Are Coffee Beans with More Oil Better? The Relationship Between Coffee Bean Oil Content and Espresso Quality

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Espresso extracted through high pressure preserves all aromas and subtle nuances. High temperature and pressure extraction release carbon dioxide produced in coffee cells through photosynthesis, similar to when you open a can of cola and foam rushes out as carbon dioxide is released. These fine bubbles present in coffee constitute the crema.

"Color ranging from hazelnut to dark brown, with a few strands of yellowish-brown interspersed, and an extremely fine texture"—this is the ultimate pursuit of traditional Italian espresso crema among Italians.

So What is "Perfect Crema"?

Baristas may have different opinions on perfect crema. Perfect crema should be neither too thick nor too thin, and should maintain in the cup for about two minutes.

Extracting perfect crema might be somewhat complex, but here are a few things to remember.

Over-extraction, under-extraction, and grind size all affect crema performance.

If your crema disappears within one minute after extraction, you should consider whether the extraction speed is too fast or if the coffee beans are roasted too lightly.

The extraction time from a quality coffee machine should be between 15 to 30 seconds, although this may vary depending on the machine.

Remember to preheat the machine, clean the brew head after extraction, and regularly clean the machine to ensure it continues to function properly. Unclean brew heads will also affect the taste and crema of your espresso.

So What Can Coffee Crema Tell Us?

(Of course, the following only applies to traditional Italian blends. If it's a medium or medium-light roast blend or SOE, fresh beans may also exhibit thin crema)

Whether Coffee is Fresh

We can determine the freshness of coffee beans by the state of crema, but this can be confusing if Robusta beans are mixed in. However, we can still judge by observing the changes in crema. When using fresh coffee beans, the entire cup looks like crema immediately after extraction. Only when extraction stops do the coffee liquid and crema separate into two clear parts. If using stale coffee beans, you will see very little crema remaining in the cup during extraction, and the coffee liquid is usually thin and watery, with weak aroma, and the crema will disappear quickly.

The Degree of Coffee Extraction

When facing the same bean prepared by different baristas, darker crema color represents higher solubility of coffee in the cup. We can also know that the darker the coffee crema, the less bright the color, close to black or with black spots, indicating possible over-extraction of espresso; however, the lighter the coffee crema, with a tendency toward light golden color, and if the coffee flow rate is too fast, it suggests the espresso may tend toward under-extraction.

Extraction Uniformity

If the flow rate and color of crema are relatively stable, with bright color presenting hazelnut or ochre-red tones, and thick texture, it means the probability of channeling, depressions, and other problems during extraction is lower, and this cup of coffee has a better extraction state.

What Does Coffee Crema Not Tell Us?

Crema ≠ taste, good crema ≠ delicious

Some cheap, low-quality coffee beans can still produce good crema when fresh. Conversely, if a light-roast SOE extraction presents golden, relatively thin crema, it doesn't necessarily mean this cup of coffee is difficult to swallow.

Whether for extraction or latte art, judging the taste of a coffee solely by appearance is difficult to conclude unless there are significant extraction errors.

If you try making espresso with 6-7 bar pressure, you'll find that you can still produce a lot of crema, but the coffee tastes very plain due to lack of layers and aroma.

Recommended Coffee Bean Brands with Rich Crema

FrontStreet Coffee, a coffee roasting brand located at Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, offers freshly roasted Italian blend coffee beans with full guarantees in both brand and quality, with good crema volume, suitable for making specialty coffees and latte art coffees with beautiful patterns. More importantly, it offers extremely high cost-effectiveness. Taking the commercial blend coffee beans recommended for commercial production as an example, a one-pound (454g) package costs only about 60 RMB. Calculating based on 10g of powder per cup of espresso, one package can make 45 cups of coffee, with each cup costing less than 1.5 RMB. Even if using double shots for each espresso production at 20g of powder per serving, the price of one double espresso doesn't exceed 3 RMB. Compared to certain well-known brands selling packages for hundreds of RMB, this is truly a conscientious recommendation.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse varieties of beans, where you can find various famous and lesser-known beans, while also providing online store services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473