Single Origins: Roast Level and Espresso Quality

Discuss flavors, brew temperatures, blending, and cupping notes.
JerDGold
Posts: 177
Joined: 10 years ago

#1: Post by JerDGold »

I've found through reading and limited experimentation that Single Origin coffees are generally roasted pretty lightly and generally either not good for esperesso. (Or at least very difficult to dial in.) Is the reason for the light roasting to preserve the terroir specific flavor profile, or something else?

I ask because I'm interested in trying to pull some shots of Single Origin, see how they taste out of my new grinder. Does anyone have recommendations for SO's that are a little easier to work with or that do work well for espresso?

User avatar
another_jim
Team HB
Posts: 13871
Joined: 19 years ago

#2: Post by another_jim »

-- On Processing: Dry processed and pulp natural aka "honey" processed beans tend to be more espresso friendly than their wet processed counterparts.

-- On Regions: Ethiopia produces the most espresso friendly SOs, Kenya the least, the rest of the world is in between. You get great espresso coffees from everywhere; but this is true on average and for those starting out on light SOs.

-- On Technique: Start out dosing 1.5 to 2 grams lower, and making your grind ultra-fine to match -- the lighter the roast, the more highly extracted you want the shot. Using a VST or Strada 15 gram or 18 gram basket, which require very fine grinds, can be helpful. You can up the dose and coarsen the grind if the shots taste too mild; but always start out on the fine end.

If you follow these tips, you'll be pulling good SO shots from the friendlier beans very quickly. To do the really challenging ones consistently, you need "local knowledge," that is, the tricks to working your particular set up to get the best results. That takes time.
Jim Schulman

User avatar
Eastsideloco
Posts: 1657
Joined: 13 years ago

#3: Post by Eastsideloco »

another_jim wrote:-- On Technique: Start out dosing 1.5 to 2 grams lower, and making your grind ultra-fine to match -- the lighter the roast, the more highly extracted you want the shot. Using a VST or Strada 15 gram or 18 gram basket, which require very fine grinds, can be helpful. You can up the dose and coarsen the grind if the shots taste too mild; but always start out on the fine end.
Perfect tip to start the new year. Thanks, Jim.

I'm sure you've said this exact thing many times before, but my brain finally absorbed the logic behind this gem. Maybe now I can crack the code and pull tasty SO Kenyan shots at home?

I've definitely figured out how to stock up on natural processed Ethiopian coffee when company is coming over for espresso. Keep it simple. :wink: But I'm typically pulling shots for myself with more challenging coffees, especially Kenyan coffees, that I pick up to brew with. I'll try lower doses and finer grinds with these and see if this makes for better tasting espresso shots.

martinngyh
Posts: 19
Joined: 9 years ago

#4: Post by martinngyh »

I have been using single origin to pull shots for a while on my Breville Barista Express, but recently upgraded to Breville Dual Boiler. I used to use about 21 grams on the BBB, but now I am using 19g. However, the grind setting on my Ceado E6X is almost as fine as it gets. It tastes pretty good compared to my BBB. However, I want some room for controlling my grinds. Should I up the dose even more and coarsen the grind? Thanks.

gj91
Posts: 58
Joined: 15 years ago

#5: Post by gj91 »

Jim,

Where would you put the Colombian and Rwanda SO's. Are they in the friendlier category? I was planning on trying some of the SO's from intelligentsia.


Thanks,
Jim

User avatar
another_jim
Team HB
Posts: 13871
Joined: 19 years ago

#6: Post by another_jim »

gj91 wrote:Where would you put the Colombian and Rwanda SO's. Are they in the friendlier category? I was planning on trying some of the SO's from intelligentsia.
They are selling 3 different Rwandans and four different Colombians with descriptors that don't really tell me much about how well they would do. Your best bet is to call before ordering and ask.
Jim Schulman

gj91
Posts: 58
Joined: 15 years ago

#7: Post by gj91 »

your right, lots of options, not much details. I will give them a call.

User avatar
caldwa
Posts: 254
Joined: 15 years ago

#8: Post by caldwa »

martinngyh wrote:I have been using single origin to pull shots for a while on my Breville Barista Express, but recently upgraded to Breville Dual Boiler. I used to use about 21 grams on the BBB, but now I am using 19g. However, the grind setting on my Ceado E6X is almost as fine as it gets. It tastes pretty good compared to my BBB. However, I want some room for controlling my grinds. Should I up the dose even more and coarsen the grind? Thanks.
Is there a reason that you switched to only dosing 19g? What kind of basket are you using with the BDB?

martinngyh
Posts: 19
Joined: 9 years ago

#9: Post by martinngyh replying to caldwa »

Only 21g could build up proper pressure and flow time on my Barista Express, while 19g can build up proper pressure on my BDB920. I use non-pressurized filters on both machines. I guess for different single origins, different dosing can be used. I was doing a Ethiopian bean (Counter Culture Idido Natural Sundried), and 19g can get me to the right parameters, but I need to use 21g now for the same bean which is processed differently (Counter Culture Idido).

I guess I need to play around with all the parameters, and there is not a set answer. I like to pull short shots by the way. For 1g of grinds, I will pull 1.55g by weight of shot. I guess, if I pull a traditional double shot (60mL to the top of the crema in 20-40 seconds), I do not need to grind too fine.

User avatar
jfrescki
Posts: 625
Joined: 14 years ago

#10: Post by jfrescki »

martinngyh wrote:Only 21g could build up proper pressure and flow time on my Barista Express, while 19g can build up proper pressure on my BDB920.
Something doesn't sound right. You should be able to grind fine enough to choke a machine a much lower doses.
Write to your Congressman. Even if he can’t read, write to him.
- Will Rogers

Post Reply