The are so many choices when it comes time to choose your coffee roast. there is the light roast, light dark, medium, medium light, medium dark, dark, very dark, and almost black. Now we come to the names, Cinnamon, New England, American , Light French, Viennese, City, Full City, Light Espresso, Italian, European, French, After-Dinner, Continental, Spanish, Velvet, Neapolitan, and many more. Do we want a dry surface, patches of oil on the surface, oily surface or a very oily surface. And let us not forget the taste, a grain flavor with acidic tones and a distinct sour taste. Americans prefer the grain flavor with a sweeter, richer flavor that has a definite acidy snap. Then there is the slight roast with a bittersweet tang and less acidy snap. As we search the coffees we find one with a definite bittersweet tang and all acidy is gone. But lets not forget the burned charcoal flavor with the bittersweet tang that has no acidy. I don't want to eat anything that taste like burned charcoal so why would I want to drink anything with that flavor? So it is safe to say this would not be one of my choices!
It's no wonder so many people just go buy whatever coffee is on sale, go home and work with a combination of ground coffee and water to find a taste they can live with. After all it's your taste that needs to be met. It doesn't mater if it's a light roast or dark roast on sale, a person can either add more coffee to the water or more water to the coffee to get something they can enjoy. Who thinks about the different roast, names, or oil surface? It's too much trouble to try to understand and is there really a difference and who has the time.
But let me tell you, once you have tasted, fresh ground coffee beans, no matter if it's a light roast , dark roast, French Press, or espresso, you will be well on your way to becoming a coffee snob. I prefer a blend, mine is a combination of a light roast, medium roast, and a dark roast, each one of the combination comes from different countries, is organic, and shade grown. Not only can I tell the difference in the taste but so can my family, friends, and customers. This season when I opened the espresso shop my coffee order was not delivered in time for me to open my espresso shop for the winter ski season."OH, NO!"
I had to substitute other coffee each day until my coffee arrived. It was noticed by all of my regular customers, some that had not had my coffee in a year and some, it had only been about 6 months. After three days the comments started, "what did you do to your coffee, did you change coffee, is your coffee watered down, there is something different about your coffee." How happy we all were when my coffee order arrived. Four days late but "YEAH" it was finally here. Usually when I place my order it is roasted the next day and shipped that afternoon, then it is delivered to me the day after it was shipped. So day 1 I order, day 2 roast & ship, day 3 delivered and I am serving it. Not bad! Always fresh! Because from the time it leaves the roasting machine it starts to loose its oil and is loosing flavor. For these reasons I keep mine in an air tight container and only grind it as I need it. When roasted coffee beans are exposed to the air the oils starts evaporating, the oil is not really oil because it dissolves in water. It is coffee essence, coffeol, a fragile substance and is the very taste of the coffee.
If your want caffeine in your coffee fix, keep in mind "The greener the bean the more caffeine" so stay with a light roast or blends, the oil and coffee flavor is still inside the coffee beans. If it's a strong taste you want remember "The darker the roast the less caffeine" because the hotter the beans get and the longer they are roasted the more caffeine is cooked out. Your light roast will have a dry surface, the medium roast will have patches of oil on the surface and the dark roast has a oily surface. The darker, shinier, oilier the surface the less caffeine you will have and the more burned charcoal bitter taste you will have. Whole beans stored in a air tight glass jar with a rubber gasket stored in a cool dark place is the best choice for having fresh coffee all the time. Buy in small amounts. Grind only what you need as you need it. I use my coffee beans so fast they don't have to to dry or loose flavor.
Enjoy a great cup of coffee, stay warm, stay happy, become a coffee snob, I'll see you on the flip side......Light Roast
