I have no knowledge with which to actually argue the etymology of this, but it seems like surely this term must have been descriptive -- coffee the way Americans drink it -- before it was derogatory?
Coffee, tea, and chocolate have all been prepared in different ways over time and I don't think it's obvious that weaker-than-espresso coffee is a natural object of contempt.
I said that, hey hon they stole my thing ..what..said something different...i knew u and your mother were against me the whole time...evry single idea bla bla done before ...mmpph@#$$
Contrary to the popular tale that the Americano was invented by American soldiers in Italy during World War II, OED says the term ("frequently derogatory") originated in Central American Spanish in the 1950s and was later borrowed into Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, and English
My Italian grandfather (immigrant) would ask guests if they wanted Italian coffee or American coffee. If they chose American they would get the same espresso in a huge mug. He thought the difference was volume.
When I was living in San Francisco in the 90's it was a common joke passed around that when family visited from back east, you'd have to brew a West Coast pot and an East Coast pot. (The West Coast pot, of course, being vastly stronger.)
This is because a West Coast workday is typically 8-5 while an East Coast workday is typically 9-6. Functionally, the coasts are only 2 time zones apart, but West Coast coffee has to work harder to make that happen.
OMG. I was doing some work in TN and they brewed a "coffee" drink that was weaker than tea. Two tablespoons of light roast for an 8-cup pot! TN coffee isn't worthy of the name.
Serious thing - European Folgers is stronger than US. Had worked w/ international workers - the US Folgers needed an OVERFULL BASKET to equal the strength of the Swedish labeled Folgers (nominal "normal is 2/3-3/4 cup of grounds"). VISUALLY IDENTICAL grounds so wasn't something w/ the roast.
I make pour over, and the 21-24 gms of beans I have in the morning has enough caffeine for me for an entire day. I can't imagine 375-450ml of espresso late in the day
The Italian espresso machine I once had decided to translate it as "weak coffee" probably because they thought Americans would not exactly love the label.
I thought everyone knew it was taking a shot at us. It's why I don't order them in Europe. Their espresso is so good anyway, I need to stop myself from drinking too much.
German has lots of great (and complicated 😁) words like this. Before I discovered espresso I was a Blümchenkaffee drinker for sure. Thanks for the laugh and the memories.
My German mom lived in southern Mexico for a while and my dad is of Mexican, Spanish and Italian descent, so the coffee in my house was always very good and very strong. Imagine my shock the first time I got a cup of over extracted German coffee. 🤢
I've heard of it, but I never tried it. This reminds me of something I had coined a few weeks ago, namely woke MAGA as a derogatory insult towards Trump and his clapping seals.
I ordered an “café Americano” once in Montreal, and it was actually very strong. So the meaning of the term here may have slipped (or the barista screwed up).
Follow-on-funny thing. Had a new barista, never made an iced Americano...didn't 'quite' get the written directions right.
Now, don't get me wrong, I like a strong coffee...but this was 7 or 8 espresso shots, a few ice cubes and a splash of water. Should have come with a side order of beta-blockers!
My dad served in WWII and hadn't had coffee until he joined the Navy, and military coffee reportedly sucked, but then he had European coffee and developed a taste for it. His came back and the rest of his life people would tease him for liking his coffee "too strong."
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That said, I'm with the Canadians on this one.
In any case, I hadn't seen that you were responding to a thread about Americanos. My bad.
Now, don't get me wrong, I like a strong coffee...but this was 7 or 8 espresso shots, a few ice cubes and a splash of water. Should have come with a side order of beta-blockers!
And like you said, an Americano is kind of like the children's menu version of a coffee drink.