Crema is rubbish, 2026 edition
In 2009, James Hoffmann famously stated “crema is rubbish.” His comments generated heaps of discussion for many years, but somehow, they didn’t have much lasting impact on how people serve or enjoy espresso. This happens often in coffee: an idea comes along that identifies how to make coffee taste better, but inertia, market forces, or consumer habits turn that idea into more of a speedbump than a fork in the road of our collective coffee journey. It is unfortunate, as James identified a way to make espresso taste significantly better.
The idea is simple: crema is composed of lots of carbon dioxide, fines, oils, and bitter compounds. You don’t need a scientist to explain it; you can scoop some crema off of a shot and taste it directly. It’s not delicious; it is bitter, sour, chewy, and often roasty.
Sometimes, a good idea doesn’t get traction because there isn’t a convenient way to implement it. For example, air roasters have existed for decades (Vittoria 1957, Brambati 1960s, Sivetz 1974), but outside of Italy, air roasting remained mostly just a “good idea” for decades before manufacturers got serious about building quality air roasters with proper controls (IMF in 1994 and Loring in 2003).
In 2025, Philippine National Barista Champion Michael Harris Conlin based his WBC routine on a device he invented, the Better Vessel, to filter crema and suspended solids from espresso. Although Michael didn’t win the WBC, the Better Vessel helped him pull the highest-scoring espresso in the first round of the finals. My hope is the Better Vessel will be the convenience we need to help us implement James’ insight at scale.
The Better Vessel works simply:
Pull a shot directly into the Better Vessel
Allow the crema to settle on top
Set the Better Vessel on a cup to drain
The Better Vessel will trap most of the crema and some suspended solids, clarifying the shot.
The result is a much cleaner, less-bitter espresso.
Michael hosted me for a roasting class in Manila in this past December. Before the class, we had lunch at his The Giving Cafe, and then made some coffee together. We made several espressos, comparing unfiltered shots vs shots filtered through the Better Vessel. The difference in flavor was remarkable: the classic shots were pleasant, but muddled, slightly bitter, and gritty, with low flavor clarity. (I would say that about almost every espresso I have ever tasted.) The shots poured through the Better Vessel were clean, vibrant, smooth, and had superior flavor clarity. They had almost the same clarity and cleanliness as filter coffee (about that of a typical drip coffee made with a “Swiss Gold filter”), so much so that the shot perfectly matched the flavor notes listed on the bag. I was sold.
After quite a lot of R&D and prototyping (Michael’s son made the prototypes), Michael has finally released the Better Vessel to the public. I’m thrilled to sell it worldwide, shipping from the US and EU.
Spec’s”
Height: 66mm
Capacity: 50g of espresso
Material: Injection molded ECOZEN® T110 PRO
Please click here if you’d like to use the Better Vessel to make the cleanest espresso of your life.