First of all, what is crema? Crema is the layer of golden brown foam that normally forms on the top of an espresso shot. It’s made by a combination of the pressure and heat of the water, going through the tightly packed coffee grounds and extracting the coffee oils.

Just by simply using a podly. reusable coffee pod you will be able to achieve crema on your coffee. However, we have a few extra tricks up our sleeve to help you get the most out of your shot.

Firstly, beans, beans, beans! The fresher the better, look for a fresh medium roast from your local coffee roaster. If this isn’t possible, look for a medium roast stovetop grind. For whole beans, make sure you grind the beans fresh for each cup! And store your beans in an airtight container.

Secondly, it’s all about getting the pressure right. This involves achieving a balance between the right grind size and tamping of the coffee. This will take a bit of playing around. However, the general rule is, if the coffee flows like water you’ll want to either tamp harder, grind the coffee finer, or both. If the coffee drips or struggles to come out of the machine, you’ll want to tamp lighter, grind coarser or both. Don’t forget to tamp the coffee evenly (see our FAQ on tamping) and dust off any excess coffee.

Allow your machine sufficient time to warm up and you’re good to go!

Handy tip:

1. Press start on your pod machine. You will hear the machine start to build up pressure.
2. Approx 2 sec in, press stop (right as the water begins to flow through the pod).
3. Wait approximately 10 sec. This essentially blooms the coffee (similar to a pour over) where the coffee is seeped in water, allowing it to degas and the flavours to intensify.
4. Press start again. Wait for that perfect shot of espresso to flow.