Some just like it. My wife doesn't, I do. Even my neighbour has found out he likes bright acidic flavors, and people here usually prefer the bitter coffee tasting coffee (we're in Italy).

I personally have had enough of bitter coffees that just taste bitter - perhaps I'm more sensible to bitter than sour - and milk coffees that just taste greasy. Bright black coffee with unusual fruitiness is refreshing.

And I'm from the nordics so you might say "figures.." but TBH most coffee up there is just bland bitter mess, dirty water as I used to say and the reason why I got into italian coffee brewing. And in my very humble opinion light roast 3WOJ coffee still tastes like coffee but has fruity under tones, acidity and sweetness in varying amounts. Just like the above mentioned wine still tastes like wine but has various flavor notes depending on grape variety and processing. The "coffee tasting coffee" equivalent in wine for me would an earthy alcohol tasting wine. Not my thing. We have grappa for that.

At least one thing this thread proves is that not everyone is looking for fruits in coffee.

I think coffee can be a very individual experience and the preference can depend on what the individual has experienced or is expecting...

I started my coffee journey drinking the darker/chocolatey-style coffee (Red Bird), and have eventually hopped onto the light roast bandwagon over the years. I still enjoy darker roasts every now and then, and can appreciate both. But nowadays I do prefer lighter-roasted coffees, while enjoy torturing myself chasing the often elusive but extremely rewarding fruity/floral flavours.

I think one reason is that I don't grow up drinking coffee, and so coffee to me is just a hobby/beverage that I enjoy making and exploring/experimenting...so I am open to what coffee can taste like and have no thought on how coffee should be (the wilder it is the more interesting it will be for me, to some extent). But for those who grew up drinking coffee and come expecting coffee to taste like 'coffee', I can see why the thought of coffee being 'fruity' can be off-putting.

Especially with the wine. All those, and there are a lot of notes that a wine has inside, are really recognisable only to a professional taster, like sommelier. But to the rest of us it is "only" wine (has to be a quality one of course), and that's the beauty of it. We can suspect or hint that there is something but really to distinguish all notes, come on. You have some florals wines, but just like with coffee, personally I am not crazy about them. I am more for some good cabernet sauvignon (like 1865 San Pedro reserva-Chile). Mainly, that is what's going on with coffee home enthusiasts, they act like sommeliers, rather than simply enjoy beauty and uniqueness of coffee!
So everything is wrapped in some kind of a complicated net, because that looks and sounds more intelligent, and smart. And people like to be smart.
I can also tell that from my profession. People who knows things are more simple, and those who would like to know or would like others to think that they know, are usually complicated.

I just thought, if I post this as a thread, will coffee lovers approach? I got a feeling that there are not many of us, but let's see, coffee lovers, not fruit lovers

another_jim wrote:but coffee is certainly not supposed to taste like deep fried muscadet, which is what most 3rd wave coffee tastes like now.

Jim, lately, you gave me a good suggestion regarding the flow and Bianca, how to check it, and I appreciate that! I might ask you for some advice soon again

espressotime wrote:Buy that man a beer.
Coffee is a taste on its own. Coffee is supposed to taste like coffee. Not ananas. If I want to taste an ananas I'll buy an ananas.

Haha "espressotime" this song and video made my day, I am so not into country music. But this one... haha right on point. And I apologize for mentioning only Belgium beers, Dutch beers are great too

jevenator wrote: If you don't because you're used to something else, then continue drinking your traditional roasts...I don't see the problem.

Jevenator, don't be offended, this is just a conversation. I always say, don't exclude all components before making a judgement. And cultural thing is basically a strong one, what are your preferences, there isn't one thing that can be a measure for all of us. In US, people traditionally are used to drinking different coffee then people in the Balkans, let's say, or in majority of Italy, etc. Those things should be always pronounced not neglected. And actually the title sounds like a question but it's not, I wasn't looking for an answer, I get it, it's more like a quest and conversation to share different ideas. To add, because of misinterpretations there are a lot of misunderstandings. Bean strong for one person can be completely opposite for someone else, I recently spent money on a burr set which was characterised as excellent for espresso, and when I tried it, (spent $200) it was completely opposite for me, it gave me, in my opinion, very weak espresso, which I don't even consider as an espresso. So I'm completely with you regarding the fact that different kind of likings should be taken as a starting point, and not the same one as a rule for all of us.

Cheers!
(there was a great sitcom back in days named the same, I loved it)

Count me in the coffee taste loving group. I can appreciate the surprising blueberry once in a while but the citrus acidity is just not something associated with coffee in my book.

jevenator wrote:I realized that coffee actually has a flavor that is not bitter or burnt and the fact that I can taste blueberry or cherry amazed me and which is why I loved "looking for fruits in coffee"
...
I so happen to like coffee that best reflects the true nature of that bean and I don't want to roast anything "out of it".

This is exactly why I'm looking for fruits in coffee. Enjoying the full range of flavors that the coffee fruit has to offer is what I love most about this hobby. There's something magical about tasting a coffee grown, picked, processed, roasted, and brewed in a way that accentuates what makes that bean unique. Someone cleverer than I am compared these steps to panes in a window. The clearer they are the better you can see the coffee through them.


I really enjoy a darker roast for a classic espresso, but it seems a waste to roast every bean to the point where dark chocolate/roasty flavors dominate the fruity/floral ones.

All coffee tastes like coffee

If you want standardized flavor through controlled char roasting, just say so... because the "coffee" taste you allude to is just that, it is deliberately produced through a standardized process, and it is not the taste of coffee outside those roasting parameters and low quality beans. Im sure you also enjoy Tyson chicken and McDonalds burgers, tasting a farm raised chicken might drive you nuts.

So couple things here. I know you said you want coffee that tastes like coffee. Do realize that is the central point of Third wave coffee movement. The darker the roast the more the individual coffee flavor leaves and is replaced by the more domineering flavor of the caramelization. As somebody has stated before coffee is fruit, more accurately the seed of a fruit. Because of that, it will inherit some of those properties.

We all want to cook out the grassiness. Milk also affects peoples preference and muddies the fudge point of espresso. There is a sweet spot though. I embrace the plethora of flavors, but I don't necessarily want to pucker from aggressive acidity or wince from aggressive bitterness. It's a balancing act for sure.

Just for the sake of accuracy, could we please stop referring to coffee as a fruit? It is not. it is the seed of a fruit.

espressotime wrote:Buy that man a beer.

I'll admit, there are occasionally times that I actually enjoy a (US) Budweiser rather than a beer that tastes, to me, like beer.

Thankfully there's lots of both cheap rice and robusta to cover those whose preferences run in other directions.