I know these things important for getting good crema:\r\n\r\n? Fresh coffee\r\n? Proper roast\r\n? Perfect grind. Look at the topic http://www.com/viewtopic.php?t=200 to know which grind is proper for your machine.\r\n? Perfect tamp. You should have proper amount of coffee in your portafilter and tamp it firmly enough.\r\n? Proper pressure from the group head forcing a good amount of coffee through the portafilter.