Very, very, very light roasts for espresso?

#1: Post by **nuketopia** » February 14th, 2019, 4:42 pm

Ok, due to some discussion in another thread, I'm looking for examples of a very, very, very light roast, with good development, which is the lightest example of something you might be able to pull as an espresso with extreme effort?

Often referred to as "Scandinavian" or "Nordic" roasts. Perhaps even "Arabic".

#2: Post by **another_jim** » February 14th, 2019, 4:51 pm

Dragonfly's Leam Hammer is light enough for the beans to still be wrinkled, and they describe it as a Nordic roast, although some may disagree. I recommend it as a "get acquainted" light roast because 1) it is very sweet, and you won't pull many sink shots 2) it responds very linearly and predictably to varying grind, dose and extraction levels, going from sweet and sour at coarser grinds to nicely balanced at finer grinds, at least in my experience.

#3: Post by **CwD** » February 14th, 2019, 4:57 pm

Personally almost everything I brew is in that general style. It's hard to describe exactly, but I'd say that some good North American examples are Sump and Sey, and some good Scandinavian ones are Coffee Collective and Tim Wendelboe, although only the filter roasts from them, the ones meant for espresso are too dark for me. For a reference point that doesn't fit itself, but maybe more people have had, I'd say that George Howell is darker than I usually like, but done well enough I still really like it. I don't think anything past that ever really falls into what I personally like.

But if you're talking extreme effort you could probably go substantially lighter, depending on what you mean by extreme. But I'll assume we're not talking straight up buying a roller mill level extreme.

#4: Post by **spressomon** » February 14th, 2019, 7:19 pm

Another vote for Leam Hammer. Perfect for flow profile type brewing.

#5: Post by **RyanJE** » February 14th, 2019, 10:01 pm

Lean hammer is mostly natural coffees, by nature wouldn't that pull easier then light all washed coffee? Anyone know how it compares to Honey Badger from Intelly?

February 14th, 2019, 11:24 pm

I found Honey Badger a tougher going (that was several years ago), with a much narrower sweet spot. I know there's people into coffees only they and the espresso gods can pull well; but I prefer ones that are tasty when they are not dialed in, and great when they are. Honey Badger isn't an espresso gods only blend, but it isn't friendly either.

#7: Post by **Denis** » February 15th, 2019, 12:50 am

Neither of these 2 are on the very light side. The slate is close. The one of the left is way too dark.

Dialing in Dragonfly Leam Hammer

As for CC and Tim W. there are better choises out there try Damatteo or Leuchtfeuer but only the filtre roasted coffee.

Later Edit: speaking of the devil, I just got my order today. One of my favorite is the filter roast Ethiopia Funkelfeuer.

#8: Post by **RyanJE** » February 15th, 2019, 8:54 am

Denis wrote:Neither of these 2 are on the very light side.

In fairness, naturals are easier to pull and extract as espresso than high grown strictly washed coffees.. Your other post mentioned these are naturals.

#9: Post by **Almico** » February 15th, 2019, 11:31 am

I haven't bought a bag of roasted coffee in a while, but I just ordered a bag of Leam Hammer. It will be interesting to see what a "2nd best espresso" is like.

I'll check it on my Roast Rite, then bring it to the bar and run it through the R120, Compak E10 and Helor Motor and see what it does on the Athena Leva. I'll also make a pour over or two.

#10: Post by **max** » February 15th, 2019, 12:41 pm

I am also in the very light camp and agree that in that context the Leam Hammer is too dark, based on the picture in the above linked thread.

pngboy and Denis (posts linked) listed some roasters that do very light roasts.

I have not tried all of the suggested roasters, but those I've tried have been good (never tried any "espresso roast").
For instance, I had a Kaffa espresso in January four years ago that I am still not over!
Without making a comparison to the other suggestions, I would also like to add Drop Coffee to the list.