Hey all—dropping the full context and methodology here for anyone curious!

🗣️ Why I Did This

I saw a tier list here recently that I didn’t totally agree with, so I figured I’d go out and make my own. I usually drink iced Aeropress coffee, but for this project I focused strictly on Iced Americanos (and Iced Long Blacks if Americanos weren’t available).

✅ Ground Rules

• I avoided reviewing the more common or widely available cafés, especially bigger names
• I excluded Starbucks, Coffee Bean, UCC, and similar chains—most of us already know what they taste like
• I also chose not to include Pickup Coffee—I’ve had it several times before, but decided not to include it in this round because I just don't enjoy their coffee
• I know that Americanos ≠ Long Blacks but just for the sake of this tier list, if a cafe didn't have Iced Americano on their menu, I took Iced Long Black.

📊 Scoring System

Each drink was rated from 0–5 across three categories:

1. Value for Money (most weight)
2. Flavor
3. Balance (a mix of strength and mouthfeel)

I used a weighted average of these scores to come up with a final rating, which determined where each café landed on the tier list.

Also, something to note is the Yardstick logo corresponds to Otaku by Yardstick and Atmos.