Coffee Crema Perfection
Coffee
So
What Is Crema?
Crema is a flavorful, aromatic, reddish-brown froth that rests on top of a shot of espresso. It is formed when air bubbles combine with fine-ground coffee’s soluble oils. Some people refer to this as the “Guinness effect” because it mimics the head on a pour of the popular Irish stout.
The strong presence of crema in an espresso shot indicates a quality, well-ground coffee and a skilled barista (professional coffee maker). Crema helps give espresso a fuller flavour and longer aftertaste than drip coffee.
What
Is The Perfect Crema?
Baristas and coffee makers around the world have different opinions about what they consider to be the perfect crema. The goal is to pull a shot of espresso with a crema that is not too thick, nor too thin, and one that lingers for about two minutes.
Troubleshooting crema can become complicated, but here are a few things to keep in mind.
- Over-extraction, under-extraction and the coarseness of your grind will affect crema.
- If your crema “drops” (goes away) after less than one minute, then the extraction was too fast or the coffee roast too light.
- An extraction from a quality espresso machine should take between 15 and 30 seconds, though this may vary from one machine to another.
- Remember to allow your machine to warm up before pulling a shot and clean the machine regularly to ensure it continues to work properly, also a dirty coffee machine will also contribute a bitterness to your espresso.
At So Pure whether you’re using one of our Tabletop beverage machines which uses the latest in Swiss brewing coffee technology or lover of the So Pure Barista coffee machines our coffee technicians will define and perfect that grind giving you the best extraction every time.
Factors
That Affect Crema
You may not be in complete control over your espresso’s crema. Beyond perfecting the technique of pulling a shot, crema can be affected by the following factors.
How
Freshly Roasted Are Your Beans?
Fresh roasted beans form more crema on espresso. This is because the coffee bean oils are still out-gassing from the roasting process. At So Pure our Essenza roasted bean, sun-dried and roasted three ways to perfection creating a sweet fruity flavour and roasted in our factory in traditional Probat drums allowing the full flavours to increase. Unique to So Pure, the Essenza roasted bean is a blend of Central America, Brazil and Robusta from Indonesia, crafted to create that crema and taste.
How
Dark Are Your Beans?
In general, the darker the bean, the less crema you will have. This is due to the oils rubbing off while handling, packaging and grinding. Then again, a very light roast is not known to produce an ideal crema, either. Many coffee companies offer an espresso roast, which should have the perfect amount of oils or a defining one type of roasted bean which is a blend of various offering you an ideal crema and textures combined.
How
Were The Beans Processed?
Naturally-processed beans will often produce the best crema because more of those oils are left intact. Which is why our Essenza roasted bean are picked perfectly ripe and then laid to rest in the sun to dry creating a sweet fruity flavour.
How
Does Your Espresso Machines Pull A Shot?
Many espresso machines sold use automatic controls. While this is convenient, the process can limit the formation of crema compared to a manually pulled shot. Some automatic machines try to make up for this by creating an imitation crema but really 9 bar pressure is truly needed to create crema.
Is
Crema Really That Important?
While it can seem that a good crema is the definition of a perfect cup of espresso, it is not as critical as some make it out to be. It does add to an espresso’s flavour and is desired. Yet, its absolutely possible to have a great tasting cup of espresso without the perfect crema.
After all, espresso is about the taste, right? If you enjoy your cup, that’s really all that matters. Don’t get the crema blues or think that you somehow failed at your attempts to pull a good shot.
Remember, the roasted coffee beans and coffee machine play a big role, at So Pure we’re here to help you create that perfect cup of espresso from a Noir Espresso machine to Barista Capsula making that right choice every time.
To Discover more about creating that perfect cup of espresso with one of So Pure coffee machines contact us to arrange a showroom visit and see for yourself the reasons why so many customers choose So Pure coffee machines
