That coffee shop roast changed my mind about light roasts

A barista at Blue Bottle in Austin told me light roasts are harder to nail than dark ones. He said most people just burn beans to hide flaws, and light roasts expose every mistake in the roasting process. Took me about 3 tries with a light roast from a local roaster to taste the difference. Now I get why they charge $18 for a bag that looks underdone. Any of you switch camps after a conversation like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

riley_wood8421d ago

Start with some fruit or tea notes next time you try one, especially if it's from Ethiopia or Kenya. @wesley_jones is right about those weird flavors, but I think people overstate how "bare bones" light roasts are. A good light roast still needs skill to bring out sweetness and body without turning sour or vegetal. The real trick is finding a roaster who can balance the acidity with a clean finish, not just leave it tasting like lemon juice.

wesley_jones21d ago

Huh, that barista nailed it honestly. Light roasts are basically the bare bones of coffee, no smoke and mirrors to hide behind. It took me way longer than three tries, probably a whole bag of some overly acidic Kenyan before I realized it wasn't burnt just bright and kinda fruity. Now I actually prefer them for pour overs because you get all those weird flavors like tea or berries that just get roasted out of a dark bean. It's wild how much more forgiving dark roasts are when you screw up the heat level. Makes me respect the small roasters even more since one bad batch and you're stuck with a bag that tastes like grass clippings.

ray_martinez8221d ago

Man that barista was 100% right and it took me like 5 tries before I got it. I almost gave up on light roasts completely because my first few cups tasted like sour grass. But once you learn to let the coffee cool down a bit and actually taste the fruit notes, it's a whole different game. Now I can't go back to dark roasts because they just taste like ash to me.