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

The golden foam floating on top of an espresso is what we call crema. Drinkers tend to agree on one thing about it: "It's the soul of espresso. It can be thick, but never thin."

Yet although it is called the soul of espresso, anyone who has tasted it on its own knows it is loaded with intense bitterness — more bitter, in fact, than the liquid beneath it. Mr. Shinbu Tabebe of Japan once said that "espresso with the surface crema removed can significantly reduce unpleasant flavors," and WBC champion James Hoffmann holds a similar view: "Although crema is beautiful and excellent, it doesn't taste that good when drinking."

For that reason, FrontStreet Coffee ran a specific experiment two months ago called "Does an Americano without crema taste better?" The resulting Americano did indeed have far less bitterness, confirming that crema carries bitterness. Given that, why do so many people still love it?

Where Crema's Bitterness Comes From

First, let's understand the source of this foam's bitterness. Espresso is made by extracting flavor compounds from very finely ground coffee with hot water at high pressure, up to 9 bar, in a short period. During extraction, carbon dioxide inside the beans has no time or space to escape, so it rides the pressure and is pressed into the coffee's insoluble oils, seeping out from the bottom of the portafilter along with the liquid and forming the golden foam on the surface.

Besides insoluble oils and carbon dioxide, this foam contains one more thing: espresso superfines. These are far finer than the fine particles in pour-over coffee. They are packed with burnt bitterness, and they are the main source of crema's burnt, bitter taste.

Expectation vs. Reality

If you are drinking espresso for the first time, you may be like Mr. Lu: before tasting the crema, you build beautiful fantasies from its golden color in books and films, and after tasting it the illusion shatters instantly.

So Why Do People Still Love Crema?

Bitterness, after all, is only one small shortcoming. We shouldn't overlook the many advantages just because of that one flaw.

Aroma: An espresso with crema smells completely different from one without. Crema holds volatile aromatic compounds from the coffee, which keep evaporating as the crema dissipates. Our sense of smell picks them up, so an espresso with crema carries a richer aroma.

Mouthfeel: When we brew with a cloth (flannel) filter, we get a much fuller body than paper-filtered coffee, because cloth has larger gaps that let oils through and lift the mouthfeel. The same principle applies to espresso.

Aftertaste: Beyond those two, crema also gives us a fuller aftertaste. When we swallow, the lingering aroma in the mouth is very noticeable. Remove the crema and, whether you drink the espresso straight or turn it into an Americano, the aftertaste shrinks dramatically.

So although crema is bitter, that is why so many people still love it. The final choice is ours: whether we want a richer, more layered expression or a lower level of bitterness is entirely up to us.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the crema itself is what draws you in, FrontStreet Classic Blend is built for exactly that. Its traditional Italian-style recipe combines Indonesian Mandheling, Brazilian red bourbon, and washed Vietnamese beans, so it keeps the low-acid depth and herbal, woody notes of Asian coffee while retaining the balanced, creamy texture of the Americas. Pulling a shot gives butter, nut, spice, and dark chocolate aromas, with the wild character and generous crema that make it a natural base for an Americano or a latte.

If you want to look past crema and taste what a lighter, fruitier espresso can do, FrontStreet Strawberry Candy Espresso is worth trying. Roasted medium, it brings together single-origin Arabica from Colombia, Costa Rica, and Ethiopia and uses washed, natural, and honey processing to lift the aroma. Beyond its rose notes, it stays low in bitterness with gentle acidity, so both an Americano and a latte show grape, dried blueberry, sweet orange, and fruit-candy flavors, finishing with a distinctive almond aroma.