We always brew a double shot then my wife and I split it so use a single shot to make regular coffee or as you say an Americano. Occasionally we will take some heavy cream and make other drinks like cappuccino. Where we have a double boiler machine we have steam and a wand to froth ready all the time. We actually use the frother more to mix up some collagen/gelatin and a ketone supplement powder for our morning drink. We hardly used the frother when we got the machine and I thought I had wasted money getting the double boiler. But we have since started using it regularly.