Comments on: A quick question

By: A 90 Point Brew? « Man Seeking Coffee

A 90 Point Brew? « Man Seeking Coffee — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 05:34:14 +0000

[...] boundaries of hypothetical coffee pondering. The fact is that I was genuinely inspired by a recent quick question posed by another coffee blogger which asked whether you would prefer a higher quality roast of a [...]

By: Clearfishcoffee

Clearfishcoffee — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 19:44:36 +0000

I’d rather have an average coffee that someone has really tried to bring the extra flavours etc through a quality roast, than a quality coffee that’s been averagely roasted. I think I’d feel dissapointed that a quality coffee has been ‘wasted’ so to speak, by an average roast.

By: Cuth Bland

Cuth Bland — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 11:38:00 +0000

Maybe the poll turned out the way it did because people are looking more for what makes a roast 80 or 90 than what makes a coffee 80 or 90.
As you said – an 80 or 90 coffee can be fairly well quanitified around the world, so we’re confident (maybe a little cocky) that we could spot the good coffee.
But roasting – there are so many different styles and rationales behind decisions that get made that it’s harder to quantify with a score – I would rather taste the 90 roast because I would love to know what you think a 90 roast *is*. I can get hold of the 80 coffee you used and roast it for myself – I may agree or disagree with you, but I would at least have a quanitifiable starting point to the discussion.

By: BaristaKeith

BaristaKeith — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:30:47 +0000

who’s scoring the coffee? 80 isn’t a horrible roast, but 80 is also isn’t a horrible coffee.

Some people really enjoy Sumatran coffees and that’s great! Just not my taste. That’s not even getting into the washed vs. naturals debate.

Roast style to me is the darkness of a roast, which if that is what is meant, is entirely different than a roast profile, which entails roast length and temperature curve.

A 7 minute roast is significantly different than a 15 minute roast.

I’m not saying anyone is right or wrong either, I’m saying that the information isn’t out there or communicated from roasters to customers.

I think it’s easy to say hey I paid 11.63/lbs. for this Nekisse, it’s awesome green, you’ll love it more than any coffee!
Rather to try and communicate to a customer how much time and energy was spent in the creation of the perfect roast profile for that SH Colombia, and how much value that adds to it per lbs. or kg.

By: Rasmus Helgebostad

Rasmus Helgebostad — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 20:54:21 +0000

Who’s scoring the roasts? We have to remember, 80 isn’t a horrible roast. It’s most likely someone else’s preference.

Do I find my roast preference superior to every other roast style in the world? We certainly do things differently in Norway, and I feel pretty good about the reasoning behind the choices we’ve made. Still, it seems strange to assert that everyone else is wrong. I’m sure they have their reasons as well.

Would I like to try Esmeralda from TCC or a Nekisse from an american roaster? Most certainly. That or a cup of standard SH colombia? I’m surprised the poll turned out the way it did.

By: michael mc laughlin

michael mc laughlin — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 20:19:21 +0000

i have to say i would take an average coffee well roasted. when you can tell the work has been put in at the roastery it makes a more enjoyable cup. the roaster has worked hard to bring out the best in the bean given what he has to work with, rather thatn sitting back and not putting as much work in and letting the green quality carry the end product

By: Colin Harmon

Colin Harmon — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:17:19 +0000

Who’s scoring the roast? (I think we should let Rasmus score it or he’ll never answer the damn question)

By: Tim Varney

Tim Varney — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 16:19:15 +0000

Good point Rasamatazmus.

By: Cuth Bland

Cuth Bland — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:03:40 +0000

damn, that’s good logic… but I’m still not sure I agree

By: Rasmus Helgebostad

Rasmus Helgebostad — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 10:36:14 +0000

There seems to be more agreement around the world as to what a good green coffee is than to what makes a good roast profile. Which should imply that the “quality” of the green coffee means more than the “quality” of the roast profile.