Hot take: dark roast isn't actually better for espresso, I've been proving myself wrong for 2 months now

I went to a cupping at Counter Culture in Chicago 3 years ago and they pulled a light roast Ethiopian that tasted like straight lemon juice. Everyone there said it was awful for espresso, but last month I finally dialed in a similar bean on my Silvia at home and it blew my mind. 18 grams in, 36 out, 28 seconds flat, and I got blueberry sweetness instead of bitterness. Has anyone else tried pushing past the medium-dark zone and actually liked it?

3 comments

3 Comments

grace50814d ago

I mean, I gotta push back on this a little. I've been running my old Rancilio Silvia for about 4 years now and I've tried light roasts three separate times. Each time I ended up with sour shots that just reminded me of underripe fruit. Maybe it's just me but I think the whole light roast espresso trend is a little overhyped. Dark roasts have that caramelized sweetness and body that feel right for a milk drink or even a straight shot. Idk, maybe your Counter Culture training was different but I've seen way too many people chasing those bright notes and ending up with something that tastes like lemon rind instead of coffee.

kevin_harris7814d agoMost Upvoted

@grace508 totally get where you're coming from with the lemon rind thing lol. It's kind of funny how that whole light roast trend sometimes feels like people chasing a weird coffee unicorn when basic dark roasts just work. I notice this same pattern in other stuff too, not just coffee. Like people will spend weeks trying to get some fancy fermentation method to work when a simple cold brew is way more consistent and tasty. Feels like sometimes we overcomplicate things just because we can, even when the simple stuff is the real winner.

the_matthew14d ago

Yeah honestly you might be hitting on something here. I used to be all about those super light roasts thinking they were the only way to get "real" flavor out of beans but after burning through a bag of Ethiopian natural that tasted like straight up grass clippings I started rethinking things. Dark roasts just deliver every time without the headache of trying to dial in some finicky origin. @kevin_harris78 you got me wondering if all this complexity is just us fooling ourselves.