# Richer dark roasts



## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

It does seem that many roasters are going for a preponderance of lighter roasts across the board. I personally find the lighter roasts more acidic with a thin / watery mouth feel with many of the offerings with a very generic insipid taste. I am not impressed with the "flowery"

descriptors used which tend to indicate gnat's pee.

I am looking for rich, flavoursome coffee with a full voluptuous full mouth feel with low acidity. No I do not want burnt rubber or toasted tarmac.

We may be a dying breed but some of us do like darker roasts.

Any suggestions/ recommendations gratefully received. Only printable ones.


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

Blends ok?

Rave chatswood - everything you ask for but with balance and perfect acidity.... hints of orange really give it a lift but don't worry, it never gets near overpowering the dark chocolate


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

kennyboy993 said:


> Blends ok?
> 
> Rave chatswood - everything you ask for but with balance and perfect acidity.... hints of orange really give it a lift but don't worry, it never gets near overpowering the dark chocolate


Rave seem to indicate it's stopped before 2nd crack?

@El carajillo what kind of flavours are you looking for? No gnat's pee/rubber/tarmac doesn't narrow it down much. What kind of brew ratio do you shoot for?


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

Yes - medium/dark


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

kennyboy993 said:


> Yes - medium/dark


But not unusual for lighter espresso/darker filter roasts. It's not likely to really give it up at short brew ratios that easily.


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## gcogger (May 18, 2013)

El carajillo said:


> It does seem that many roasters are going for a preponderance of lighter roasts across the board. I personally find the lighter roasts more acidic with a thin / watery mouth feel with many of the offerings with a very generic insipid taste. I am not impressed with the "flowery"
> 
> descriptors used which tend to indicate gnat's pee.
> 
> ...


It sounds like Coffee Compass should suit - they have a range of Mahogany roast blends which may be what you're looking for. (Or perhaps you'd regard them as 'burnt rubber or toasted tarmac' - it's hard to know).


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## ajh101 (Dec 21, 2013)

I have liked Coffee Compass, but am loving Rave's Chatswood!


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

kennyboy993 said:


> Blends ok?
> 
> Rave chatswood - everything you ask for but with balance and perfect acidity.... hints of orange really give it a lift but don't worry, it never gets near overpowering the dark chocolate


Yes blends are fine


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

MWJB said:


> Rave seem to indicate it's stopped before 2nd crack?
> 
> @El carajillo what kind of flavours are you looking for? No gnat's pee/rubber/tarmac doesn't narrow it down much. What kind of brew ratio do you shoot for?


Good morning Mark, we did have a similar discussion before and compared it with wine. You suggested a wine you liked and I bought a bottle and tried it. To put it in context I found it thinner / lighter and slightly more acidic than wine I prefer. Beaujolais / Burgundy comparison.

I do prefer the thicker / heavier coffee's with low /mild acidity Sumatran / M/M OBJ Aus Skybury. I have had naturals with a very winey flavour and enjoyed them very much but being seasonal they do not always follow true. (As all coffee)

As mentioned by poster above, the some of the Mahogany roasts are very much tarmac burnt rubber to me and a step too far.

I generally drink my coffee as flat white with some espresso's. I am not keen on Americano's or brewed coffee.

Usual ratio 18 gms in 36 gms out but varied with 18 gms in varying 27 - 44 gms out

Timed 25 -35 s

Temp usually 93/94 but varied 91 - 96 pressure 8.5 -9 bar Clean machine clean grinder/ sharp burr's.

I have found that coffee's i have had in the past are not currently to my liking as the roast is much lighter and they have a more acidic edge and leave a slightly bitter aftertaste.

I know coffee is a seasonal product and many variations come into play but I do find the lighter roasting does not bring out the rich , voluptuous, thick mouth feel I enjoy.


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

This thread makes for an interesting read.

Since getting into coffee I agree that most (95%+) roasters seem to roast to the medium or light profile.

Because of this I have only really had these since I purchased my machine and grinder. When you do find a darker roast you are fond of please do update this thread and I will give it a go as I do like the idea of chocolate/caramel etc in my brew.


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## AndyDClements (Aug 29, 2016)

I tend to go for the darker roasts, but it's due to me drinking mainly cold brew which doesn't pull out as much of the softer flavour. So, I tend to loose a lot of the subtleties, and thus at least get a decent nutty/ choccy taste with the darker roasts. Possibly my favorite was a special by Coffee Compass which was an ebony roast, I'm sure it's not to everybody's taste when used in an espresso machine but possibly worth a try for you.


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## Jim bean (Aug 16, 2014)

Hi carajillo I feel slightly under qualified but I really enjoyed hasbean eclipse it is has a distinct taste of dried fruit but dark chocolate too also has that syrupy mouth feel also as you mentioned sumartran I've tried from Rave and Mancoco I thought Rave slightly better

Cheers James


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## espressotechno (Apr 11, 2011)

Blends are a good way to go for a richer, rounder & less acidic espresso/ristretto/ etc.


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## Dormouse (Aug 6, 2017)

iirc, Eclipse is a blend of beans that individually Hasbean recommends would be roasted lighter.

The trend towards lighter roasting has been going on for some time and often a roaster will roast the same beans lighter than they did 10 years ago; irritating because it is often impossible to know exactly how dark they have been roasted when buying.

And the aged coffees, typically roasted dark, don't have the same complexity of flavour that they had. Been true of Old Brown Java for a long time and more recently of MM. And aged Sumatran coffees have virtually disappeared. I assume the growers have responded to trends in demand from roasters.


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

Redber offer a number of different beans at various roast levels. I think you will find that coffee direct do too. I tried some monsoon malabar from compass - worst roast for it I have tried so far. There is a roast for it that tends to bring out the "spicy" note but theirs wasn't it. The lighter roasts are weaker. The full dark roast which should be oily tends to loose the spicy aspect. I suspect that and some other beans aren't always offered like this as it's difficult to do correctly - too much roasting and too much oil comes off so it has to be just right.

One supplier I wont mention reckons MM is bitter -







. That's one thing it most definitely isn't.

John

-


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## 7493 (May 29, 2014)

Rave had some Sumatra Jagong Village in a very dark roast that was delicious. Sadly no longer available...

N.B. The Sumatra Super Gayo is no substitute...


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

Rob666 said:


> Rave had some Sumatra Jagong Village in a very dark roast that was delicious. Sadly no longer available...
> 
> N.B. The Sumatra Super Gayo is no substitute...


 ....but the Colombia Suarez Project is.

Its a very smooth rich bean


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## 7493 (May 29, 2014)

Thanks @ronsil, I'll give it a try.


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## eddie57 (Mar 21, 2017)

ronsil said:


> ....but the Colombia Suarez Project is.
> 
> Its a very smooth rich bean


+1 for me, love it


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## GCGlasgow (Jul 27, 2014)

Dark Arts coffee https://www.darkartscoffee.co.uk/

Had one of theirs as a DSOL before and was one of the nicest darker roasts I have tried.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

GCGlasgow said:


> Dark Arts coffee https://www.darkartscoffee.co.uk/
> 
> Had one of theirs as a DSOL before and was one of the nicest darker roasts I have tried.


Had dark arts recently , I would nt have classed any of the SO as " Dark " . They my have changed their roasting style a little .


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## GCGlasgow (Jul 27, 2014)

Mrboots2u said:


> Had dark arts recently , I would nt have classed any of the SO as " Dark " . They my have changed their roasting style a little .


The DSOL was a while ago and was dark roasted, maybe they have changed their roasting style. Would like a nice dark roast again myself.


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

https://www.baytowncoffeecompany.com/product/boggle-hole/

If you don't mind a blend on the dark side, might fit what you looking for.

John


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

Mrboots2u said:


> Had dark arts recently , I would nt have classed any of the SO as " Dark " . They my have changed their roasting style a little .


I agree recently ran a DSOL with one of their coffees. Medium at best.

Amazing though.


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## Russ (Nov 15, 2011)

@El carajillo

I think you'd have a hard time finding more rich and flavoursome than this: https://www.monsoonestatescoffee.co.uk/coffee-shop/monsoon-malabar/

My go to, awesome in milk! I've tried many others from many roasters and not bettered it yet if you like the dark stuff....

Cheers

Russ


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## DavidBondy (Aug 17, 2010)

You may want to try Coffee Compass' French Breakfast Blend. That's my 'go to' when I run out of my home roasted Old Brown Java.


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## NickR (Jul 1, 2011)

Interesting thread. Why do the majority of "Artisan" roasters think it sensible to end a roast well before 2nd crack? I've recently returned a batch my son had received from Bellabarista. In his words "Utterly vile, they taste of oats and stewed tea" I tried them and agreed. This is why I roast my own.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

NickR said:


> Interesting thread. Why do the majority of "Artisan" roasters think it sensible to end a roast well before 2nd crack? I've recently returned a batch my son had received from Bellabarista. In his words "Utterly vile, they taste of oats and stewed tea" I tried them and agreed. This is why I roast my own.


It's all about personal taste isnt it.

They are roasting for themselves primarily as are you.

There are plenty of " Artisan roasters " that also produce baked and over roasted beans . IMHO .


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

CC extra dark Ethiopian. Just got a bag of it today 4 days post roast and was pleasantly surprised. This morning pulled a shot at 93c with 18g into 40g in 25 seconds it's rich and sweet with subtle dark fruit notes and dark chocolate, not a bitter or burned note in there. I tried a single in the IMS a moment ago after tightening the grind, 9g into 20g in 31 seconds. The shot had a syrupy mouth feel and a more obvious fruit note (blueberry to me) with dark chocolate but had a bitterness to it. Will try lowering the temp for my morning double tomorrow but this one is looking good so far.

I don't get on well with Rave for some reason. I've had a few bags and while I can detect some of the flavours they list I also find the acidity to be too sharp and I struggle to get a good extraction from the bottomless pf even with their darker roasts.


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## DavidBondy (Aug 17, 2010)

My go-to rich, dark roast (if I can't be bothered to roast my own!) is CC's French Breakfast Blend. It is dark, oily, smoky, delicious!


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## igm45 (Mar 5, 2017)

johnealey said:


> https://www.baytowncoffeecompany.com/product/boggle-hole/
> 
> If you don't mind a blend on the dark side, might fit what you looking for.
> 
> John


20% off with code ACCESS too.

Sorry that code is for accessories only.


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