A Good Cup of Coffee

78 watchers

Hertford Tiger Dec 2022 8:29am, 7 Dec 2022 653 posts	0 Hertford Tiger Red Squirrel a week ago I’d have agreed with you. My current is a dark roast from the Odd coffee co, and the Sumatran dark roasts are lovely. but the last few days have been a revaluation mainly light roasts and mostly very enjoyable. I think dark roasts are more predictable for the roasters so a good light roast may well be more expensive. My wallet may live to regret this experiment
Hanneke Dec 2022 11:15am, 7 Dec 2022 96,404 posts	0 Hanneke I tend to not like light roasts either. I am about to open a new kilo bag of beans, from the Dutch supermarket. They have proven extremely passable for my daily cuppa and at €7.45 a kilo, not to be sniffed at!!! That is 1/3 of the price of a kilo of lavazza rossa and frankly, better quality!
larkim Dec 2022 12:33pm, 7 Dec 2022 19,796 posts	0 larkim I think I need someone really good to make me what they think is a really good espresso with a light roast so I know what I'm missing, as every time I've tried something lighter I've just found it a bit unpleasant when compared to the nice bold flavours of a darker roast. Though sometimes the same lighter beans as an aeropress do come out tasing much better via that route than via the espresso route.
rhb Dec 2022 12:49pm, 7 Dec 2022 2,026 posts	0 rhb Lighter Roasts tend to be much more temperamental for Espresso, so best enjoyed as a clean filter (v60 or similar). If you must though, then whatever Salford Roasters provide to RHS Bridgewater is well worth seeking out, the best Espresso shot I've had in years and quite surprising for what I'd assumed would be a typical non-specislist cafe.
larkim Dec 2022 1:07pm, 7 Dec 2022 19,799 posts	0 larkim I've got a V60 arriving via Santa (I hope!). I got a nice (niche) grinder for my birthday which is working very well and I'd hoped I'd be able to get more experimental with coffees, but after three bags of varied lighter roasts from a specialist, none of which really floated my boat, I'm back on my SF Bay stuff, or Starbucks Espresso (!) or tesco.com these from Tesco which, despite the packaging, is a bit lighter but still quite acceptable as an espresso.
Derby Tup Dec 2022 3:43pm, 7 Dec 2022 57,549 posts	0 Derby Tup Espresso in Da Sandro Italian restaurant in Huddersfield yesterday after lunch. Wonderful. Pizza was ace too. And no, tropical fruit did not feature
rhb Dec 2022 5:47pm, 7 Dec 2022 2,027 posts	0 rhb larkim what method are you brewing it via at present and are you following a brew guide? James Hoffman has plenty guides for all sorts of methods. His recent v60 one (and the pt2) defo worth a watch for that. I'm on some Ancoats beans through v60 at the moment that have stopped conversations when I've poured from my flask, as folks get the aroma and start to ask more about it. Dangerously drinkable stuff.
Hertford Tiger Dec 2022 6:25pm, 7 Dec 2022 654 posts	0 Hertford Tiger Like RHB I find light roasts work better as a filter. I use a metal filter I got years ago from Whittards. I have a Sage espresso machine and the light roasts really don’t work well through that. I am enjoying the Odd coffee dark roast which makes a lovely espresso.
larkim Dec 2022 10:22pm, 7 Dec 2022 19,802 posts	0 larkim My go to method is espresso on a standard 2:1 ratio from 16g. Hoffman's aeropress recipe works well though to get more from the lighter roasts. Just not as nice as dark ones.
rhb Dec 2022 7:31am, 8 Dec 2022 2,028 posts	0 rhb Espresso is much harder to get consistent brews from as many more variables. Fwiw, in the same way I wouldn't compare an Imperial Stout to a Pale Ale, I have different expectations of Dark & Light Roasts. Not everyone has to like either or both, I appreciate that.