Want to taste coffee? Switch to light roasts. Want coffee flavored drink? Do whatever, mixing it with cream and sugar and flavor will make all the prep in the world pointless.
For real though, light roasts and a couple different beans and you'll really be able to taste the differences. I'm not talking subtle either. There will be some you hate, some you love and some that make you go "wait! That's coffee?"
I disagree with this. It's clearly personal preference. As an ex barista, I used to enjoy the shit that knocked your fucking socks off, which was always dark roasts. The sort of stuff that is standard fare in mediterranean countries. My absolute favourite however was Indian coffee. I used to describe that to customers as like being punched in the face by a film noir detective. Real good shit.
> I disagree with this. It's clearly personal preference.
you are correct that you might like the taste of dark roasted coffee as a personal preference, but that's not a "quality" quality, it's a taste preference. But you can make that strong dark coffee out of virtually any beans, just roast them to near death, it doesn't matter what you start with. Like chocolatey notes? you're in luck! that's called Brazilian coffee, and it's really really cheap to buy the beans.
You may not like more lightly roasted tea-like coffee flavors, but they have more distinct differences, fruit notes, etc, that you would easily be able to taste and differentiate between, even if it's not your preference.
being a barrista gives you a leg up on knowing about the coffee you tried regularly, but not on the coffee you haven't, and it takes a substantial amount of time to develop a palate, as with wine tasting.
> being a barrista gives you a leg up on knowing about the coffee you tried regularly
we used to have two different guest blends every week at one of the coffee shops I used to work at. So I've tasted a lot of different varieties of coffee. I prefer dark roasted coffee.
And no, you can't make what I'm talking about out of 'virtually any beans'. You can make burnt, shit coffee out of any beans. They are different things.
Just because you have a preference for light fruity coffee does not mean you get to determine what is 'quality' for the rest of us.
I'm judging quality as the market judges quality which generally equals higher priced (the only exception are coffees (or wines etc.) have "brand" recognition or are near tourist areas and the tourists drive the prices up in the excitement of buying from where they are, Kona.)
dark roasting coffee decreases the subtle differences between beans. The more you roast, the more the aromatics disappear. full stop, theres no way around it. You are not going to buy the most expensive coffees to dark roast unless you are a fool. But as you say, there are differences between heavily roasted beans, as an example I mentioned, some might have chocalate notes.
If you search for "Indian coffee Bibi Plantation" you should be able to find some. It makes for crazy good filter coffee. Probably wouldn't recommend it for espresso unless you're going to mix it into a custom blend. Blends are normally better than single origins for espresso.
I haven't had any in a long time. You used to be able to buy it from HasBean but they don't sell it any more but there seems to be quite a few places you can still get it. Indian coffee from the Bibi plantation:
I agree that cream, sugar, milk, ice, chocolate, caramel, and other additives disguises the flavor of coffee; I think that's pretty hard to dispute. That's what a lot of people want — usually people in front of me in line at the coffee shop.
I don't agree that light roasts are the only way to taste the real flavor of coffee. Both the bean and the roast are components of the flavor, and the lighter roasts just push the slider more toward the side of tasting the bean, at the expense of the roast. Often, for my taste, the result is too acidic and sour, and often really inconsistent.
The reason to roast coffee to different levels is because it brings out different flavors at every level. The right level of roasting will depend on the person, and certainly on the bean: there is no One True Way that results in "the flavor of coffee". That's why some roasters are better than others, and why roasting machines don't just have one big button that says "light roast".
I understand that this idea of "adding anything destroys the flavor" is popular and widespread, but it's a really odd thing to think. That's not how cooking or taste buds work, so why would it apply especially to coffee?
Chocolate is in a similar flavor profile so it does mask something from the coffee. But a small amount of dairy really doesn't mask much, except perhaps in highly acidic brews. Sugar does nothing to cover the flavor of coffee unless it's in quite large amounts (which, yeah, Starbucks does that).
Many of the best flavors in life take time to get used to. Blue cheese, durian, whiskey, coffee. Just because you don't like something immediately doesn't mean it won't grow on you.
Or maybe it won't. I personally really dislike whiskey. And I'm Irish, I've tried a lot of good whiskeys. Still tastes bad to me.
I've never had durian, but I liked the rest of that stuff right off the bat. Really I get pickier over time. I'd probably dump out the thin black coffee I used to buy at high school football games if I had it now.
The last "light roast" coffee I had tasted fruity and tea-like. I hated it. I don't care if medium and darker tends to be more one-note; I want coffee to taste like coffee.
Coffee is a berry. "Tasting like coffee" includes those fruit aspects, because it is literally a fruit. Bringing out its natural fruity characteristics requires quality, fresh beans and a very competent roaster. Fruity and tea-like is exactly one of the aspects I go for when seeking out coffee.
Roasting to a higher level has been popular historically because it can cover up all sorts of faults, but still give a consistent character. Most of us grow up only tasting that.
But find a high quality lightly roasted specialty coffee, or even roast your own beans... and there's so many nuances there that are missed when clobbered with a high roast level.
So yes, I want my coffee to taste like coffee too. Like the coffee berry.
Coffee's the seed of a berry fruit. You're not really contradicting me so I'm not sure what the motivation was for your diatribe except that you're triggered someone doesn't like the horse piss that you do. Taste in coffee isn't "rationalized", by knowledge of it's origin or otherwise. You either like it or you don't.
For real though, light roasts and a couple different beans and you'll really be able to taste the differences. I'm not talking subtle either. There will be some you hate, some you love and some that make you go "wait! That's coffee?"