DAE think lighter roasts are overrated for pour-over?

I used to swear by light roasts for my V60, thinking anything dark was just burnt bitterness. Then I picked up a bag of Sumatra Mandheling from a shop in Portland last month and tried brewing it at 195F instead of my usual 205F. Now I wonder if I was missing out on deeper flavors this whole time. Anyone else made a similar switch and found a new favorite bean type?

3 comments

3 Comments

lucasschmidt15d ago

Honestly, light roasts still win for me every time.

the_linda15d ago

My buddy Dave once spent 20 minutes arguing that dark roasts are just burnt beans, then accidentally ordered a light roast that tasted like grass clippings.

hugo_robinson2513d ago

Wait, did that light roast literally taste like lawn clippings or was it more of a grassy tea thing? I had a similar experience with a super light Ethiopian once, couldn't get past the sour green bean taste no matter how I brewed it. But that Sumatra you mentioned sounds interesting, I've always thought darker beans have this weird thing where they hide bad flavors better, like you can roast away the defects. Maybe we're all missing out on some hidden gems by writing off dark roasts so fast, I feel like there's a whole world of chocolatey, earthy stuff we ignore just cause we're chasing brightness.