Refine the fineness of the coffee powder for a smoother espresso crema
20-30 seconds is the standard extraction time of the espresso machine. That time period also says that your coffee powder smoothness is appropriate. However, for some reason, it’s usually because of the smoothness that makes you extract the coffee too quickly or too slowly – observing the flow will be the most visible recipe.
Invisible in general, the espresso machine crema layer will also be affected. If the coffee powder is too coarse, the water passes through the amount of flour in the basket too quickly, not time to penetrate and extract all the substances in the coffee produced.
In other words, hot water has not yet been emulsified with coffee oil, and superstrate with CO2 has been pushed out. Eventually, you’ll get a bland espresso, sour taste, and delicate crema.
And if the coffee powder is too smooth, you can imagine it too. Instead of water passing through the coffee powder too fast, it passes through extremely long and slowly. Therefore, leading to too much-dissolved water in coffee than expected and emulsification, supersymmetry takes longer.
The result was a cup of espresso with a bitter taste, less rich flavor, dark brown espresso crema, and large air bubbles. In short, the first piece of advice is to choose the right smoothness for espresso. At the same time, the coffee powder must have a uniform smoothness, and the size between the coffee powder particles must be consistent.
Let’s treat the water with espresso.
Tap water, and well water all contain an unexpected content of minerals, smells, and tastes. Espresso, on the other day, has high water quality requirements. If you use these two types of water to make a good espresso machine, it is more likely that bad will happen to the machine. In the long run, it’s a coffee maker failure, and in the short term, espresso is not good.
Some minerals such as ions, zinc, and magnesium … having in water beyond the permissible levels will cause emulsification and supersomuance to be hindered. In short, hard water is not good for coffee machines, not good for espresso, and not good for crema. So buy a dedicated coffee tap water filter for your machine as soon as possible.
Use electronic scales every time you get coffee powder.
You can take excess or lack and this situation begins to happen similar to the powder being too rough or too smooth. If there is too much coffee powder in the basket, the water has to penetrate for a long time, and vice versa.
It is recommended to adjust the number of grams of flour on your coffee grinder in a reasonable way according to each line of coffee machine you own. If you use a pre-purchased coffee powder, equip an electronic scale each time you put the coffee powder in the handle.
Clean the coffee machine periodically
Clean the coffee machine periodically so as not to affect your Crema Espresso layer. Cleaning the equipment is very important, especially the coffee machine. During use, coffee oil and residue will accumulate around the group head, steam hose … That directly affects the taste of your espresso and your espresso crema class.
Clean your machine after each end of the day and periodically follow the instructions of the technical staff. Especially group-head cleaning, shower, handle, and steam faucet.
Have you chosen the right kind of coffee?
Lipids are an insoluble substance in water and it tends to separate from water, which affects the sustainability of espresso crema. The lipid content in Arabica is higher than robusta. Specifically, 30ml espresso contains about 46-146 mg of lipids for Arabica coffee and about 15-120 mg for Robusta coffee.
Therefore, the coffee you use must have Robusta mixed with Arabica to be able to form a layer of crema as desired. In addition, the perfect roasting level to have a beautiful crema layer is medium. At the level of dark or light, both affect the formation of crema.
The temperature and pressure of the coffee machine
The temperature and pressure of the coffee machine is not up to the standard to make crema espresso quickly melt. If the pump pressure is weak (the standard pressure is 9 bars on a professional machine; 15 bars on an automated machine), it will not create conditions for hot water to emulsify the oils in coffee and then will super soccupy with CO2.
Besides, the temperature – including the concoction temperature (92ºC) and the extraction temperature (70ºC) does not reach the prescribed threshold, which also makes the good crema fragile and quickly dissolves Aeropress. The trick for this is to use a thermometer to check before making coffee.
Is your coffee new or too old?
The new coffee has not gone through the degas process, and the old how much essence has evaporated. Ideally, buy high-quality coffee roasted whole grains. Grind a sufficient amount each time.
Degas is the process of releasing the CO2 of coffee after roasting. It makes the coffee perfect and enhances the taste after making it.
Finally, the cup is not warm enough to prepare, and the compression of coffee is too strong or too light, making crema unsustainable. It can be said that a beautiful crema layer is not sure that the espresso coffee beans is delicious but a good cup of coffee must have beautiful crema.
Although only the sensory element is the main, crema is also one of the points that make others evaluate the perfection of your coffee and barista experience nice.
Source: https://wega.vn/