FAO Coffee snobs

[Gavster]

This is going to start sounding coffee snobbish now

Most normal coffee beans that you get in the supermarkets etc, or Italian style are dark roast, which is more bitter by default. In the UK most people prefer dark roast, it's what is most common and has even been marketed as strong and sophistcated.

On the other hand a medium roast natural process coffee is low bitterness, with almost a sweet and fruity complex flavour. So any bitterness is very obvious, as it simply shouldn't be there in the first place. This is the kind of coffee I make with my pourover.

[Mito Man]

Finally someone gets it.

Also has anyone had coffee in Portugal? There’s dark roast and then there’s the Portuguese style which I can only imagine is charcoal roast.

[Gavster]

Finally someone gets it.

Also has anyone had coffee in Portugal? There’s dark roast and then there’s the Portuguese style which I can only imagine is charcoal roast.

It might be similar to tinto in Colombia, which is where the leftover, imperfect beans are roasted to hell and back so they all taste the same and then brewed up in big urns. It's very dark, bitter and strong.

[dinny_g]

I've always thought the Dutch make the best coffee...

(no sniggering jokes about "Coffee Shops" please... )

[Swervin_Mervin]

This is going to start sounding coffee snobbish now

Most normal coffee beans that you get in the supermarkets etc, or Italian style are dark roast, which is more bitter by default. In the UK most people prefer dark roast, it's what is most common and has even been marketed as strong and sophistcated.

On the other hand a medium roast natural process coffee is low bitterness, with almost a sweet and fruity complex flavour. So any bitterness is very obvious, as it simply shouldn't be there in the first place. This is the kind of coffee I make with my pourover.

I've been going on about this for years, ever since we started buying ours from Mancoco. Theirs is more a light to medium tan colour, and you get all of those high notes that otherwise get lost when over-roasting.

[Gavster]

Dark roast is largely an economically driven choice. Coffee beans are similar to grapes for wine, each farm will produce different flavoured beans based on it's location. Also, coffee beans vary in size, and larger beans require longer roasting times than smaller beans. Therefore, if someone is mass-producing coffee to a price point, they will collect beans of all different sizes from various farms in different locations, even from different coutnries. They'll mix them all together then roast the hell out of them. The dark roast masks all of the nuanced flavours, and gets all of the beans, regardless of size to the same level of char. That means they can mix the cheapest beans together and nobody can really tell.

[Mito Man]

You should make a YouTube video on this to educate the peoples.

[Zonda_]

So I may have shot myself in the foot as my coffee intake has now doubled as it tastes so nice!

[Matty]

Lots of conversation about beans, but I need some links!

My daily, reasonably priced go-to is usually Taylors, but also found some of M&S stuff to be good as well.

[duncs500]

I usually prefer a roast on the lighter side, but I do think there's a place for darker roast. You can still have good quality from a darker roast so it is a matter of taste IMO.

[Gavster]

Lots of conversation about beans, but I need some links!

My daily, reasonably priced go-to is usually Taylors, but also found some of M&S stuff to be good as well.

I get all my coffee from White Rose in Yorkshire, they have an amazing selection of single origin coffees from around the world that are amazing value compared to most of the cool roasters in London. I buy 2kg of beans every month or so. It’s a small no-nonsense business and I’ve probably ordered over 100kg of coffee from them!

https://whiterosecoffeeroasters.co.uk/

Fave at the moment is this natural process from Colombia which I think is stunning value at £20 a kilo, it would be £30-40 from anyone around here.

https://whiterosecoffeeroasters.co.uk/p ... ted-coffee

[jamcg]

Is it like the tea drinkers who say they can tell when a kettle has been boiled twice ?

Dave!

I love deliberately making tea with the milk first and watching them not tell the fucking difference and getting a “good cup of tea that” in for the bargain

[jamcg]

Finally someone gets it.

Also has anyone had coffee in Portugal? There’s dark roast and then there’s the Portuguese style which I can only imagine is charcoal roast.

I love Portuguese coffee just load me up with double espresso nitro fuel, with a drop of milk and sugar in it please

[Matty]

I get all my coffee from White Rose in Yorkshire, they have an amazing selection of single origin coffees from around the world that are amazing value compared to most of the cool roasters in London. I buy 2kg of beans every month or so. It’s a small no-nonsense business and I’ve probably ordered over 100kg of coffee from them!

https://whiterosecoffeeroasters.co.uk/

Fave at the moment is this natural process from Colombia which I think is stunning value at £20 a kilo, it would be £30-40 from anyone around here.

https://whiterosecoffeeroasters.co.uk/p ... ted-coffee

It's the storing it for me with bags that big once it's open - as I get coffee at work, at home a 1KG bag could be open for a month or more, so tend to buy them smaller as it seems to lose it's potency, even stored airtight in the dark. Some good choices there though.

[Matty]

Is it like the tea drinkers who say they can tell when a kettle has been boiled twice ?

Dave!

I love deliberately making tea with the milk first and watching them not tell the fucking difference and getting a “good cup of tea that” in for the bargain

They're being polite. I suspect "Good cup of tea that" is said insincerely, meanwhile they're reporting you to Big Tea for your crimes.

[DeskJockey]

I get all my coffee from White Rose in Yorkshire, they have an amazing selection of single origin coffees from around the world that are amazing value compared to most of the cool roasters in London. I buy 2kg of beans every month or so. It’s a small no-nonsense business and I’ve probably ordered over 100kg of coffee from them!

https://whiterosecoffeeroasters.co.uk/

Fave at the moment is this natural process from Colombia which I think is stunning value at £20 a kilo, it would be £30-40 from anyone around here.

https://whiterosecoffeeroasters.co.uk/p ... ted-coffee

It's the storing it for me with bags that big once it's open - as I get coffee at work, at home a 1KG bag could be open for a month or more, so tend to buy them smaller as it seems to lose it's potency, even stored airtight in the dark. Some good choices there though.

Freeze the beans. They keep fresh for much longer. I'm the only coffee drinker in our house, so a kilo bag lasts 4-6 weeks, freezing them makes it much nicer towards the end of the bag.