Why is Espresso Crema So Bitter? How to Drink It Correctly? Tasting Espresso

The golden foam floating on top of espresso is what we call Crema. People share a common view about it—"It's the soul of espresso! It can be thick, but never thin!"

Although it's called the "soul" of espresso, anyone who has tasted it separately knows that it's filled with intense bitterness, even more bitter than the espresso liquid itself! Mr. Shinbu Tabebe from Japan once stated: "Espresso with the surface crema removed can significantly reduce unpleasant flavors"; and James Hoffmann, WBC champion, holds the same view: "Although Crema is beautiful and excellent, it doesn't taste that good when drinking."

Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee conducted a special experiment two months ago: "Does an Americano without crema taste better?" The resulting Americano coffee indeed had much less bitterness! This all confirms that espresso crema is indeed a substance that carries bitterness. Given this, why do so many people still like it?

The Source of Crema's Bitterness

First, let's understand the source of this foam's bitterness: Espresso is made by extracting flavor compounds from very finely ground coffee powder using hot water at high pressure of up to 9bar in a short period. During the extraction process, the carbon dioxide contained within the beans doesn't have time or space to be released, so it follows the pressure and is pressed into the coffee's insoluble oils, seeping out from the bottom of the portafilter along with the coffee liquid, forming the golden foam that floats on the espresso surface.

In addition to insoluble oils and carbon dioxide, this foam contains another substance—"espresso superfines"! These are much finer than the fine particles in pour-over coffee. These superfines are packed with burnt bitterness, and they are the main source of crema's burnt bitter taste!

The Reality vs. Expectation

If you're drinking espresso for the first time, you'll be like Mr. Lu—before tasting the crema, you'll have wonderful fantasies about the golden color based on books and movies, but after tasting it, the beautiful illusion of espresso crema instantly shatters!

Why People Still Love Crema

So why would anyone still like this thing? After all, bitterness is just one of its small shortcomings. We shouldn't ignore its many other advantages just because of this one flaw!

Aroma: Espresso with crema smells completely different from espresso without it! Because crema contains volatile aromatic compounds from coffee, which continuously evaporate as the crema dissipates. These substances can be captured by our sense of smell, so espresso with crema has a richer aroma!

Mouthfeel: When we brew flannel-filtered coffee, we can obtain a much fuller body than coffee filtered with paper! The reason is that flannel has larger gaps, allowing oils to seep through and enhance the coffee's mouthfeel. The same principle applies to espresso!

Aftertaste: In addition to the above two, crema also provides us with a more abundant aftertaste! When we swallow, the lingering aroma in our mouths is very noticeable. But if we remove it, whether drinking espresso directly or making an Americano, the aftertaste experience will be greatly reduced!

So, although crema is bitter, these are the reasons why many people still love it! Of course, the final choice is ours to make—whether we want richer layered expressions or to reduce the negative bitterness sensation, it's all up to us to decide~

FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)

10 Bao'an Qianjie, Yandun Road, Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473