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An espresso with a clearly visible crema requires good-quality, appropriately ground, oily coffee beans and a skilled barista. Compared to drip coffee, crema gives espresso a richer flavor and a stronger finish.

The espresso drinks everyone usually enjoys are all built on the foundation of Espresso, so a good-tasting espresso can be called the soul of coffee. When it comes to espresso, crema is inevitably an important indicator that no one can ignore. This is because, aside from giving espresso its important visual characteristics, crema also changes the flavor and mouthfeel of espresso to some extent. But what exactly is this layer of crema?

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  How Crema Is Created

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• To understand how this crema is produced, you first need to understand the process of making espresso. Taking a professional espresso machine as an example, use 18 to 20 grams of coffee grounds, at 9 atmospheres of pressure (that is, 9 Bar), to extract 35 to 40 grams of espresso. High temperature and high pressure, paired with suitable coffee grounds, can produce a cup of espresso.

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  When espresso has just been extracted, there will be a layer of golden to chocolate-colored crema on the surface; this layer of crema is inseparable from pressure. Under heated and pressurized conditions, water extracts the soluble substances in the coffee grounds layer, and this process emulsifies the naturally occurring fats and oils in coffee. At the same time, freshly roasted coffee beans contain carbon dioxide, and during the process of making espresso, this carbon dioxide is subjected to pressure and dissolves into the coffee. However, when hot water passes through the coffee puck and flows out of the portafilter basket, it can return from 9 atmospheres of pressure to normal 1 atmosphere. At this moment, because of the pressure difference, the carbon dioxide expands, and the crema then wraps around the carbon dioxide, and due to the chemical property that oil is lighter than water, the so-called crema is formed.

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  A Good Espresso withPlenty of Crema

   

  Crema reflects the condition of the green coffee beans. The more crema there is, the more natural oil content the coffee beans have, which also means the coffee beans are fresh. However, coffee with crema is not necessarily a good espresso; for example, Robusta coffee beans have quite abundant crema.

   

  Espresso is actually the most direct and simple way to showcase coffee's original flavor, so poor beans, poor grinding, poor tamping, improper machine operation, or extraction time being too short or too long will all affect the flavor of a cup of espresso. So next time you have an espresso, do not be too quick to judge the coffee's quality solely by the crema.

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A good espresso should have a balanced taste, be round and smooth on the palate, and carry the flavors of its origin (fruit acidity, floral notes, etc.); it is absolutely not just bitter. Remember to take a slow sip and savor the flavors within—who knows, you may fall in love with drinking espresso from then on.

 Coffee Beans with Plenty of CremaRecommendations

The flavor of coffee beans can very intuitively control the direction of iced latte's taste. Most espresso blend coffee beans will make an iced latte show rich nutty, chocolate, and strong coffee flavors. There are also a small number of coffee beans that bring out the sweetness and richness of the milk in an iced latte.

Front Street Coffee has specially created two espresso bean options for customers who like crema and a full-bodied mouthfeel.

One is Front Street Coffee's Commercial Espresso Blend, a comprehensive formula made from a combination of Arabica coffee beans from Brazil and Colombia plus Vietnamese coffee beans. Extracted as espresso, it is very silky and comes with a rich crema, with a particularly intense mouthfeel.

The other is Front Street Coffee's Classic Espresso Blend. It is a formula combining three origins: Brazil, Sumatra in Indonesia, and Vietnam. It uses a deep roast, which can highlight the mellow aroma of the coffee to the greatest extent and also allows everyone to easily extract a rich and dense crema. It is very suitable whether for making an Americano diluted with water or a latte paired with milk.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.