One of the most easily observed elements when preparing espresso is cream.
What is cream?
Crema is the brown foam that forms on top of espresso, giving it texture and flavor. It should be consistent and represent about 10% of the volume of a #espresso.
It is made from coffee only, without the addition of milk! Cream is also important in latte art creations.
How to get a lot of cream?
Every barista has a different opinion on what he considers to be the perfect cream. In general, it should be neither too thick nor too thin and should last at least two minutes.
Crema is formed by the combination of air bubbles in water passing through ground coffee under pressure with soluble coffee oils.
Beyond espresso extraction technique and experience, crema can be influenced by several additional factors:
Freshly roasted coffee beans create more crema. This is because the oils in the coffee beans still produce gas after roasting;
Home automatic coffee espresso machines produce less crema than those used by professionals;
Coffee roasting type and grinding type. Coffee beans should not be roasted too much because the coffee loses its oil. Also, a very lightly roasted coffee will not allow you to obtain an ideal crema. Experienced coffee roasters roast coffee specifically for espresso, which retains the necessary amount of oil;
Coffee that is naturally processed and processed without washing often produces the best crema, because thanks to this process, the oils contained in the coffee beans remain intact;
Is the cream so important?
Don't expect to get the same quality cream at home that you get from a professional. However, the results may be similar, especially if you only use freshly roasted and ground coffee for espresso.
While the definition of a perfect espresso may seem like plenty of crema, in reality it is certainly possible to get a perfect espresso without a perfect crema. Everything is a matter of taste. If you love coffee, that's all that matters.