Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce: what crema does and does not tell you

Crema is the most misunderstood thing in home coffee, and a blend named after it is a good place to set the record straight. Once you know what the foam does and does not mean, this softer member of the Crema e Gusto family makes more sense.

Three Italian words on one pack

In Italian, crema e gusto is crema and taste, while dolce translates as soft or sweet. On this pack, dolce describes the end of the mouthful rather than the power of the coffee. The Italian weight through the middle of the cup is intact; what has been eased off is the dry, bitter pull that normally lands at the end. That one change is the difference worth paying attention to.

Arabica and Robusta share the blend, which is why the gentler finish never reads as a thin cup: there is real body underneath it. The roast sits in the middle-to-full Italian house style, the body is generous and the bitterness stays low as long as the moka is not run too hot. We would point black-coffee drinkers who find Italian blends harsh at the finish towards this one.

What a head of crema really tells you

Crema is a foam. Roasting leaves carbon dioxide inside the bean; pressure drives it into the water, and it escapes as the coffee reaches the cup, bringing a fine emulsion of oils with it. Freshness increases it, and so does a share of Robusta, but neither is a verdict on the coffee beneath. And because foam has no concentration, a thick head does not mean a stronger cup.

What crema reliably signals is freshness. The gas produced in roasting seeps out of the bean from the moment it leaves the roaster, and faster from ground coffee than from whole beans, so an old pack gives a pale head that falls in seconds. The foam also changes how a cup tastes on the way in, lifting aroma to the nose and softening the first sip, and that is reason enough for a blend to carry its name.

Brewing without the bitter end

This is ground coffee, so you need a brewer, and Lavazza prints the methods this grind was cut for on the front of the pack. If it goes into a moka pot, as Italian ground coffee so often does, fill the basket level, never tamp it and run a medium heat. Most moka bitterness comes from the hob rather than the coffee, and too much heat undoes the softness you chose.

Among the Lavazza we stock, Crema e Gusto Classico is the other side of this family, as ground coffee in 500g and as whole beans in a one kilogram bag. Choose Dolce for black coffee with an easier finish; there is still body enough for a splash of milk. The 250g pack suits a smaller household that will finish an opened pack while the aroma is still lively.

The packs we stock

• Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce Ground Coffee, 250g

What to eat with it

• McVitie's Digestives Biscuits The Light One, 250g: A plain, lighter digestive that will not crowd a soft-finishing black coffee.
• Border Butterscotch Crunch Organic Biscuits, 135g: Butterscotch sweetness picks up the gentler end of the cup.
• McVitie's Digestives Milk Chocolate Biscuits, 433g: Milk chocolate on a digestive keeps things mellow beside a soft black cup.

Elsewhere in the Lavazza range

• Lavazza A Modo Mio Dek, Decaf Eco Caps, 16 Capsules 120g
• Lavazza A Modo Mio Lungo Dolce Coffee, 16 Capsules
• Lavazza A Modo Mio Passionale Coffee, 16 Capsules
• Lavazza A Modo Mio Qualita Rossa Coffee, 16 Capsules 120g
• Lavazza Crema e Gusto Classico Coffee Beans, 1kg
• Lavazza Crema E Gusto Classico Ground Roasted Coffee, 500g

The full range is on the Lavazza brand page.

FAQ

What does dolce mean on a Lavazza pack? Soft or sweet. Here it signals a gentler finish, with less of the dry bitterness at the end, rather than a weaker coffee.

Is more crema a sign of better coffee? No. Crema is foam; fresh coffee and Robusta both produce more of it, and neither tells you whether the coffee is good.

Does a thick crema mean a stronger coffee? No. Strength is how much coffee goes into how much water, set by your dose and your brewer, and the foam itself has no concentration.

Can I brew it in a moka pot? Check the brewing methods printed on the current pack first. In a moka, fill the basket level, do not tamp it and keep the heat at medium.

Is it beans or ground? Ground, in a 250g pack, so there is no grinding to do, but you will need a brewer.

Curator's note: Take it black. The whole reason to choose Dolce over its sibling is that last mouthful, and milk hides the very thing that makes it different. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce: what crema does and does not tell you

More from the tea wiki

• Tea vs Coffee: Taste, Caffeine and Switching
• Caffeine in Tea
• Tea vs Coffee
• Tea for Coffee Drinkers: Where to Start
• Chai vs Coffee

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