# Online or London based darker roast beans for espresso?



## Northern_Monkey (Sep 11, 2018)

Currently having a bit of a search around and looking for some darker roast beans for espresso. I quite like the more "traditional" darker roasts compared to the lighter fruity ones which seem to be more fashionable.

Any suggestions for brands or roasters to try? The Bella barrista milk buster I tried recently was surprisingly good, dark enough and the crema was great.


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## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

Maybe Dark Arts.


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## Jacko112 (Oct 29, 2015)

Try Redber at Guildford - their beans tend to be quite dark & I seem to remember you can specify the roast level


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Jony said:


> Maybe Dark Arts.


Nope Dark arts are not dark ( depsite the name)


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Coffee Compass


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## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

Mrboots2u said:


> Nope Dark arts are not dark ( depsite the name)


Ah didn't know thanks for clearing that up, my bad haha I might sample them Medium then?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Jony said:


> Ah didn't know thanks for clearing that up, my bad haha I might sample them Medium then?


Err, what's medium ? Means absolutely nothing to me.

I had some recently, single origin for filter they delivered on the tasting notes they supplied.

I know At All Started Here had them on and he enjoyed them, so that's good enough for me.


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## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

That would be above lighter roast would it not. Or am I missing something Roast wise


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Jony said:


> That would be above lighter roast would it not. Or am I missing something Roast wise


Describe to me what medium is then ?


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## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

Well I Had CC and to me they are burnt so I thought dark arts was Dark so what the are medium? so it's not the color of roast then. As now your confusing me.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Jony said:


> Well I Had CC and to me they are burnt so I thought dark arts was Dark so what the are medium? so it's not the color of roast then. As now your confusing me.


Lets take this to pm


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Coffee Compass as suggested. They often offer there beans to 2 or 3 different levels are are amazingly snd consistently good


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## Dumnorix (Dec 29, 2017)

A third coffee compass vote. I have just ordered their espresso selection pack- 500g bags and you can choose a different espresso blend for each bag. I'm currently on the Brighton Lanes and loving it!


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## ZappyAd (Jul 19, 2017)

Coffee Compass would be my suggestion too. I find them very consistent and in absolutely the right ballpark of darker roasts (for me).


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## jj-x-ray (Dec 31, 2017)

Another vote for compass....I just got a selection of dark roasts from them yesterday

They are great value too


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## Northern_Monkey (Sep 11, 2018)

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

I didn't realise dark arts was not dark! Popped to a few places today wandering round and ended up buying some Empire beans from Ozone near Old Street.

I will check out the Guildford based one for mail order.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Northern_Monkey said:


> Thanks for the suggestions so far.
> 
> I didn't realise dark arts was not dark! Popped to a few places today wandering round and ended up buying some Empire beans from Ozone near Old Street.
> 
> I will check out the Guildford based one for mail order.


compass are brighton based

coffeecompass.co.uk


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## Nopapercup (Nov 6, 2016)

Volcano are London based and I think specialise in dark roast.

https://volcanocoffeeworks.com/


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Nopapercup said:


> Volcano are London based and I think specialise in dark roast.
> 
> https://volcanocoffeeworks.com/


Do they ? Long time since i had em but they weren't "dark", whatever that is.

Again this is where such subjective terms come to mean very little.

Better looking at a coffee's notes and seeing you you like em, anyone into "dark" aint gonna pick a cherry and lime finish coffee , its gonna be dark chocolate , smoky, toffee etc.


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## Nopapercup (Nov 6, 2016)

Mrboots2u said:


> Do they ? Long time since i had em but they weren't "dark", whatever that is.
> 
> Again this is where such subjective terms come to mean very little.
> 
> Better looking at a coffee's notes and seeing you you like em, anyone into "dark" aint gonna pick a cherry and lime finish coffee , its gonna be dark chocolate , smoky, toffee etc.


Im sure I read on their site a few years ago that they specialised or used to specialise in darker roasted blends. Maybe I'm mistaken or they've just changed their process or language.

I might give give them a try as that was what was putting me off before.


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## Northern_Monkey (Sep 11, 2018)

Mrboots2u said:


> Better looking at a coffee's notes and seeing you you like em, anyone into "dark" aint gonna pick a cherry and lime finish coffee , its gonna be dark chocolate , smoky, toffee etc.


Fair point on the flavours being important, definitely looking for more of a smoke or treacle rather than super fruity ultra light beans that can be a bit of a pain to grind.

This volcano one sounded promising though and seemed closer to what I was after:

https://volcanocoffeeworks.com/products/firehouse?variant=5185187577892


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Nopapercup said:


> Im sure I read on their site a few years ago that they specialised or used to specialise in darker roasted blends. Maybe I'm mistaken or they've just changed their process or language.
> 
> I might give give them a try as that was what was putting me off before.


I think Volcano are the big brother of Assembly roasters?

Like I always say look at the notes, and see if you like em . A dark choc syrupy thick espresso may well be more developed .


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

Nopapercup said:


> Im sure I read on their site a few years ago that they specialised or used to specialise in darker roasted blends. Maybe I'm mistaken or they've just changed their process or language.
> 
> I might give give them a try as that was what was putting me off before.


Smooth Bean round the corner from East Croydon Station use Volcano if you want to give them a try.


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## hitmananders (Aug 16, 2018)

https://extractcoffee.co.uk

Not London based (Bristol based) but delivery is free and swift. Offer many different espresso beans with the sort of notes you're probably looking for.


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## jaffro (Oct 6, 2015)

ashcroc said:


> Smooth Bean round the corner from East Croydon Station use Volcano if you want to give them a try.


Never heard of it, despite spending a while living not too far away... I'll give them a crack tomorrow if I find the time! Checked their photos on Google and looks like they have some good stuff!


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

jaffro said:


> Never heard of it, despite spending a while living not too far away... I'll give them a crack tomorrow if I find the time! Checked their photos on Google and looks like they have some good stuff!


Popped in on the way home from work today for some emergency beans. 

They offer aeropress & v60 too after 2pm.


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## mcrmfc (Sep 17, 2016)

Mrboots2u said:


> Coffee Compass


This is the answer for you...certainly everything I ever tried was way beyond what could be considered light.

Also Monmouth espresso blend sits squarly in the 'modern traditional' category and that is easily purchased in London Bridge at whatever weight you desire.

Imho as alluded to in previous posts rather than thinking light/dark think more about flavour in the cup e.g. some light roasts can be intollerably acidic as espresso byt amazing as filter...but others if brewed correctly can deliver flavour you never thought possible and open new expectations in terms of what espresso can deliver.


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Algerian Coffee Store on Old Compton Street.


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