OPTIMIZATION OF COFFEE CREMA PRODUCTION VIA THE “CREMA CUP”

Abstract

The convenience of making a cup of coffee at home is much desired, but the experience and taste of the coffee that you get at a local coffee shop is lost due to the lack of crema that one can produce without the proper equipment. Crema is an emulsion of aromatic oils that enhances the flavor profile of the espresso. The goal of this project was to create an attachment to the AeroPress, a French press device,that would give people an elevated experience at home by optimizing the amount of crema that is produced. This attachment will be an injection mold made primarily out of polypropylene and will include housing for two stainless steel filters, a mesh pre-filter and a slot filter, that will filter out coffee grounds without eating up all the crema. Mesh filters from 20 to 100 wires per square inch and slot filters with 0.004”, 0.007” and 0.01” slots were tested to see which ones would filter out the most grounds, while keeping the most crema alive. It was found that the 80-mesh filter and the 0.004” slot filter gave the best results, so the final design involved assembling these filters in series to allow for safe and easy brewing. Only 4.8 percent of grounds remained with 4.5 mL of crema produced. This product was proven to be both environmentally friendly and economically feasible. The Crema Cup will give consumers a better experience with at-home brewing.