Getting espresso sweetness in pourover.

[bialettibarista]

I brew with medium to dark roasts and when I make my espresso I get a beautifully sweet taste. I then mix a 35 ml shot(15g coffee) with 120 ml of water for an americano/cafe crema style drink. So in the end a 1:15 ratio. I would say I nail the taste 7 out of 10 times. I have had a work schedule change and now get up much earlier so my time in the morning for coffee making is extremely short. I have been using pour-over brewers on and off for the last couple of years and while I can get decent to very good coffee out of them I have never been able to get that same sweetness from the pourover that I get in my espresso based drinks. Is that even possible? I was just wondering if anyone else has had success brewing that kind of sweetness into their pourovers? If so, I beg you to share your secret.

[TomC]

It's a bit harder with that roast level to get striking sweetness on the palate, because of the reduced acidity. The brightness that comes for lighter roasts is complimentary to, and enhances the perception of sweetness.

I imagine that a more concentrated form like espresso might mask this a bit.

[bialettibarista (original poster)]

Interesting. I do have a bag of a lighter roasted coffee that I recently bought to experiment with and will have to give it another try. It is very possible that I don't like light roasts for the simple fact that I haven't spent the time to experiment with them and brew them right. That said if I don't get at least a little bit of chocolate taste in there I feel like I'm missing out on something.

[iyayy]

imho brew and espresso as different drink.
but i find it possible to get both very close in flavor and sweetness, except he profile will still be have slight difference due to filter (paper/cloth/mesh), intensity, dose, and temp.

i find it easier to bring out delicate light note of sweetness (jasmine, clove, etc) on brew vs pronounced bright profile (citrus, lime, spice) on espresso. each of those can have a different type of sweetness character. i have had very long lingering sweet jasmine tinge from brew, and strong berry aroma aftertaste from diluted shots, but not really the other way around. maybe with profile i can, but i'll never know.

im not very sure about dark notes. ashy stuff makes me dizzy so i stay away from most dark roasts. there are sweet darks, but i seldom drink those.