# Dark Roast Recommendations



## caffeinejunkie (May 29, 2017)

I fancy trying a nice Dark Roast alongside the Lighter ones I currently have.

I have looked through some of the DSOL threads however would be interested to know if anyone can recommend a stand out Darker roast they have enjoyed as Espresso?

I know it's personal preference but would be keen to get a heads up on what you have enjoyed so I can give it a go!

Thanks

Mark


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

http://www.coffeecompass.co.uk/shop/speciality-blends/strong.html

I have had all those. The Malabar Jampit is my fave


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

Most certainly some of the Coffee Compass Mahoganay roasts are outstanding.

There is also an excellent selection of darker roasts at Baytown Coffee: https://www.baytowncoffeecompany.com. One of the most memorable DSOL roasts came from there


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## caffeinejunkie (May 29, 2017)

dfk41 said:


> http://www.coffeecompass.co.uk/shop/speciality-blends/strong.html
> 
> I have had all those. The Malabar Jampit is my fave


I will give those a try then, thanks!


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## caffeinejunkie (May 29, 2017)

dfk41 said:


> http://www.coffeecompass.co.uk/shop/speciality-blends/strong.html
> 
> I have had all those. The Malabar Jampit is my fave


I'll grab a bag of these as well


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Hill and Valley / Malabar jampit from Coffee Compass (Sweet bourbon if the 2 preceding two dark for you). Also worth a call to Richard to see what else he has as he often has some that are not on the website ( he typifies excellent service, helped me out a treat today whilst my roaster out of commission







)

The Bolts from Baytown mentioned above whilst not quite as dark as the special Bolts bootleg they did for the DSOL, which was outstanding as Ronsil pointed out above, is closest ( Boggle hole is darker and not quite as outstanding)

Dark arts Hackney do some very good seasonal offerings (again an outstanding DSOL from memory)

Hope of help

John


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## Deansie26 (Jan 16, 2017)

dfk41 said:


> http://www.coffeecompass.co.uk/shop/speciality-blends/strong.html
> 
> I have had all those. The Malabar Jampit is my fave


Just ordered some, sounds good


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## Deansie26 (Jan 16, 2017)

dfk41 said:


> http://www.coffeecompass.co.uk/shop/speciality-blends/strong.html
> 
> I have had all those. The Malabar Jampit is my fave


Second bag ordered already, really nice.


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Enjoying some Coffee Compass Cherry Cherry at the moment which is darker than med but not too dark yet does not get lost in milk. Fruity darkness!









John


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## earthflattener (Jul 27, 2015)

I'm bringing this thread back to life to ask a question. I'm currently trying CC Malabar Hit which I'm really enjoying. My current recipe is 18g in 40 (ish) out in about 32 secs and currently trying @ 95C. Since darker roasts extract more quickly, I wondering if I should go down to aim for 27 secs (or so) by grinding more coarsely and/or lowering temperature below 93 even? I will experiment, but it would be nice to get some hint as to the broad parameters which people go for for this type of coffee, so I'm starting from close to optimal.


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

earthflattener said:


> I'm bringing this thread back to life to ask a question. I'm currently trying CC Malabar Hit which I'm really enjoying. My current recipe is 18g in 40 (ish) out in about 32 secs and currently trying @ 95C. Since darker roasts extract more quickly, I wondering if I should go down to aim for 27 secs (or so) by grinding more coarsely and/or lowering temperature below 93 even? I will experiment, but it would be nice to get some hint as to the broad parameters which people go for for this type of coffee, so I'm starting from close to optimal.


 If you're enjoying it keep doing what you're doing. If you taste something defective or think you might be able to extract more grind finer or increase ratio and see. If you think you need to extract less you can coarsen the grind a little or decrease the ratio i.e try 35g instead of 40g and see if it pulls away from any undesirable flavour you're getting.


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## earthflattener (Jul 27, 2015)

Thanks. I am actually using a marginally smaller ratio for cortado (36 or 37) and am very happy with that. I think that when I used to drink espresso regularly (when i lived in france), they may have made it more like 1:3, but I'm just guessing. In any case without milk, I have found that making an Americano with 50/50 coffee/water makes it a bit easier for me to taste what's what. There are more parameters to try then there is coffee to try them on...only about 300g left of this one which is why I'm after a 'good ratio' for this type of bean, if such a thing exists. I think I'll have to invest in a 15g VST basket, if it fits my Sage DB, to reduce my caffeine intake as I've not yet got the willpower to throw any away!


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## earthflattener (Jul 27, 2015)

I'll partly answer my own question. After looking online, I realised (obvious really...after the fact) that I was way too hot at 95C, so I've backed down to 89C and coarsened out, following Rob's suggestion, to run 18 in, 37 out in 23 secs. A much better start point for the espresso and more balanced for the cortado. Although I still personally like the bit of extra bitterness to offset the milk, this one is probably more generally acceptable. I'm looking forward to the day when the broad parameters to use become obvious and I have less overshooting in adjustments


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