Does N2O enhance the crema, and does it make it taste sweet?
N2O (nitrous oxide) is often used to whip cream, so one of the most common questions we are asked is, does it also contribute to the crema? One can see the confusion: crema and cream can seem quite similar in consistency (and their spelling), even through they are made from very different substances. Also, it is well known that N2O has a sweet taste, so does it also make the shot taste sweet? These are both good questions. The short answer is that cream and crema are not the same. In a whipped cream dispenser the N2O is mixed with the fats in the cream under pressure, and allowed to expand creating “whipped” cream. In the TWIST the N2O doesn’t ever mix with the crema, which is produced during extraction, and actually gets its airiness from the CO2 trapped in the ground coffee. Here’s the longer answer: Gas isn’t absorbed into the water in the 20-30 seconds it takes to make a shot. Gasses absorb much more readily into cold liquids, but the brownian motion of the molecules in a hot liqui
