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Is American coffee black? What is the difference between American coffee and drip coffee?

Published: 2026-03-07 Author:

Last Updated: 2026/03/07, Contemporary migrant workers try to wake themselves up with a cup of coffee every morning, first to refresh themselves and second to complement breakfast. The last thing they welcome is the "dark" American coffee. Since each coffee shop has different positioning, raw materials used, and business models, the price of coffee naturally also varies.

Contemporary migrant workers try to wake themselves up with a cup of coffee every morning, first to refresh themselves and second to complement breakfast. The last thing they welcome is the "dark" American coffee.

Since each coffee shop has different positioning, raw materials used, and business models, the price of coffee naturally also varies. After careful observation, we can notice that the amount of money to buy an American cup ranges from single digits to tens. Some can even be refilled indefinitely. With such a large difference in prices, what are the differences in their practices and tastes?

American, what coffee can it be?

Front Street found that if compared with latte, Americano is actually a very broad concept, and its definition is also very confusing.

In the minds of many people, American coffee can be low-strength coffee made by adding a large amount of water to an espresso and diluting it, or it can be a light version of any kind of black coffee. For example, some friends will call French press coffee "American". Some people think that mocha pot coffee liquor mixed with water can also be called "American". Some friends are accustomed to calling black coffee made by drip filter machines "American." Because the definition of "American" is so general, whenever a customer comes to buy coffee beans, Qianjie will ask first: Which American style do you want to make?

Judging from the "American" currently sold, they can mainly be divided into two categories:

For most cafes in China, especially independent boutique coffee shops, the American style can be said to be the default black coffee made by an espresso machine and diluted with water in a suitable proportion. Because of its affordable price, refreshing taste and high acceptance, it is the standard drink in almost every coffee shop. However, due to price constraints, relatively few home users own espresso machines, so they usually appear in coffee shops.

The other is black coffee made from an electric-powered drip coffee maker, called drip coffee or brewed coffee in English. The price is usually only one-fifth or even one-tenth of that of an espresso machine. It is mainly used in offices, homes, hotels and other places. Because it was born in the United States, it is also called an American coffee maker, and the black coffee made is called "American."

Compared with Italian-style machines, the drip pot is very convenient to use. There is no need for pressure during extraction. The coffee powder is directly filtered and soaked in hot water, and then filtered with filter paper and filter screen. The coffee that comes out will taste relatively thin.

What is the difference between the two American coffees?

It is not difficult to see that these two "American coffees" are essentially relatively light black coffees, but due to the different production principles, there are still big differences in flavor. In order to find out the differences, we once tried using the former street golden mantinin coffee beans to make a cup of black coffee using an Italian machine and a drip machine, and then compared the differences between the two.

The parameter for Qianjie to use an espresso machine to extract gold mantinin is 20g of coffee powder, 26 seconds, and 38g. The concentrated color is dark brown, and the upper layer is covered with a thick layer of coffee grease, which smells strong caramel. Then prepare 250ml of warm water and pour all the concentrated water into it. Golden Mantelin tastes American and has a mellow taste of black cocoa, roasted nuts, and spices, with a sweet aftertaste.

Compared with the espresso machine, many parameters of the American drip filter machine are in the mode already set by the manufacturer. We just need to fill the water, put in the filter paper, pour the coffee powder, then turn on the switch, and the rest is handed over to the machine. Finally, wait for the coffee liquid to come out, and the whole process takes a few minutes. In terms of taste, the drip filter version of the Golden Mantelin American style is mainly caramel, with a good overall balance, but the taste is slightly light and the aroma is insufficient.

If we only talk about American taste, the espresso machine is obviously the winner. However, in terms of the stability, convenience, and price of extraction, the drip coffee pot is more advantageous, and free refills of coffee are often based on the above three points. Comprehensive consideration.

They are all American. Why are some expensive, but some can be refilled for free?

Qian Street often mentions in articles that the taste of a cup of American style mainly depends on the coffee beans themselves, followed by the concentrated extraction quality, and finally the proportion of water added, so the raw materials are the most important.

Independent coffee shops pay more attention to taste, so the coffee beans used are generally not too deep, and most of them are mainly medium to deep roasting in the direction of nuts and chocolate. Some boutique coffee shops that emphasize novel flavors will also deliberately choose better single-origin coffee beans to produce Italian style. Accordingly, the cost naturally becomes higher. Qianjie once drank a cup of American coffee made with Panamanian Sunrise. The price was 48 yuan, which was 30 yuan more expensive than the regular American style on the menu.

Chain brands are different. Whether they use a semi-automatic Italian machine, a fully automatic coffee machine, or a drip pot, they usually use very deeply roasted coffee beans. First, they are to ensure that all stores can produce products stably, even if a person changes the operation. There will not be too much variable; second, when making different fancy coffees, the taste can fall within a rough range. However, due to different brand positioning, the price of an American cup in these chain stores ranges from a few yuan to twenty to thirty.

As for the "American" style with free refills, its original intention is more to provide consumers with the benefits of "drinking coffee." Qianjie believes that compared with taste, affordable price and caffeine intake are the most important concerns for everyone. Therefore, in order to meet the above needs, this kind of "American" will be made with fast, convenient and cheap drip pots, and since there is not much emphasis on the taste, it will be used with special commercial coffee powder, so the coffee produced will not have any "surprises" at all.

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