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How to Choose the Correct Roast for your Palate: A Guide to Coffee Roasts
URGH – Lockdown two: caffeine boogaloo. We’re all home…again…sigh.
Sure, you’ve been a diligent café goer and have getting coffee to go as often as you can.
The thing is, even if you’ve only got a good old Mr Coffee drip coffee maker, you can still make a pretty decent cup…as long as you BUY GOOD COFFEE!
With a ton of the best coffee roasters in Vancouver, you could try a different bean week after week after week after week.
But, what to choose?
A good place to start is figuring out what kind of roast you enjoy most.
I dropped into the tasting bar at Roaster Central at Espressotec on Clark Drive and got some intel on roast levels.
Is Dark Roast Coffee the Correct Roast for you?
Back in the day, dark roasts were considered the ultimate choice for ‘real’ coffee flavour, think Italian or French roasts.
Industry veterans will tell you that those old dark roasts just masked the inconsistency in low-grade beans.
Is Light Roast Coffee the Correct Roast for you?
On the other hand, light roast coffee has completely evolved, from once being considered less flavourful to now being the roast level of choice to reveal nuanced and complex flavours.
The focus is on single-origin coffee and light roasts that highlight specific notes and characteristics.
Choose an Ethiopian coffee from the Chiapas region, and delicate lemon and floral flavours and aroma emerge.
What about Medium Roast?
Medium roasts tend to be less acidic than light roasts, revealing subtler tones and often being described as a warmer coffee. There are some fantastic single-origin medium roasts and some tremendous blends, sometimes from one particular country or region and usually a combination of two or more countries. Tug 6 Beach Cruiser Espresso masterfully combines beans from Brazil, Sumatra, and Colombia.
What Roast Should I Choose?
Based on how you take your coffee, here are a few suggestions regarding roast choices.
If you enjoy a latte, cappuccino, macchiato, or flat white – your basic coffee and milk drinks, a medium to dark roast will punch through the milk for a balanced and delicious beverage.
A light roast may be overwhelmed by the milk.
For espresso shots, medium or darker will undoubtedly be easier to work with, but if you’re drinking it black, you can use whatever is to your taste.
Decaf is no longer the weak and flavourless alternative it once was.
When caffeine is extracted using the Swiss Water method, there is no compromising the beans’ quality – Pallet Sidamo Decaf will attest to that; a medium roast with tasting notes of candied cherry and dark chocolate, just minus the caffeine.
They’ve got an ace house blend at Roaster Central; the 9 Bar Espresso Italia, a dark classic Italian roast.