We were delighted when our friend, Chelsea Kallman, a Nashville based writer/photographer for Barista Magazine recently visited and blogged about her experience. She hang out with us while we cupped three different coffees and discussed our foray into roasting. Here’s what she had to say…
Grapefruit. Lemon. Blueberries. Chocolate. Oak. Pepper. Smoke. Bright. Crisp. Muddy. Syrupy. These are just a few words that may come to mind when you take a sip of a cup of coffee from your local coffee shop. Hopefully you’ll understand a little more about that cup of coffee after you read this blog post!
Have you ever noticed how much effort it takes for a skilled barista to produce your expertly crafted latte or espresso? Even your drip coffee requires careful laboring, albeit somewhat minimal. Well, it may be surprising to know that your brew requires much more labor and human effort before it even reaches the roaster, let alone the grinder or coffee brewer!
We now move to the question you’ve been pondering since childhood, the age old question “What is crema?” Sleep well for we have your answer…
What is Crema? Did we mispell cream? No, it is a real word. Crema is the thick, golden-brown foam that develops in the filter and encrusts the top of an espresso serving. Crema gives espresso its complexity, depth of flavor and texture. Crema is the single most important indicator of espresso quality.
Proper emulsification of water and oil is what produces proper Crema. Dr. Joseph Josuma, a leading espresso expert states, “Crema markedly alters an espresso in terms of its mouth feel, density, viscosity, wetting power, and foam-forming ability, making it the single most important indicator of espresso quality. If there is no crema, it means the oils have not been emulsified, and hence it is not an espresso.”
We chose CREMA as our name because it represents our primary goal, excellence in quality. Our passion for the best quality in coffee, espresso and service is proudly rooted in our Italian heritage. So is our love for pizza we suspect.
We believe that smaller, traditional European sized beverages highlight the taste of espresso. Few Americans have tasted genuine Italian-style espresso, even though specialty coffee purveyors bode high quality, many Baristas are ill trained to craft a truly Italian experience. We want to change that.
At CREMA, we guarantee that every espresso has been properly extracted. Our Baristas have gone through intensive training and continue to grow in their skills. At CREMA we are always looking for ways to perfect our coffee and espresso. We hope you enjoy sharing in this experience, your satisfaction is our delight.
A study by American economist Caitlin Knowles Myers finds that females wait 20 seconds longer than men to receive their coffee. The study was conducted in the Boston area and involved 8 shops. Read more…
The study can be downloaded here: http://www.middlebury.edu/services/econ/repec/mdl/ancoec/0711.pdf
“Chicagoans… are among the top consumers of energy drinks and coffee… they are also likely to say caffeine is good for you…”
What other cities are most caffeinated? Read the entire article.
NBC Today show correspondent, Joy Bauer, clears up 5 coffee myths in this interesting article. Discover if coffee can help your memory, prevent skin cancer, and enhance your workouts.
Check it out: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20187977/