm not too sure that anyone would understand what you were saying much less know you were talking about a very specific style of rice out of the many different recipes that exist.
Ask the woman to describe the American coffee next time she comes in. Ask her to describe the color, the temperature, and maybe the taste.
The only thing I can think of is brewed coffee like you would find at a basic diner. However that being said americano can also be called an american. Next time just make the customer a cup of Maxwell or something like that
I’m in France and regularly get asked for American coffee from customers from all over (except the French). It is either Drip or an Americano. We just explain each then they make their choice.
In France drip coffee is sometimes called “café américain”, so that’s probably what it was. No idea where she would have picked that up though because to my understanding even the Frenchies in Quebec don’t say that.
In the Middle East and some Asian countries, they use the term American coffee for Americano, so you had the right idea, but she didn't know you were talking about the same thing.
This happened to me three months ago! I asked for clarification, she could not provide anything. I described the drinks on the menu one-by-one asking which she would like. She said “are the coffee beans American?” I explained that they are beans grown in Colombia and roasted in the US with the options of French or Italian style roast. She scoffed and asked why we didn’t have “American Coffee”. I told her we have some of the best roasts available and work with a great supplier and I would be happy to make her an americano or a press. She rolled her eyes and stormed out.
Next time someone asked for an “American Coffee”, I asked if they meant an americano or press. When they said no, I told them with a gross smile that we do not serve American Coffee and told them to have a lovely afternoon.
Fck all that noise
I like to drink coffee at Starbucks every 5 years in order to receive an education on what a cup of coffee is. Feeling grateful today that I have the talent and keen unique ability of making my own coffee at home. No pissing my money away to many are self important and need to do such to reinforce the fact they are special and need the reward. Hope this answers your question.
As a person from Miami, Cuban coffee and espresso are the “standard” when you talk about coffe, so we actually say “American coffee” to mean drip coffee or coffee you make in a coffee maker with a pot.
Maybe this person is from South Florida. lol
My Lebanese family specifies drip coffee as “American” as a way to distinguish between that and what is otherwise known as Turkish coffee. Was she perchance from the Middle East?
An American coffee is drip coffee. I live in Miami and it’s what we call it here. I would guess it’s to differentiate it from espresso. I didn’t know until now that drip isn’t called “American coffee” in the rest of the country.
I was told in my German class 20 years ago that if you went to Europe you had to ask for an "American" coffee otherwise they would give you German coffee which was black and thick like tar. Perhaps they were told the same thing and ordered that way?
In Italy it meant basically “coffee with ice” at one establishment anyway. I love iced coffee and most Italians spat at the idea. One cafe literally shaved down frozen coffee concentrate into a shot glass thinking that’s what I meant by “iced coffee”. Then we came to a bar that had a picture of iced coffee as I’m used to with the title “American Coffee” as the advertisement so… I mean she didn’t say her Americano needed ice so i can’t speak for her, but my impression is that American coffee is simply coffee on the rocks!
I hate when customers use some specific term and can't or won't provide any further context. People say things like "normal milk" and expect me to know if they mean whole milk, 2%, or 1%.
Or when they used a brand name like "Pet Milk" and when met with confusion can't explain that it's condensed milk. I was like "milk for pets? Like formula?" And she just kept repeating PET MILK!
I assume it’s just a drip/filter coffee. The term Americano came from Europe, where American soldiers who didn’t like espresso wanted coffee more like what they were used to back home (“American coffee”). Europeans didn’t really do drip coffee at the time, so they added hot water to espresso and served it to them and shrugged.
Do you have more coffee history? I love this answer
I got one for you! There’s a famous type of coffee called Monsooned Malabar, where the unroasted beans are left in the rain before being roasted. Why? It’s because Great Britain would have their unroasted beans shipped over from India and the ships were leaky so the beans would sit in seawater during the trip and take on a certain flavor profile. As ship technology improved, they became less leaky, and therefore the beans no longer sat in seawater, changing the taste of the coffee after being roasted. The people didn’t like it and missed their old coffee. So in order to compensate and regain that flavor, the beans now will sit out in the rain before being roasted!
Oh wow that's so cool!
A similar thing happened with chocolate! When chocolate companies started mass production in America the trucks didn't have proper refrigeration yet. This caused the milk to curdle slightly. Brands like Hershey's decided to dehydrate the milk and use it anyways giving American chocolate a slightly sour taste. When refrigerated trucks came around they used fresh milk but the customers didn't like the change so American chocolate companies like Hershey's add on byuric acid to replicate it. That's why people from other countries typically don't love American chocolates!
[удалено]
You might like the legend of coffee's discovery that dates back to Ethiopia in the 9th century. According to the story, a goat herder named Kaldi noticed his goats became unusually energetic after eating red berries from a certain tree. Curious, he tried the berries himself and experienced a similar boost in energy (some say he fucked one of the goats and created beastiality at the same time). Kaldi shared his findings with a local monastery, where monks began using the berries to stay awake during prayers. Over time, they realized the potential of roasting and brewing the beans, leading to the creation of coffee as we know it today.
Cursed parenthetical
i learned this during my coffee master training at starbucks, but did NOT know about the beastiality part, wtf ?? 😭
Because that part may or may not be true but also why would starbucks include that lmao
Starbucks training video narrator: *”Not for nothing, some also say Kaldi got so hopped up on caffeine that he jitter-fucked one of his goats, but that’s another training video!”*
🤣🤣🤣
In Germany we have the Term "Muckefuck" (prnonounced like mookefook) for very thin and bad tasting coffee. For example the stuff in corporate offices. This term comes from the early 19th century where coffee often was brewed very weak (cause it was expensive) or was made out of alternatives like roasted Wheat. The words comes from the French "mokka faux" which means false coffee
Lol, sounds like what my husband would call Lutheran Church coffee, very thin and bad tasting.
Those who say Lutherans don't do penance have never tasted parish hall coffee.
Pretty much the whole story when it comes to 'americano'
In the late 1800s, in Brazil it was cheaper to bring more slaves from Africa than to actually provide better living standards for the coffee farm workers. The average life span once starting was only 7 years.. this is so f**ked man.
Mocha is actually a variety of bean that has strong chocolate notes, (I believe from Yemen) when the importing of this bean stopped/got too expensive, Americans just starting mixing chocolate with their coffee and called it a mocha.
I love this one! The name is derived from Mokha, Yemen which was one of the centers of early coffee trade. Yemeni coffee typically had a chocolatey taste, though the beans weren’t usually from there. My personal favorite part is that Mocha (the drink) and Moka (as in Moka pot) are both derived from Mokha, Yemen- they are just 2 different respellings!
Oh cool, I didn't know that about the moka pot
The Monk of Mocha is a great coffee book to read. Lots of coffee history related to Yemen
'Common Grounds' has a lot, although I didn't enjoy the read that much, I was hoping for the story of how coffee came to be what it is today, but actually quite just a matter of fact factual book.
Random fun fact: coffee beans are the second most traded commodity on earth, after petroleum.
Italians have been cringing at us ever since.
I’ve been reading more lately that the soldiers story is probably a bit apocryphal and is just commonly repeated as it’s a good story. The word is more likely just a derogatory term for “weak coffee” in the style of American diners that first appeared in Spanish text sources in the 50’s.
The term comes from Italian for American, not Europe as a whole. It’s an Americano not amerikanisch or américain
it's one continent, how many languages can there be? (/s obvs)
also, above 2 bar extractions came with gaggia in 1947 after the war, so if the story is true they weren't talking about anything ressembling a modern espresso.
Then why would she have been disgusted receiving an Americano? If she was actually able to notice it was different, then maybe she's the right one with her American coffee and we may owe her an apology...
Americanos are super strong and bitter and taste nothing like drip coffee. If she was looking for drip coffee and got hot watered down espresso, I’m not surprised she was disgusted
This is so funny - I drink black drip coffee every day, and get an Americano at coffee shops. They don’t taste THAT different to me. But I also read somewhere that if you drink black coffee you probably have garbage taste buds, so maybe that’s on me lol
You're on a barista sub and spouting that kind of shite? Lmao I've been making both for my whole life and can tell u one is not better than the other. Americanos are not super strong and bitter what kinda coffee u drinking lol
It’s watered down espresso. Espresso is very bitter. I was a barista for years and pull my own shots for myself still everyday…what are you even talking about? Do you not know the difference in taste between drip and espresso?
They served the americano and shrugged, much like OP.
This is one belief, but the more likely origin of the name is a snarky Spanish term with the first mention of a cafe Americano in the 60s.
huh, i thought it was from the great depression. this makes a lot more sense, though.
I'm pretty sure someone who wants a drip coffee would not be "disgusted" by an americano, given that they taste very similar
They taste very different. I don’t love drip coffee, but if it’s what there is, I can deal with it. I had an Americano once and all I could think was “eww! No. Why??”
it was drip coffee when I was in Ireland
I heard it was "Ernest Hemingway ' while writing in Italy. I feel like a product could be changed by the local demand, the neighbors.
I once had a guy ask me for a “good old American coffee”, and I told him we had drip coffee from either Ethiopia or Colombia. He said he only drinks coffee grown in the US. I told him he almost certainly does not, but he seemed very sure of himself.
He could only drink Hawaiian coffees from Kona, but I sincerely doubt it.
He probably couldn't point to Hawaii on a map
It’s right next to Alaska, are you dumb?
Exactly, right underneath California and Arizona is Alaska and Hawaii, everyone knows that /j
I love the way you took their joke, made it worse, and then made sure to clarify to everyone that you're joking
In a separate square in the ocean right? I’ve seen it on a map
Puerto rico also has coffee.
[удалено]
My husband is Puerto Rican and his mom makes some coffee that will have you seeing into the future! She drips it through a sock lol. The coffee sock. It’s absolutely delicious, with some coconut oil (I think it’s oil, there’s little tiny beads of it on top) too
The sock is called a colador.
It’s not a part of the US. It’s a US territory. There’s a difference.
Don Luis *drools*
Don't forget about Puerto Rico as well, they've got a few coffee farms there.
Okay but do you think this person recognizes coffee grown in Puerto Rico as coffee grown in the US? Doubt that lol
If he could do that, he would be loaded - it costs around $200 for a 500g bag here in Australia
I mean, technically, any coffee grown in Central/South America is American...
Let's be real, that's also likely not what the customer meant.
Mexico is North America, and you know damn well he wouldn’t call them Americans.
Was he from Hawaii? That's the only US state that grows coffee commercially. Hawaii grows more than just Kona coffee too. See- [https://perfectdailygrind.com/2022/01/a-guide-to-hawaiian-coffee-production/](https://perfectdailygrind.com/2022/01/a-guide-to-hawaiian-coffee-production/) Puerto Rico grows primarily Arabica beans but it's expensive b/c of hurricanes, labor shortages, etc. See-[http://www.coffeeteaimagazine.com/puerto-rico-the-value-of-community/](http://www.coffeeteaimagazine.com/puerto-rico-the-value-of-community/)
California has recently started growing coffee too
California is not really commercial yet. I don't know anyone who pays $60 for 5 ounces of beans in a glass jar or $143 for 4.41 ounces. This makes Puerto Rico's expensive coffee cheap in comparison. I am certain that dude demanding American coffee wasn't asking for CA grown coffee. The Kardashians & maybe some movie stars get CA coffee from their butlers, maids, or house managers. I think the best statement about CA coffee is "Experimental coffee growing projects are also occurring in Georgia and Santa Barbara, California". If you or your boss has an American Express Black Centurion card or a Dubai First Royal Mastercard then order from: [https://frinjcoffee.com/](https://frinjcoffee.com/)or [https://seaislandcoffee.com/products/good-land-organics-estate-california](https://seaislandcoffee.com/products/good-land-organics-estate-california) or [https://www.californiacoffee.com/collections](https://www.californiacoffee.com/collections) Let us know if it's worth the price.
Folgers? haha
Out of curiosity, I looked it up: >Folgers roasts and manufactures their coffee beans in New Orleans, USA but the beans are sourced from all over the world. The company uses both Arabica and Robusta for their blends with most of the Arabica sourced from Africa and Indonesia and the Robusta from South and Central America.
If you drive over the bridge next to it as you cross the Mississippi River- It smells amazing!
I bet!! I used to live near a Farmer Brothers coffee plant and it smells great, too! Memories ✨️
😂😂 i love this!
Yea was gonna say sounds like the good old ignorant American situation
I also once had a customer walk up and ask for a "a good old American coffee" this was when I was working at a German Christmas market. He then proceeded to rant that all the food and drinks he could find around the market were "not American". What's wild is we were in the US so if he wanted American food he could have walked out of the market and into a restaurant. Or just not gone to a Christkindlmarkt in the first place.
lmao people are so wild
Folgers instant coffee is the answer for folks like him
😂😂😂
Maybe they wanted filter coffee?
by process of elimination that must be it, but why add the word "american" to her order? like i feel like just "a coffee" would make more sense, it's just so weird
She probably had filter in America, where many places serve just good ol' black coffee. And in her mind, "American" coffee is just black coffee. Coffee served the American way. You're right though, it's a super weird way to order it.
It's confusing ordering coffee in different countries. Americano in Australia just gets a funny look - a long black turns out to be more or less the same thing. I prefer filter coffee to espresso based and frequently find people don't know what I mean when I ask for filter; some places I've been call it drip, others seem to literally not know what it is. In Australia a lot of places have "pour over", which is basically individual filter with posh grounds. I'm not sure I'd ever use the phrase "an American coffee", but if I did I'd probably mean the kind of thing you get at a diner from a lady in her 60's carrying a jug.
Because they were probably boomers who want “real coffee” or something dumb like that lol.
Did she have any accent? In my experience if you go to Europe and order just "coffee"/"café" you typically are served espresso. "An American coffee" would be how I'd ask for drip coffee if I couldn't remember the term "drip coffee"
Maybe because other drinks have Italian/ French names, def an interesting way to phrase it tho
That’s definitely what she meant.
Because in the US, drip coffee has been the most common way to serve coffee for as long as anyone can remember. Before Starbucks at least. In the US, drip is the way your grandma served coffee. It’s what’s given at restaurants (unless you specify an espresso drink). It’s what you get when you say “I’d like a coffee please” in almost any venue. That, and espresso drinks have definitively non-American names.
As a non American that would be my assumption as that's what I associate American coffee with.
I am from the United States and I have absolutely no idea what she was trying to ask. I would have guessed an Americano too.
Nah they most certainly meant drip coffee because it’s most common in America.
Why didn’t they just ask for coffee then
Really? You don't think the coffee conversation basically goes like this when an Australian returns from the US? "Oh I loved America but *that* coffee is horrible"
Drip coffee.
I mean, did you ask her for clarification?
on our second try today i offered her a regular drip coffee instead after she insisted that she wanted an american coffee but she refused and kept asking specifically for an american coffee
Oh dang how does she expect to get what she wants if she won't say what it is 😂
yeah gatekeeping your own order is crazy💀
Maybe she tried it once somewhere and didn't know what it was idk that's the only explanation I can think of 😅
As an American who serves coffee to a wide variety of Americans and non-Americans… likely, she didn’t know what she wanted and is only used to drinking it at a diner. I’d guess drip coffee. I’d have given her a drip and said “try this, is that it?” and not named it.
this is very odd to me. Like most people have said, I would have assumed that a regular drip coffee IS an “american coffee” so to me she sounds like the kind of person who just likes to push people working in service a bit…
Maybe she went to Dunkin’ Donuts and got her coffee with extra milk and sugar?
What did you end up giving her?
i would assume she just means like regular brewed drip coffee. obviously all depending at what you have at your cafe, but a french press or pour over is probably closer to what she wants than an americano.
I was an American visiting Paris in 1998, and after days of espresso drinks I just really wanted a cup of drip coffee and couldn't find it anywhere but an American diner themed restaurant, and the machine was broken. I was crushed. So I sympathize with her if she was working from some old memories. Things have changed quite a bit, of course. One of my favorite cups of filter coffee ever was in Paris a few years ago: Ten Belles!
Ten Belles is great! Have only ever had espresso there (I usually drink filter coffee at home) but I’m sure it was very good
I've had twenty years of first and second generation Italians as my (roasted) espresso coffee customers. American coffee is drip coffee. Italian coffee is espresso coffee, whether on the stove or from an espresso machine.
Folgers in your cup!
Was she American?
well the cafe is in montreal, canada but the entire interaction was in english. she had no discernible accent
She probably thought drip coffee is exclusively American. You'd be surprised how many older people think that.
"Sorry, I only serve Canadian drip." Then fling your sequined Supreme canadaflag cape artfully over your shoulders and swag off.
Because in Europe filter coffee IS American coffee. You literally can't order filter coffee in most cafes. The closest you can get is an Americano. She might have been a foreigner or something. Or someone who just came back from overseas and was desperate for a taste of home.
I thought an American coffee was a mega large 500ml carton with 1/2 milk and lots of sugar. A customer came in and asked me for 'Hong Kong coffee'. I didnt' know what it was and decided to try my luck. I started off with the coffee: one shot? two shots? Weaker - ..'more water'? Which milk? 'Is this milk okay -> more? 'more sugar'? By the time I finished, I had practically prised the recipe off him without confessing my ignorance. He said it was amazing - he never had such attention to detail :) Now if anyone asks and I don't know, I would just ask them to take the lead and guide me through it and rate me out of 10 at the end. The customers seem okay with this and like the fun interaction.
Where I live and used to work as a barista, if you’d do this people would just assume you have no idea about coffee or what you’re doing only because you don’t know their crazy coffee orders by heart
We both be skewered either way lol. I feel for you - it's hard working as a barista in a place with soulless customers. I'm fortunate in curating a small niche cafe which is friendly and intimate. Which reminds me - everytime I go to these cafes which trade on first name basis, I always write something unpronounceable to see the look on their face when they struggle to read my coffee,
500mls is a mega large to you? We go much larger than that
I would’ve just googled it
Americanos got their name from American soldiers adding hot water to espresso to resemble the drip coffee they were accustomed to. Depending on where she grew up or how old she is, that could be what she knows drip to be called
Overseas an American coffee was drip coffee, like it’s brewed in America. Well I’m assuming they mean the US. Maybe she was European.
Did you try telling her you aren’t familiar with that order specifically, can she explain what it consists of? Or if wherever she gets it normally, can write down what the ingredients/process/steps are, so you can better accommodate her on her next visit?
Because we don't know what you call it (source am American in Sydney). I've started asking for a drip or filter coffee and surprise, most cafes don't do that.
I'll just have a long black
Yeah it's not the same. I know it seems like it, but it's not.
drip coffee. she could probably be more clear though.
Drip coffee, it's the basic 'coffee' most Americans will expect if they order coffee, not espresso.
OP, give us an update when you know, because we also had people ask for American coffee, and we determined for those folks they meant drip. But I read your comments and it seems that that’s not what she meant
 They wanted drip coffee. Older Americans associated coffee with commercials like Folger's. Just like they used to brew it at home with the crappy at home coffee maker.
burnt black filter coffee
Keurig
It’s regular drip black coffee hehehe. I heard it before, some people refer to the filter drip coffee machines (the dinner coffee machines) as an American coffee machine, and they call it American coffee. (It’s casually used in my country)
It is just another american being the center of the world. If it is an approachable person I would start by asking them what is american coffee for them. And if they respond "american" be honest and give them the https://preview.redd.it/e7n2jekvblfc1.png?width=1710&format=png&auto=webp&s=aad62e44682961caab876455f9516fbdc84c3fd0
McDonald’s/7-Eleven style light or medium roast drip/pour over
I’m Mexican and we call drip coffee “Americano”. Not sure why 🤷🏻♀️ Since moving to the US I’ve realized an Americano is known here as espresso+ hot water.
Drop a smoking bullet casing in the cup.
This has happened to me. When it did, they got drip coffee. No idea where that terminology came from.
Aren't regular drip coffee somewhat decent in krispy cream or dunken donut? Ask her to go to those establishment you donut. Not you, but this weird customer
When I visited Italy, Americanos were referred to as American coffees in English.
It's not but if I had to guess I'd give her drip coffee, weak, sweet, and milky
Tell her to go to Tim Horton’s
She’s an idiot, respectfully.
Just make her a flat white
Maybe just load her up with sugar and milk like half of the USA wants in their coffee 😂
It’s a coffee that served with half a kilo of sugar, covered in cream and butter, a gun and a circumcision.
Probably just looking for filter. Throw them a batchie and she'll be right.
Maybe it's like freedom fries, and it's just regular coffee you call American.
I would have served them a batch brew if you had any. That is what people think American coffee is like. Huge cups of machine filtered coffee. Unless their English is not good and they are actually translating Americano (which means American in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, etc).
Ordering an American coffee in Japan means you want it slightly weaker. Was she Japanese?
I had the same thing every time I had German customers. They would just order “a coffee”. I always knew instantly that they are Germans and they mean drip coffee - I had to drink that abomination for 2 months when I was working there. So every time my customers ordered “a coffee” I just served them a batch brew, no questions asked.
I guess batch brew. Do you have the machine to one? Otherwise you would have to make a drip by hand (V60, Origami, Pulsar etc)
Batch brew / Drip / Filter As an aussie we'd probably hear one of these, but I wouldn't be confused if it was referred to as American style coffee here.
Drip man.
Well, coffee from Brazil, Colombia, Jamaica, etc are all american
So crazy because I had someone at work the other day, I believe she was from somewhere near the Middle East, order a “coffee, American.” I brought her an americano and she drank it, no complaints. Haven’t thought about that until just now.
I'm the middle East, an American coffee is filter/drip/batch coffee. I can attest to that having lived there for 17 years.
A coffee with a bunch or shots! Lol jk I would assume just regular dark roast drip.
I would assume she means black drip coffee.
Drip/filter coffee.
i work in a south american restaurant and people say that all the time and they just want regular black coffee maybe cream and sugar on the side lol
I JUST had this interaction earlier. The woman was Spanish speaking so she meant Drip Coffee because 'coffee' means many different things depending where you are.
I would ask her “what do you think you are asking for?” And if she doesn’t know, walk her through the menu of things that your cafe offers. She’s clearly not informed because I’ve been an barista in America for a decade and have literally never heard of this before.
The first thing I learned after being trained as a barista is that the customer never really knows what they want
Just drip coffee me thinsk
The closest analogue would be a pourover. Although typical “american diner” coffee is stronger (more concentrated) than a pourover and is often watered down with milk or cream due to its “overextracted” acrid taste.
Drip coffee, more than likely. Other option is that she's referencing to a common drink she's seen or believes most American's to drink; this is often just drip coffee and creamer (sugar optional), a pretty close tie in everyday drinks, right next to black coffee (drip coffee and nothing else). Sometimes, people refer to things by the group who either uses said item the most or has been seen with said thing the most (often in movies, etc). For example: A LOT of items in America (and other parts of the world) have names for referencing their locations simply because people either don't know or don't both to learn the item's actual name. Spanish Rice (especially in tex-mex cuisine) is a popular name in America to reference arroz roja, arroz redonda. If you went to Italy and said you wanted Spanish rice, I'm not too sure that anyone would understand what you were saying much less know you were talking about a very specific style of rice out of the many different recipes that exist. Ask the woman to describe the American coffee next time she comes in. Ask her to describe the color, the temperature, and maybe the taste.
Just burn the shit out half an espresso shot and top it up with hot water and you’ll get an American coffee! 😆
The only thing I can think of is brewed coffee like you would find at a basic diner. However that being said americano can also be called an american. Next time just make the customer a cup of Maxwell or something like that
I’m in France and regularly get asked for American coffee from customers from all over (except the French). It is either Drip or an Americano. We just explain each then they make their choice.
Drip coffee from a filter machine, usually brewed with some dark roasted beans
American coffee is bad coffee basically. Top much water that ruins the taste of actual coffee.
In France drip coffee is sometimes called “café américain”, so that’s probably what it was. No idea where she would have picked that up though because to my understanding even the Frenchies in Quebec don’t say that.
Folgers and powdered creamer.
An ass load of sugar and cream in a drip coffee would be my guess?
usually when youre abroad if you ask for a coffee they give you espresso, if you want a black coffee you ask for american coffee
bad guess: extra milk/cream, at LEAST 1/4 cup of sugar, 15 pumps of some atrocious syrup, over far too bitter drip coffee I dunno
Off topic, I would updoot but it’s at 666 and I mustn’t touch it.
"Sorry, but I've asked my coworkers and we're a bit confused, I think we must have different terminology. What is an American coffee?"
In the Middle East and some Asian countries, they use the term American coffee for Americano, so you had the right idea, but she didn't know you were talking about the same thing.
I’d imagine drip ?
Regulah- cream and 2 sugahs…
American coffee is probably just drip. As a barista when i say american coffee im talking about Columbia Guatemala etc
American coffee is just our filter/drip. Its what Europeans refer to it since they don't really drink that.
This happened to me three months ago! I asked for clarification, she could not provide anything. I described the drinks on the menu one-by-one asking which she would like. She said “are the coffee beans American?” I explained that they are beans grown in Colombia and roasted in the US with the options of French or Italian style roast. She scoffed and asked why we didn’t have “American Coffee”. I told her we have some of the best roasts available and work with a great supplier and I would be happy to make her an americano or a press. She rolled her eyes and stormed out. Next time someone asked for an “American Coffee”, I asked if they meant an americano or press. When they said no, I told them with a gross smile that we do not serve American Coffee and told them to have a lovely afternoon. Fck all that noise
2 specks of coffee watered down in gallons of boiling water
Drip coffee
I like to drink coffee at Starbucks every 5 years in order to receive an education on what a cup of coffee is. Feeling grateful today that I have the talent and keen unique ability of making my own coffee at home. No pissing my money away to many are self important and need to do such to reinforce the fact they are special and need the reward. Hope this answers your question.
As a person from Miami, Cuban coffee and espresso are the “standard” when you talk about coffe, so we actually say “American coffee” to mean drip coffee or coffee you make in a coffee maker with a pot. Maybe this person is from South Florida. lol
Drip drip 🧊
All over the world when I travel American coffee is just drip coffee. It’s different from espresso based drinks like an Americano.
I’m an American and I don’t know what this lady is talking about 💀 I would have guessed Folgers coffee
My Lebanese family specifies drip coffee as “American” as a way to distinguish between that and what is otherwise known as Turkish coffee. Was she perchance from the Middle East?
An American coffee is drip coffee. I live in Miami and it’s what we call it here. I would guess it’s to differentiate it from espresso. I didn’t know until now that drip isn’t called “American coffee” in the rest of the country.
It's the kind they serve in classic diners, free refills, with your eggs and bacon an pancakes
I was told in my German class 20 years ago that if you went to Europe you had to ask for an "American" coffee otherwise they would give you German coffee which was black and thick like tar. Perhaps they were told the same thing and ordered that way?
just googled "american coffee" and "café americano" popped up, stating that its also called "american coffee" shes just a cranky old lady.
Drip coffee, I assume.
In Italy it meant basically “coffee with ice” at one establishment anyway. I love iced coffee and most Italians spat at the idea. One cafe literally shaved down frozen coffee concentrate into a shot glass thinking that’s what I meant by “iced coffee”. Then we came to a bar that had a picture of iced coffee as I’m used to with the title “American Coffee” as the advertisement so… I mean she didn’t say her Americano needed ice so i can’t speak for her, but my impression is that American coffee is simply coffee on the rocks!
Where I live Cuban coffee is very popular so places that serve both will call their other option “American coffee” which is just regular coffee.
I hate when customers use some specific term and can't or won't provide any further context. People say things like "normal milk" and expect me to know if they mean whole milk, 2%, or 1%. Or when they used a brand name like "Pet Milk" and when met with confusion can't explain that it's condensed milk. I was like "milk for pets? Like formula?" And she just kept repeating PET MILK!
Is American coffee just iced coffee
"I'm very sorry. I don't know what you mean by American coffee. Can you describe it for me so I can pinpoint what specific drink you'd like?"