Shoutout to the local roaster who talked me into a lighter roast

For years I stuck with a dark roast from the grocery store, thinking that's what strong coffee was. Last month, the guy at the new roaster in town, Ground Up, gave me a sample of their Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, which is a light roast. I brewed them side by side with my French press, using the same grind and water. The light roast had these crazy blueberry and lemon notes, while my old dark one just tasted burnt and flat. I've been drinking the light roast for three weeks now and I won't go back. What's a coffee switch you made that totally surprised you?

3 comments

3 Comments

king.andrew1mo ago

Try a pour over next. It really pulls out those bright notes you found. Changed the game for me.

barbara_baker571mo ago

Oh man, that's the exact same thing that happened to me (but with a different roaster). I was a total dark roast die-hard, thought light roast was just weak coffee. Then I tried a light roast Costa Rican that tasted like honey and peaches. It blew my mind. My old dark roast just tasted like ash in comparison once I really paid attention. Now I'm hunting for those bright, fruity flavors every weekend. It's a whole new world.

barbara_baker571mo ago

Welcome to the club, we meet at the coffee grinder. My old dark roast loyalty feels like a weird, smoky past life now. I spent years basically drinking liquid campfire and calling it flavor.