I'm having trouble finding great beans that aren't too roasted, for espresso. I won't name any names but had some pretty bad stuff lately, which could be seasonal...

I got some beans from Square Mile and they were incredible - but costly.

I need your advice: who are your go-to coffee roasters in Melbourne?

What did you get from Square Mile?
Ive ordered a couple of times from them and really enjoyed both espresso blends and a S.O roasted for espresso. They seem to get a very specific balance while keeping the roast reasonably light - Med.

Have not encountered much that comes close to their roast style in Aus. Closest thing to Red brick ive had would be Five Senses Darkhorse but ive found them a bit hit and miss and overall their roast style a bit lighter.

From the tidbits Hoff has let out about roasting im guessing SM are roasting full sizes batches for their drum on the slightly longer side but still lightish.

Moozac wrote:I'm having trouble finding great beans that aren't too roasted, for espresso. I won't name any names but had some pretty bad stuff lately, which could be seasonal...

I got some beans from Square Mile and they were incredible - but costly.

I need your advice: who are your go-to coffee roasters in Melbourne?

I think we probably need a bit more information about what you had, what you liked about it and what you're looking for. Otherwise, we're going to do something like suggest a filter roast kenyan with lots of fruit and high acidity and find out that what you really wanted was a nutty low acid pulp nat brazillian coffee.

Looks like you're using a Robot. I'm guessing that it's hard to get super high brew temps off that, so you're probably looking at something slightly lower in acid, but sounds like you're not too keen on roast bitterness. Which is fair enough, because no one is. So was it Red Brick that you liked through it?

It could well be seasonal, since around the beginning of the year is often when roasters have quite tired green around. Plus with the move of AUD vs USD, green costs are going to be up for new crop stuff, you've got to think. But it's probably also because many roasters are not very good, even though all of their marketing material basically reads the same.

Every year, I make an attempt to start writing coffee reviews and I always sort of peter out as I get a bit busy; have a look at this year's attempt, last year's attempt and 2017's attempt for some ideas. Most of the coffee that I drink is fairly light roast, but most of those roasters will also have darker roasts. For more poorly written, but more regular coffee tips, you can follow my instagram.

I think there will probably be something around that we can find that will kind of fit the bill. I'm thinking Wood & Co or Maker are two that I've had stuff from recently that might have a roast level that suits you ... I suspect more likely their espresso roast levels than their filter roast levels if you are using a Robot. But the question is more what you had from Square Mile that you liked so we can see what's in that genre.

Probably also worth noting that Melbourne water tends to be pretty soft; pretty low on carbonates. This means that it's super easy for light roasts to taste unpleasantly acidic, since there's not much to buffer out the acidity. So you might want to test your water and add some carbonate to it. This will make it easier for you to use lighter, more acdic roasts.

Thank you for such a detailed and helpful response. I've tried a few coffees since writing my original post and wanted to have more info before responding.

The coffee I really didn't like was from AU79 (Midas blend). Terribly over roasted.

The coffee I liked most (mainly for the mouth feel) was the Ilomba from Square Mile.

Tried the Risaralda from Five Senses and was average, but the Acacia Hills Estate was a bit better.

Got the Ethiopia Yirgacheffe from Red Bean Coffee. It was average too. By no means bad though.

I've previously gotten a fair of coffee from Padre Coffee, Aunty Peg's and Proud Mary. There have been consistently above average. In this post I was hoping to get a few good recommendations.

I use a Niche Zero grinder and don't really have a problem with temperature on the Cafelat Robot using a few different techniques. Beans are always used within the 1-4 week timeframe and stored in Lyn Weber single dose tubes.

I think you are on to something around the seasonality of the beans. I'm hoping to try some Guatemala or Nicaragua origin beans now and hopefully get something better.

Good point about the water - hopefully Peak water jugs become available soon, if not I might have to look into my own solution.

I didn't know about Wood and Co and Maker. I ordered some yesterday, and will see how I go. Wood and Co are fairly expensive though!