Are you an espresso lover? Or maybe just a coffee lover? Anyway, you probably love that rich, frothy layer of cream that coats your lips when you drink your little black coffee: the espresso crema. To make espresso crema the oils of the coffee grounds mix with hot water and it is often a sign of a quality espresso.
Here’s how to make espresso crema at home.
What is the crema of the espresso?
It’s a smooth, foamy and creamy layer on top of the coffee that gives it texture and taste.
The espresso crema depends, among other things, on the type of coffee beans used. The better the quality of the coffee beans, the smoother the crema. The oilier the coffee beans are, due to the way they are roasted, the thicker the crema will be.
It is the espresso crema that is the canvas for latte art, these shapes drawn on the crema of your coffee by the baristas.
Why is there no crema on my espresso?
Here are the 3 main reasons why you have no crema on your espresso and how to easily fix this.
The coffee grind is too fine or too thick
The most common reason for no crema on your expresso is that your coffee grind is not suitable: it’s too thick or too fine. The perfect expresso grind is finer than filter coffee.
You know the grind is too fine if your machine takes more than 25 seconds to make your expresso, if it takes less than 20 seconds, the grind is too coarse.
To solve this, adjust the grind size, either on your grinder setting if you grind your own coffee or ask your coffee dealer or roaster.
Wrong coffee to water ratio
To make espresso with crema the ratio of coffee to water should be 1:2, that is twice the volume of water per volume of coffee. A standard double shot espresso requires between 13 to18 grams of ground coffee (about 2 ounces). It depends on your machine, use a scale to weigh the required amount of coffee and then weigh the water. With this ratio, your make espresso crema every time.
Espresso crema and coffee blend
The blend of your coffee also affects the quality of the crema. Light and delicate coffees tend to make thin espresso crema that will vanish rapidly. On the other hand, too dark coffee beans also lead to less espresso crema.
That’s why you find espresso roast coffees. These blends of coffee have been designed with the perfect amount of oil left in the beans to create the best espresso crema. On top of that, freshly ground beans are better to make espresso crema.
The water pressure is too high
An admittedly less common reason why there is no crema on your espresso is that the water pressure in your espresso machine is too high. This is rare as espresso machines generally deliver 7-9 bars of pressure which is what is required to create crema.
However, if you have checked the previous points, your machine may have a pressure problem, check that you have 9 bars max.
Tips to make the best espresso crema at home
To sum it up, a few essential tips on how to make espresso crema:
- use fresh espresso roast coffee beans
- use freshly fine ground coffee
- heat up your espresso machine
- don’t use too much water
- don’t go too fast for the coffee extraction: 15 to 30 seconds depending on the machine