Our approach to coffee has always been centered on providing perspective to the delicious cups of coffee we’re brewing & you’re enjoying. Coffee is firstly a crop, 2 seeds in a coffee cherry; harvested, fermented, dried & milled before it is roasted to the beans that we know & love. Over the last decade, you might have seen more emphasis on the phrase “Light Roast” & wondered, what’s the big deal? Well, let us share a little more about it!
Every coffee variety grown in different environments will likely have its unique flavour profile. For eg, a Red Bourbon from Colombia will taste significantly different from a Red Bourbon grown in Rwanda, even though both may be “fully washed”. From soil health to microclimate, average rainfall to temperature differentials, these are the major variables influencing the final outcome. We are in awe of the flavour diversity in Coffea Arabica & we want to enjoy this with you!
WHY LIGHT ROAST
In the spirit of showcasing this spectrum, coffee roasters have been obsessed with roasting to a lighter degree than what was traditionally practiced. The consensus was that after a certain point, most coffees would begin to taste very similar due to the degradation of organic acids, complex carbohydrates & most importantly the volatile aromatics - resulting in a homogenous “roasted coffee” flavour that the majority of the world have come to love. Yet this approach very much obscures what the tenets of Specialty Coffee are i.e. Provenance. We want to celebrate the unique expressions of each variety, farm & producer hence we believe the light roast approach delivers a more coherent message.
Some drawbacks of light roast are the different degrees of underdevelopment, resulting in grassy, chlorophyll-like flavours or a subdued, grain-like sweetness. These aren’t desirable flavours either, so coffee roasters are cautious to not roast the coffees too light or too fast.
WHAT ABOUT ESPRESSO?
We’re really excited to present our NEW Espresso subscription, designed for home baristas who go through a little more coffee either for themselves & their families or even the workplace. Even though we have not served an “Espresso” roast at our coffee bars for the last 7 years, we’ve had some coffees where we thought “oooh this might be great for espresso!”. We’ve retailed these coffees on our shelves & it has always been a hit with home baristas so we figured we should create a NEW category in our subscription.
To be completely honest, roasting for espresso is not too different from roasting for pour overs. The biggest difference between the 2 brewing methods is that espresso is generally brewed in a much shorter time. The hot water passes through the bed a lot quicker, so it is imperative that we make it easier for water to extract the flavours from the grounds. This can be done by generally roasting darker as those flavour compounds are easier to dissolve.
Another way which is closer to our style of lighter roasts is by roasting to create more solubility, which means roasting the coffee in a way that makes it more brittle, yet retaining much of the cultivar & origin characteristics.
Whilst we do love OUR style of espressos that we brew at our coffee bars with our lighter filter roast coffees, we understand that not everyone at home who enjoys our coffees will have the similar tools, technique nor patience to prepare espresso the way we do. This is our way of ensuring more coffee lovers can enjoy our coffees in the comforts of their own homes!
SEASONAL ESPRESSO OF THE MONTH
The coffee we're really excited to present this month is from the Hambela Wamena kebele of Guji, Ethiopia. Processed at Goro Bedessa Station, this mix of heirloom varieties was dried on raised beds naturally, yielding flavours of berries & tropical fruits! This flavour profile is such a fun throwback to the celebrated Ethiopia Natural of old, where the cups were bursting of blueberries and Earl Grey tea.
Our “Espresso” roast profile takes it with a gentle heat, bringing about a stewed fruit acidity while the longer flavour development phase highlights the dense sweetness. The floral aromatics of violets remain intact despite the prolonged development! Goro Bedess Espresso is delicious in both black & with milk, we hope you will enjoy it as much as we do!