I heard this term bandied about on another site and it got me thinking. Some of my recent high points in espresso seemed to be crowned by a very rich deep brick red crema. In fact the day of the last bean bay pickup I had the opportunity to play on a La Marzocco FB70 with some of Brisbanes best baristi, and the espresso that issued was uniformly crowned with this deep red crema.
Unfortunately, if the beans aint good, even a deep red crema wont save them, but with a decent blend, the taste is sensational; with caramel/toffee/chocolate flavours very clearly defined.
As a comparison, the crema that I usually get from my machine is much lighter and more golden brown. I usually aimed for this extraction based on the extraction obtained with the same beans at the local cafe at work (which is owned by the local roaster).
However, after the play on the FB70, I went home and made a few shots, going progressively hotter and adjusting the grind finer until viola... red crema. Unfortunately the shot tasted a bit ashy... which incidentally matched the description/criticism given by the actual ex-roaster of these beans.
My hypothesis is that the red crema corresponds to caramelised sugars dominating the crema. Me thinks I need to investigate this further.
Any thoughts?
Cheers,
Mark.
Unfortunately, if the beans aint good, even a deep red crema wont save them, but with a decent blend, the taste is sensational; with caramel/toffee/chocolate flavours very clearly defined.
As a comparison, the crema that I usually get from my machine is much lighter and more golden brown. I usually aimed for this extraction based on the extraction obtained with the same beans at the local cafe at work (which is owned by the local roaster).
However, after the play on the FB70, I went home and made a few shots, going progressively hotter and adjusting the grind finer until viola... red crema. Unfortunately the shot tasted a bit ashy... which incidentally matched the description/criticism given by the actual ex-roaster of these beans.
My hypothesis is that the red crema corresponds to caramelised sugars dominating the crema. Me thinks I need to investigate this further.
Any thoughts?
Cheers,
Mark.
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