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

Metro Espresso has reached a new milestone: the first video! While not nearly as good as www.coffeenate.com (which you should check out by the way if you have not), making the video was fun. I did it all in one go, so if I seem to be wandering a little bit, it is because I was pondering, searching for words. Enjoy the video! If you have any constructive critiques to make future videos better, please comment below.

Does Espresso taste better with or without crema? from Jack on Vimeo.

Findings for those who can not watch the video:

1. Espresso with crema: Fuller mouthfeel/body, oily, heavier similar to French press.

2. Espresso without crema: lighter mouthfeel, but the flavors seemed brighter similar to a drip machine or pour over.

The Coffee Queen @ http://thecoffeeqweenblog.wordpress.com/ tried out the experiment. She found the espresso tasted more bitter without the crema. Different results! Though I don't know if I could doing this over again, too much espresso right now.

And yes, you see a USPS box on the kitchen table among other things. This is what happens when the Girlfriend is away. Things tend to leave their "proper places."

(I would like to give credit to www.jimseven.com for giving me the idea to do this, and some of the vocab to describe what I was tasting.)

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?