Lavazza Crema E Gusto Classico Coffee: My Taste Test

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by Nigel Ong

Lavazza is one of North America’s most popular Euro-style coffee roasters, and it is easy to find their roasts. I have found some of their coffee enjoyable, such as the Qualita Oro, while the Qualita Rossa is a bit wanting.

What about the Lavazza Crema E Gusto? From the packaging, the coffee looks impressive. But the real test will be on how it tastes. 

In this review, I will sample the Lavazza Crema E Gusto. I’ll brew the coffee several ways and then sample it with popular flavorings. I’ll also compare the roast with relevant coffees to see if you should try it.

About Lavazza Crema E Gusto

Lavazza is one of Europe’s largest coffee brands, focusing on producing great Euro-style coffee. It was founded in Turin, Italy, in 1895 by Luigi Lavazza.

Initially, it was a small grocery store before growing into the massive multinational it is today. You can technically find Lavazza’s coffee on many grocery shelves worldwide, including those near you.

Aside from selling coffee, Lavazza also operates many espresso bars and cafés – you may recall seeing Lavazza’s signs in your local coffee shops. 

Lavazza is also the first Italian coffee roaster to offer capsule espresso systems, allowing it to compete and license it out to other brands. Its more contemporary competitors include brands such as Illy.

Crema E Gusto translates from Italian into ‘cream and taste’ in English, likely signaling that this roast is made to produce a rich and creamy taste. You can get them as beans, grounds, and pods. It is also one of the most popular blends.

First Impression

I was first attracted to the Lavazza Crema E Gusto because of the packaging. Instead of a regular coffee bag, mine is in a metal tin, and I must admit that kind of seals it. Perhaps a coffee tin feels a bit classic and old school.

The coloring is easily distinguishable from other Lavazza roasts. Crema E Gusto uses a crimson-red and blue color scheme with white lettering. 

On the tin, I can see that the coffee has an intensity of 7 to 10, lightly showing it as a medium roast but on the darker side. As for the taste notes, it says that the roast is spicy. 

It also mentions that the Crema e Gusto is a blend of Arabica and Robusta coffee, something a little shocking to me. I would expect a 100% Arabica blend here. 

Protecting the tin is a sheet of aluminum, which also comes with a handle for you to pull away. Once I do that, my nose immediately picks up the fragrance of coffee. 

However, my nose seems to pick up a chocolatey aroma instead of spice. The spicy notes did register later, but only when I put in the effort and smelled the coffee.

I cannot examine the beans directly because my coffee comes pre-ground. Still, the grounds are lighter dark brown, consistent with a medium roast.

Enough with the packaging; let’s get brewing.

How Does Lavazza Crema E Gusto Taste?

Moving on to the brewing tests, I plan to explore Lavazza Crema E Gusto with three brewing methods – one immersion, one filtration, and one as espresso.

French Press: This technique should yield a dense, robust coffee with particles and sediments. I anticipate a bold, ‘dirty,’ and full-bodied flavor.

Pour Over with Filter Paper: This method should produce a ‘cleaner’ coffee devoid of excess oils and particles. This should allow the more delicate flavors to shine through.

Espresso: Although typically associated with darker roasts, I find espresso great in condensing flavors. I want to see how the Crema E Gusto behaves as an Espresso.

French Press

For my French press, I relied on my trusty Bodum French press, following the brewing tips from Illy Coffee. 

I stick to a ratio of 1 part coffee to 12 parts water, so I’ll use 15 grams of coffee with 180ml of hot water, heated up to about 185°F (that’s 85°C). 

I mixed the coffee grounds with hot water, stirred it well, and let it sit for 4 minutes before pouring.

As I brew, a creamy and earthy aroma of smoke fills the air, suggesting the Crema E Gusto would be a rich, potent brew. As I pour, the coffee presents a dark hue with a hint of clarity.

When I start tasting, I can pick up the coffee’s intensity. It’s bold and full-bodied but does not smash your palate. There is a noticeable creaminess, too. 

As I sip, I can pick up flavors of warm spices, probably a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and more. There are also some chocolate notes, especially as the coffee gets colder. 

The coffee stays long on my palate, with a strong finish. The spiciness goes away, replaced with a subtle sweetness of chocolate.

I can imagine this coffee being enjoyed well when it is cold, with its spicy and chocolate notes filling your senses. It also tastes very nice with milk, as the creamy flavors in the roast blend well with it.

Pour Over With Filter Paper

My pour-over brew setup includes the following:

I applied Starbucks’s same pour-over brewing method, keeping a 1:18 water ratio to coffee. I also used hot, slightly off-boiling water.

As expected, the pour-over version looks lighter in color compared to the French press brew. When I look at the coffee from the bottom of my transparent glass cup, I can see less coffee sediments, too. 

This means the filter paper has done its job – removing some coffee oils and finer particles.

This cuts into the smoke and earthiness of the Lavazza Crema E Gusto, making it less intense and bold. If you find the French press coffee too strong, this is an option for you to try. The lighter flavor may not be for everyone, though. 

The spicy notes seem to lessen, allowing the chocolate notes to come out more. My palate prefers the French press version, but you may differ from me.

Espresso

I look forward to trying the Lavazza Crema E Gusto as an espresso. I wonder if the crema word on the coffee helps to translate into a richer, creamier espresso.

The resulting espresso is rich, with thick and velvety crema. The crema’s color is lighter, although not far from your regular Starbucks espresso. The crema does not look to be thicker than regular espresso.

As for the flavoring, the espresso is not as intense as your regular espresso – this is, after all, a medium roast. Some smoke, deep flavors, spice, and chocolate dominate the espresso. 

I note some creamier taste on the espresso, which should be nice and enjoyable if you like your coffee that way.

Lavazza Crema E Gusto vs Popular Medium Roasts

Since the Lavazza Crema E Gusto is a medium roast, I pitched it against some medium roasts I greatly enjoy. I picked a few medium roasts from my stash for this comparison. They include:

I brewed these roasts using my French press before trying them out one after the other, together with the Crema E Gusto.

After tasting them all, I would not rank the Crema E Gusto as the top dog here – for several reasons. All coffee here is good, which means the differences may lie in what flavors and texture you enjoy. 

In this case, I found the smooth, chocolatey taste of the Big Bang Roast the best in the bunch, followed by the 100% Colombian Roast. 

I’ll put the Crema E Gusto third on this list. I reason that as much as I enjoy the coffee, the spicy notes can be too much for me. I appreciate coffee without spicy notes, like the Dunkin and the Big Bang Roast.

Is Lavazza Crema E Gusto For You?

After giving the Lavazza Crema E Gusto a try, I would say this is a unique roast, something not commonly seen in North America. Perhaps it is made for European palates. 

It is rich and bold but not to the point of smashing the palate to a KO with an uppercut. You can also enjoy flavor notes, such as chocolate and spices. 

The chocolate notes are nice, but the spicy ones are a bit intense, making it not a daily go-to coffee for me.

I would keep my can and drink the Crema E Gusto as an occasional treat or something to pair with sweet cakes, perhaps those with raisins.

If you intend to drink this daily, consider it with milk, as a latte, or as a cappuccino. The milk helps mellow the coffee down and remove bits of the spice notes. The coffee also tastes very good with milk too.

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