Coffee Experiment: Does Espresso Taste Better With or Without Crema? (Part 1 of 2)

Over at jimseven.com, I recently watched one of his older videos where he argued espresso tastes better without crema. A contentious, perhaps iconoclastic remark, prompts me to do a similar experiment at the Metro Espresso lab. I will follow similar steps as James Hoffman:

Step 1: Make 2 shots of espresso

Step 2: Taste crema alone

Step 3: Spoon it out

Step 4: Stir the espresso

Step 5: Consume espresso sans crema

Step 5 1/2: Drink some water, have some crackers

Step 6: Taste second espresso with crema.

Step 7: Ponder... (I'm not sure he pondered, but I will)

Step 8: Write down thoughts

While I cannot recreate his slick accent, I am intrigued whether it will be a noticeable difference or not. Unfortunately, I will be out of the apartment all day, and will have to conduct this experiment tomorrow.

My question to my readers, what are some of your tips to make better espresso without buying new equipment? Have you tried spooning out the crema? If so, how was it?