Variety Is The Spice Of Life

There has never been a better time for coffee. With all the selections available, there’s a coffee blend for everyone. Even for those few that claim not to like coffee, I’ve found it’s a matter of finding the right medium roast and cold brewing it for them. It seems like every day there is a new coffee company opening up, offering their own unique style to the industry.

THE NEW
Independent Coffee roasters are changing the world of coffee for the better. Just as independent breweries helped change beer, the independent roasters and coffee shops, that roast on site, are helping to bring the importance of coffee culture to the masses. Once you’ve had the right cup of coffee for you, you’ll swear it was a religious experience and do everything you can to have it again.

LIGHT, MEDIUM, AND DARK
Knowing your roast is just as important as knowing the style of beer you like. There’s a tad more to it than just Light, Medium, and Dark, but that’s where finding a local roaster you can trust, or an online independent roaster, is essential. They’ll be able to source beans at their prime, and sample them to know how best to bring out their own unique flavors. Java Presse breaks down the profile differences between light, medium, and dark perfectly,

“LIGHT ROAST COFFEE
Light roast coffee is a light brown color and has no oil on the surface of the beans. These coffees typically have a crisp acidity, a mellow body, and bright flavors.
Fruity and floral coffees are often light roasts. However, if the roast doesn’t penetrate to the very center of the bean, grassy and “green” flavors may show up. They’re pretty gross.
Light roasting is beloved in the specialty coffee industry for its ability to bring a more vibrant, unique flavors out of coffees. They highlight the unique characteristics of a coffee’s origin more than any other roast style.
MEDIUM ROAST COFFEE
Medium roast coffee is a brown color and rarely has an oily surface. These coffees have a medium acidity and body, as well as a rounded flavor profile.
Specialty coffee roasters love medium roasts because they are more approachable than light roasts to the average coffee drinker. They’re less acidic and intense, but still can showcase a coffee’s natural flavor profile.
DARK ROAST COFFEE
Dark roast coffee is a dark brown color and often has an oily surface. These coffees have a low acidity, heavy body, and tend to reveal deeper, darker flavors.
Dark roast coffee has long reigned king, largely because coffee quality wasn’t great in the past. Roasters would “roast away” the less desirably flavors of low grade coffee to find deeper, more uniform, and more approachable ones.
This was an understandable way to combat low quality coffee, but it’s no longer needed. Specialty grade coffee has never been more available to roasters.”

ADDED FLAVORS
There’s a simple rule when buying coffee with added flavors, DON’T! This will ruin good coffee, and usually is a way to hide bad, or low-quality coffee. If you want extra flavor in your coffee, such as hazelnut, buy flavor oils and add them to your morning cup. This is also a good idea if you share your pot of coffee, that way the other person doesn’t have to drink the same flavors, which can overpower the coffee.

Check out the other posts in this series:
> Why Whole Bean?
> How to Switch.