Coffee crema rests on top of the espresso shot. It comes with great aroma, flavor, and reddish color brown; it is created through finely-ground coffee and soluble oils. It is sometimes called the Guinness effect due to the foam that looks like an Irish stout when poured into a glass. However, the presence adds quality and rich taste compared to drip coffee.
History of Crema
The first espresso was made in 1884 by Angelo Moriondo from Italy. It was a great invention with two boilers. It wasn’t until in the 20th century that an improved version of the coffee making machine was made by Luigi Bezerra. He sold his patent to Desidero Pavoni with whom he combined efforts to create a better machine and market it. This brand is still in existence today, and it’s known as “la Pavoni.”
The most advanced machine was created in 1948 by Achille Gaggia. It led to the creation of modern coffee machines with its manual levers. Even though it was manually operated, Gaggia’s machine inspired the creation of the current electrical coffee machines. Gaggia is the one who brought an espresso with high pressure making it possible to create crema. At first, coffee lovers thought it was scum, but Gaggia started calling it Caffe crème, suggesting his coffee was tasty and high quality with its crème. Since then, crema became an indicator and a quality of the delicious and flavorful espresso.
What Makes Perfect Coffee Crema?
Perfect crema is defined in different ways by baristas. But you avoid several mistakes that affect the quality of your crema. One of the main things that define great crema is attaining the best thickness that should linger for not less than two minutes. Here are some of the signs that your crema is perfect.
- The crema should not be too much because it results in less espresso. It should also have the right color balance, which means neither too dark nor light. The perfect color should be tawny, reddish-gold.
- The crema must appear smooth without a gritty appearance. Even though crema is created out of thousands of small bubbles, it should appear velvety without any big bubbles.
- The crema must last up to two minutes before it dissolves in the espresso. Any crema that lasts less than a minute has a problem and far from perfect.
What Affects Crema?
- A lot of foam is created when you use freshly roasted beans. This is caused by the fact that the beans will be gassing out oil due to the roasting process.
- A coffee house that makes their beans creates stronger crema compared to one that does not roast their own. It is important to note that dark beans create less crema. This happens because oil rubbings occur during handling, packaging, and grounding. On the other hand, light roast results in less perfect crema. So, it starts with the right roast to get the flawless crema.
- Naturally processed coffee beans produce excellent crema because most of them have their oil intact.
- While it is possible to get an automatic espresso machine, it limits crema formation. It doesn’t give perfect crema like a shot that is manually pulled.
- Using water that is too soft can hinder the formation of crema. You can avoid filtering the water or ask someone from midland to bring you some water to mix your soft water for perfect home-made expresso. Another alternative is using bottled water and is sure to use soft water as it also prolongs your machine’s lifestyle.
- A coffee maker that is not clean will affect the quality of your coffee crema. Any deposits, including coffee oils, can influence the taste of your coffee. Be sure to clean your coffee making machine regularly using the right tips and cleaning products recommended by your manufacturer.
- Even after making a great expresso, a dirty cup can affect its taste. Clean your cups for perfect crema.
- The coffee oils determine the taste and flavor of the crema. The oils dissolve when the coffee goes through hot water. It is during the high pressure that the water is saturated with carbon dioxide swirling insoluble substances in water. This leads to the formation of excellent bubbles, which collects on your cup’s surface. However, if the coffee is too old and the carbon dioxide has already evaporated, you end with flat-tasting coffee without crema. You should therefore use fresh coffee for best crema formation.
Why crema important?
Crema not only adds flavor to your expresso but also makes your coffee desirable. Any person, whether a seasoned coffee barista or just a coffee enthusiast, will love a well-brewed coffee with crema; this is one of the reasons crema is held with importance. But you will still have your opinion as to how important the crema is to you.
For starters making the perfect crema may be a challenge and quite frustrating. But just like the debate on the best coffee, the best crema depends on your personal preference. Another reason behind the popularity of crema is its rich history combined with tradition. The appearance of the espresso says a lot about its taste. Just like tasting a new wine, espresso comes with a new experience, and eventually, you can decide the espresso you like most.
Conclusion
Every person has their preferred coffee taste, but that doesn’t change the fact that crema signifies the high quality of an espresso shot. Knowing the ideal color and texture also helps you know what your taste buds enjoy most.
Nothing can change that crema is the first impression of rich-tasting coffee. Crema is loved by many, and its importance may appear exaggerated, but it’s something that you do not want to overlook. It is desired by anyone who wants to enjoy a perfect cup of coffee.
Luckily for the modern coffee crema lover, there are the latest espresso machines that create crema effortlessly. You can buy all your coffee equipment from Qavashop UAE and enjoy the real crema with the complexity and the same taste that you get from a manual or semi-automatic espresso machine.
