Crema?

[things]

Hi,

I am a newbie in roasting the coffee bean. Recently, I have read a few article about judging the quality of the espresso by looking on the espresso crema. When I prepare my espresso using my own roast bean, I found that my espresso crema was quite thin. I use gene cafe to roast my columbia supremo into second crack and use silvia to extract the double shot espresso within 30 seconds and have a few question to ask.

1) Is it usual for the columbia bean to produce less crema (the crema was fading after 1 minute)
2) Is it any way to improve the crema of columbia single origin, such as change the roasting time or change the extraction time

Cheers,
Thinngs

[lucinda]

Re: Crema?

What grinder are you using? You may need to adjust your grind.

[>Veneziano]

Re: Crema?

Hi things, how are things? Sorry, couldnt resist ;P

Crema usually fades very quickly if the coffee is too fresh, which might well be your problem if you are home roasting. If that is the case, stick with the beans over two weeks and taste the changes.

I like to introduce my usual caveat on discussions about crema here, which is that my goal is always to optimise taste, not crema, so Im really not all that concerned with it. Some people seem to obsess about crema ... if its more important to you than taste, just drink 100% robusta. It is true that crema can be a useful tool to diagnose how good an espresso shot will taste, but if the goal is to improve the flavour (or mouthfeel) of the shot, surely tasting it is the most important thing?

All that said, you can get a darker crema by roasting the beans darker and, sometimes, by increasing your brew temperature or, of course, by grinding finer. You can get a more voluminous crema by extracting with a bottomless portafilter. You can improve the amount of time that the crema lasts (within reason) by ageing the coffee a little bit longer (which might require a slower and/or lighter roast). And Im sure that theres a lot more that can be done, too.

Cheers,

Luca

[robusto]

Re: Crema?

Well said Luca. We do tend to be obsessive about crema instead of seeing it as a tell-tale sign that things are about right with the extraction.

Unfortunately, voluminous amounts of crema can be produced --especially if the coffee is too fresh---but that will do nothing to indicate what sort of taste to expect.

Good, bad, indifferent, my Silvia ALWAYS produces much crema. Never fails. But the proof is in the taste, and consistent crema does not equate to consistently good taste. Unfortunately.

---Robusto

[muppet_man67]

Re: Crema?

it sounds like you understand grind. perhaps you need to dose more?

[things]

Re: Crema?

Thanks for all the reply.

I use rocky as my grinder, I will try to updose the coffee and grind finer to see the different tomorrow.

I also agree with Veneziano Caffe and robusto that the main goal is to optimise the taste. I have just started roasting 2 weeks ago. Most of the coffee taste weird compare to my local roaster so I suspected there may be some problem regarding my roast that lead to the foul taste and less crema of the coffee. After looking at these replies, it seem the crema is not related to the taste.

Regarding to the taste, I think I roast my bean half way to second crack ?? and my coffee have a funny taste (some acid, some bitter and grass like taste). Is it the actual taste profile for normal SO coffee or I under roast the bean?

[JavaB]

Re: Crema?

Things

It sounds to me you are under roasting...

Mostly I roast until 20-30 seconds into the second crack.

If you havent done it already, sacrifice a batch of beans to the great god of experience.... and roast until well into the second crack.... that way you will know the signs which will tell you where you are in the process..... the sounds of both cracks, the smoke, the smell of the roast etc....

You will have a far better feel for roasting once you have "gone too far" so to speak with one batch....

Good luck.

[nunu]

Re: Crema?

Brightness/grassiness could be underroasted, or not rested enough.

Just updose first. Doing both will be adjusting way too far. Sort out the dose first, then grind size after.

[Javaphile]

Re: Crema?

As others have said the grassy taste is indicative of an underroasted coffee. With that said though most Columbians peak flavor can be found well before 2nd crack. Exactly where will of course depend on the exact varietal youre using. Because of their lighter roast they will produce less crema but they make a great cuppa!


Java "Hhhmmm....Mesa De Los Santos!" phile

[nunu]

Re: Crema?

Eh? saints table?