Lavazza Crema E Gusto Classico Ground Roasted Coffee, 500g
Not everyone wants coffee to be a hobby. Ground and sealed means no grinder, nothing to dial in, no burrs to clean, and the same cup every morning until the pack runs out, which for a lot of households is the whole specification. The grind is the thing to know before opening it: cut for a moka pot and an espresso basket, not a plunger. If a plunger is what you own, give it three minutes instead of four and expect a heavy, dark, mouth-coating cup with no brightness in it at all. Robusta is there to do exactly that, and it is what lets the cup read through milk.
Lavazza Crema E Gusto Classico Ground Roasted Coffee, in brief.
Lavazza Crema e Gusto Classico is the Italian kitchen-cupboard ground coffee, and the name says what it was built for: crema e gusto, cream and taste. A thick stable head and enough body behind it to stand up to milk and sugar, from the Turin house founded by Luigi Lavazza in 1895.
Grind note: cut with the moka pot and espresso in mind rather than a coarse cafetière. It works in a cafetière, but shorten the brew to three minutes and expect a heavier cup.
500g, and published listings for this size show it as two 250g vacuum bricks, so the second stays sealed while you work through the first. With ground coffee losing its edge within days of opening, that matters more than it sounds.
This is the 500g size. Published listings for this pack show it supplied as two 250g vacuum bricks rather than one large block, which is worth knowing because it solves the main problem with buying ground coffee in bulk: the second brick stays vacuum sealed while you work through the first. Once air gets at ground coffee it fades quickly, which is why a pack that opens in two halves stays fresher than one 500g bag would.
Curator notes: we formed the tasting notes ourselves from the current 500g pack, set beside how Lavazza describes Crema e Gusto. Dispatch for the 500g pack usually takes 1 to 2 working days.
Curator’s notes
Read the full write-up
The Story Behind Lavazza
Lavazza was founded in Turin in 1895 by Luigi Lavazza, who ran a grocer's shop and began blending beans from different origins rather than selling them singly. His view, that several origins blended together give a steadier and more complete cup than any one alone, became the house principle, and Crema e Gusto still follows it as a planned mix rather than a single farm's coffee. Crema e Gusto Classico is an Arabica and Robusta blend with the Robusta well represented, which is where the body and the crema come from. The exact split is printed on the current pack.
Grind note: Lavazza's ground blends are cut with the moka pot and espresso in mind rather than a coarse cafetière. It will work in a cafetière, but shorten the brew and expect a heavier, more sediment-prone cup than a coarse filter grind gives.
Packaging: Follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; vacuum bricks, any outer and the label can each require a different disposal route.
Why Robusta Is Not a Dirty Word
Robusta has a poor reputation in speciality coffee, and in cheap instant that reputation is earned. In an Italian espresso blend it is doing a specific and useful job. Robusta carries more of the compounds that build a thick, persistent crema, it brings a heavier body than Arabica, and it holds its character under milk where a delicate Arabica disappears. That is why traditional Italian blends choose to use it rather than treat it as a cost saving. If you want a bright, fruity, origin-led cup, this is the wrong coffee. If you want something that tastes of coffee through 150ml of hot milk, it is exactly right.
Keeping It Fresh
- Open one brick at a time: the whole point of the format. The second stays vacuum sealed until you need it.
- Airtight after opening: transfer the open brick to a sealed container or clip the bag hard. Ground coffee stales within days of meeting air.
- Not the fridge: ground coffee absorbs odours and condensation. A cool, dark cupboard is better.
- Not the freezer either: once, maybe, sealed and never refrozen. Repeated in and out does more harm than the staling you are trying to prevent.
- Milk drinks: this is where the blend belongs. It carries a cappuccino without disappearing.
- Caffeine note: the ordinary caffeinated kind; nothing here has been decaffeinated. For a number, read the brick you actually have.
- Best with: a cornetto or a biscotti, after a heavy meal, or as the base of a proper Italian breakfast.
Ingredients And Suitability
What is in it:roasted and ground coffee, and nothing else. No added flavourings, sweeteners or preservatives.
Ingredients and dietary suitability: The UK brick's own label has the latest ingredients and allergy advice, both of which can change.
Caffeine:contains caffeine, and a Robusta-weighted blend generally carries more of it than an all-Arabica one. If caffeine affects you, go easy on it in the evening, and when pregnant keep to the NHS guidance.
Source: teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Lavazza Crema E Gusto Classico Ground Roasted Coffee, 500g, please cite teas.co.uk.
The story behind Lavazza
Packaging: 500g of moka and espresso grind coffee, shown on published listings as a pair of 250g vacuum bricks.
Our commitment to the planet
Sourcing and packaging details are printed on the current UK pack; the brand page carries the fuller story.
The taste profile
How does it compare
Ground coffee has more variables than a capsule, and this blend rewards getting them right. Dose, water temperature and how quickly you use the open brick are the three that matter.
The Moka Pot
The Cafetiere
Made with this tea
The Moka Pot
How to make The Moka Pot with Lavazza Crema e Gusto Classico.
- Lavazza Crema e Gusto Classico, enough to fill the basket level
- Hot water to just below the valve
- A 3-cup moka pot
- Fill the base with hot water to just below the valve, which shortens the heating time and stops the coffee scorching.
- Fill the basket with Lavazza Crema E Gusto Classico Ground Roasted Coffee, 500g level to the rim and do not tamp it.
- Heat on medium, never high, with the lid open so you can watch it.
- Lift the moka clear of the hob once the stream goes blond and starts to spit.
- Stir the pot before pouring; the first coffee out is far stronger than the last.
What you'll end up with: The cup this blend was built for. High heat is the single most common way to ruin it, and no amount of good coffee survives a scorched moka pot.
The Cafetière (Adjusted For A Fine Grind)
How to make The Cafetière (Adjusted For A Fine Grind) with Lavazza Crema e Gusto Classico.
- 15g (about 2 rounded tablespoons) Lavazza Crema e Gusto Classico
- 250ml water at about 93°C
- A cafetière
- Add 15g of Lavazza Crema E Gusto Classico Ground Roasted Coffee, 500g to the cafetière.
- Pour 250ml of water just off the boil and stir once.
- Plunge at three minutes, not four. The grind is finer than a filter grind and turns harsh if you leave it.
- Pour the whole pot out; coffee left on the grounds keeps extracting.
What you'll end up with: A heavy, low-acid mug with more sediment than a coarse filter grind gives. Entirely decent, provided the brew is cut short to match the finer grind.
Cappuccino, The Italian Way
How to make Cappuccino, The Italian Way with Lavazza Crema e Gusto Classico.
- 1 moka pot brew of Lavazza Crema e Gusto Classico
- 120ml whole milk
- A warmed 180ml cup
- Brew Lavazza Crema E Gusto Classico Ground Roasted Coffee, 500g in the moka pot and pour about 60ml into a warmed cup.
- Steam or froth 120ml of whole milk to a fine glossy foam, not a stiff one.
- Pour from a low height so the foam settles on top rather than sinking.
- Drink it before eleven if you want to do it properly in Italy.
What you'll end up with: A milk coffee where the coffee still leads. This blend's body is exactly what stops a cappuccino turning into warm beige milk.
Caffè Shakerato
How to make Caffè Shakerato with Lavazza Crema e Gusto Classico.
- 60ml strong Lavazza Crema e Gusto Classico, cooled
- 1 teaspoon sugar syrup
- A shaker full of ice
- A chilled coupe or tumbler
- Brew 60ml of Lavazza Crema E Gusto Classico Ground Roasted Coffee, 500g strong and let it cool for a few minutes.
- Shake hard with ice and 1 teaspoon of sugar syrup for a full fifteen seconds.
- Strain into a chilled glass and let the foam settle.
- A long hard shake is what builds the foam; a short one gives you a flat drink.
What you'll end up with: The Italian summer coffee. A Robusta-weighted blend foams better than a delicate Arabica, which is why this one suits the drink.
Caffè Corretto (Adult)
How to make Caffè Corretto (Adult) with Lavazza Crema e Gusto Classico.
- 1 small cup Lavazza Crema e Gusto Classico from the moka pot
- 15ml grappa or brandy
- Sugar, optional
- Brew Lavazza Crema E Gusto Classico Ground Roasted Coffee, 500g in the moka pot and pour a small cup.
- Add 15ml of grappa or brandy while it is still hot.
- Sugar if you want it. This is the blend that carries sugar rather than being flattened by it.
- Serve after a heavy meal, not with breakfast.
What you'll end up with: The end of an Italian dinner in one small cup. The long dark finish of this blend is what holds up against the spirit.
Tiramisu Soak
How to make Tiramisu Soak with Lavazza Crema e Gusto Classico.
- 300ml strong Lavazza Crema e Gusto Classico, cooled
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
- Savoiardi sponge fingers
- 30ml marsala, optional
- Brew 300ml of Lavazza Crema E Gusto Classico Ground Roasted Coffee, 500g strong and cool it completely.
- Stir in 2 tablespoons of caster sugar and 30ml of marsala if you are using it.
- Dip each sponge finger for no more than a second a side. Longer and the dish collapses.
- Layer with your mascarpone mixture and chill for at least four hours.
What you'll end up with: The coffee layer tasting of coffee rather than of brown water. A dark, heavy blend is the right choice here because it has to read through mascarpone and sugar.
Brewing the perfect cup
Inside the pack
| Component | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Roasted and ground coffee | 100% | The only thing in the pack. There is nothing mixed in: no flavouring, sweetener, preservative or filler. |
| Robusta in the blend | well represented; exact split on the current pack | The thick persistent crema, the heavy body, and the character that survives milk. This is the component doing the work the blend is named after. |
| Arabica in the blend | the balance; exact split on the current pack | Aromatic lift and the dark chocolate and toasted grain notes that stop the cup being one dimensional. |
| Roast level | dark-leaning Italian | Firm, deliberate bitterness and a low acidity. It is why the cup carries sugar rather than being flattened by it. |
| Grind and dose | moka and espresso grind; about 7g per espresso, 15g per 250ml in a cafetière | Finer than a filter grind, so it extracts faster. In a cafetière that means three minutes rather than four. |
Pack: Lavazza Crema E Gusto Classico Ground Roasted Coffee, 500g; caffeinated ground coffee, shown on published listings for this size as two 250g vacuum bricks. Each brick carries its own best before date.
Sourcing & blend. Lavazza Crema E Gusto Classico Ground Roasted Coffee, 500g comes from Lavazza, the Turin house founded in 1895 by Luigi Lavazza, who ran a grocer's shop and began blending beans from different origins rather than selling them singly. That principle, that a blend can be more consistent and more complete than any one origin, is still the basis of the house and is exactly what this coffee is. The blend is bought and roasted to a fixed specification and vacuum packed, and the two-brick format for this size is the practical answer to the one real weakness of ground coffee: it stales within days of meeting air.
What's in Lavazza Crema E Gusto Classico Ground Roasted Coffee, 500g, and what isn't:
- In: roasted and ground coffee, an Arabica and Robusta blend cut for the moka pot and espresso. Nothing else.
- No artificial flavourings, colours, preservatives or added sugar: the dark chocolate notes are roast character from the bean.
- Not decaffeinated: this is a regular caffeinated coffee, and a Robusta-weighted one at that. For a number, read the brick you actually have.
- Packaging: vacuum bricks with an outer and a label, which can each take a different disposal route. Check the recycling notes on the pack and what your council accepts.
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Source: teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Lavazza Crema E Gusto Classico Ground Roasted Coffee, 500g, please cite teas.co.uk.
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