21 Tips for More Crema on Espresso

The perfect espresso is full-bodied and has a beautiful crema! The crema is part of the appearance of an espresso, but it also influences the aroma, mouthfeel, taste, and aftertaste of the coffee. Unfortunately, it often fails to develop properly - and most of the time, the coffee doesn't taste as desired. You can find the typical mistakes and their corresponding solutions here.

21 possible reasons why you don't have a proper crema on your espresso

1. Your coffee is ground too coarse

Perfect extraction of espresso takes between 20 and 30 seconds. If the coffee is ground too coarse, the water shoots through the sieve too quickly, taking up too few coffee particles - your coffee is under-extracted. The crema is light and thin, disappears quickly, and the coffee tastes sour and flat.

2. Your coffee is ground too fine

Here the opposite happens: the coffee runs too slowly or hardly at all through the sieve. As a result, too many particles are dissolved, and the coffee is over-extracted. It tastes bitter and slightly burnt. The crema is dark brown, uneven, and shows air bubbles.

3. You are using too little powder

This leads to the same effect as under point 1 - your coffee is under-extracted. To find the perfect grind and the right amount, you should adjust only one of the two factors at a time. 7 grams of coffee powder per espresso is theoretically the guideline for the perfect espresso - I usually use 10 grams and tamp a little less.

4. You are using too much powder

Well-intentioned, but unfortunately it doesn't help. With too much coffee powder in the sieve, the coffee is over-extracted. Here too, we recommend adjusting only one aspect at a time and working towards the perfect extraction.

5. Your water is too soft

Very soft water (< 0.7mmol/l) leads to your espresso hardly forming crema. You have four options: If you filter your water - skip the filter, you probably don't need it. Ask a friend who lives in the lowlands if they can send you a canister of water and mix it with yours. Use bottled water. Enjoy the soft water - this way you never have to descale your machine.

6. Your machine is not clean

Coffee oils and other deposits in the machine and sieve are the enemy of beautiful crema - and affect the taste. Clean your machine regularly. You can find tips and the right products at a specialist retailer.

7. Your cups are not clean

Honestly: you spend over 1000 euros on a great espresso machine and a high-quality grinder, take the time and effort to roast a perfect coffee, watch YouTube tutorials on perfect espresso extraction in every free minute - and then you're too lazy to clean your cup? Shame on you. You will be punished with a tired and thin crema.

8. Your coffee is too old

The oils in the coffee are primarily responsible for the crema. When hot water is pressed through the powder at high pressure, these oils are dissolved along with various proteins and sugars from the coffee powder. Under high pressure, the water becomes saturated with CO2 and swirls the insoluble substances in the water. This creates the finest foam bubbles. This aromatic foam eventually collects on the surface of the cup. If you add sugar to the espresso, the crema will hold it for about three seconds. If the coffee is old, the essential oils and CO2 have already dissipated - the coffee tastes dull, and the crema no longer forms. Therefore, always drink the coffee as fresh as possible. By the way: you can easily roast coffee at home - then you always have fresh coffee on hand. Plus, you have full control over which beans go into your espresso blend - see errors 18 and 19.

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9. Your coffee was ground too early

Grinding breaks up the structure of the coffee, increasing the surface area exposed to air and oxidation. Therefore, the processes mentioned above occur much faster than with unground coffee. Ground coffee should be consumed within 30 minutes if possible.

10. Your coffee has been in the grinder for too long

Here we refer back to points 8 and 9. Since your coffee is no longer in a protected and sealed coffee bag, but open in the grinder, all oxidation processes occur much faster. Additionally, many coffee beans slide along the bean container, leaving coffee oils behind. You have probably seen grinders that look totally sticky and dirty - not a nice sight for an espresso and crema lover.

11. You tamped too lightly

This also leads to a too quick flow time and under-extraction of the coffee. Aim for 9kg of pressure when tamping. There are many excellent YouTube videos on this topic, watch a few of them. With small changes in technique, you can significantly improve your coffee.

12. You tamped too firmly

If you press the coffee into the sieve with too much pressure, the powder is packed so tightly that the water flows through barely, resulting in over-extracted, bitter, and sharp-tasting coffee. The crema is dark brown, uneven, and shows air bubbles. And beware: many baristas tap the tamper on the sieve after tamping or are somewhat careless, causing the portafilter to hit somewhere on the machine. This can create small cracks in the pressed powder. The water seeks the "path of least resistance," flows through these small cracks, and can only dissolve a small amount of the coffee powder, resulting in a thin and once again under-extracted coffee.

13. The water is too cold

Ideally, your espresso machine has a temperature display so you can check the water temperature before and during extraction. Water temperature below 88°C leads to under-extraction, acidic and thin coffee, and a barely present crema.

14. The water is too hot

On the other hand, water that is too hot, above 94°C, leads to over-extraction and a thin, dark brown to blackish crema with a white spot or a black hole in the middle.

15. The pressure is too low

See also Point 8 - Espresso needs pressure. Insufficient pressure results in insufficient particle dissolution and under-extracted coffee with barely any crema. The pressure should be around 9 bar. Your espresso machine must be able to achieve this. At the same time, too coarse grinding, too light tamping, or too little coffee powder prevent sufficient pressure from building up - everything is interconnected on the way to the perfect espresso.

16. The pressure is too high

If you have a somewhat professional espresso machine, it will easily be able to build up more pressure than 9 bar. This will happen (after Point 15 probably no longer a surprise): with too fine grinding, too firm tamping, or too much coffee powder. So, correct all the above factors to achieve the 9 bar pressure.

17. Home roasters only - Your coffee is too fresh

If you don't roast your coffee yourself, you can skip this chapter because you are unlikely to encounter a coffee that is too fresh. Most coffees on the shelves are weeks, if not months old, so a roast date is rarely indicated. As a home roaster, you may remember the first time you extracted a freshly roasted espresso - the crema was spectacular! This is because your fresh coffee still has enough CO2, which dissipates very quickly after roasting and especially after grinding. This carbon dioxide simultaneously masks some of the fine flavor nuances in your coffee. Therefore, the espresso becomes really good only about 4-5 days after roasting. If you have the patience, we definitely recommend letting the coffee sit for a few days after roasting.

18. You chose the wrong coffee

Not all coffee varieties and processing methods allow for a perfect crema. This is not too dramatic because primarily you should seek the taste that suits you best. As a rule of thumb, you can orient yourself towards the fact that natural and honey-pulped beans (see also processing) generally have more sugar and oils than washed coffees, thus allowing for more crema.

19. You don't have any Robusta in the espresso blend

Robusta creates a denser crema. This is not a secret trick, most Italian espresso blends therefore have a share of Robusta of about 25%. Unfortunately, there are many inferior Robustas that taste like burnt rubber or railway track. Make sure you use a high-quality Robusta.

20. Your coffee is roasted too lightly

A roast that is too light (around the first crack) can cause your crema to be somewhat pale and quickly collapse. However, you don't have to be too concerned about this, you can roast the coffee quite lightly (e.g. City roast levels, see in the knowledge section) and still extract an espresso with a clean and beautiful crema.

21. Your coffee is roasted too dark

If the coffee is roasted too dark, you often have less crema. This is because after the second crack (see also in the knowledge section), oil droplets emerge from the beans, which remain in the bag as well as in the grinder during storage. Therefore, you have less oil in the powder and consequently less crema.

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We recommend these balanced green coffees with nutty-chocolaty or spicy-sweet notes to home roasters.