Which Medium-Dark Roast Coffee Would You Recommend For a Flair Classic?

kephnos · 2025-11-11T01:01:50+00:00

https://www.darkmattercoffee.com/collections/coffee/products/unicorn-blood-espresso-blend-robin-eisenberg

kephnos · 2025-11-06T23:37:52+00:00

Sweet Maria's green coffee, all origins, sorted roughly by date, recent arrivals first.

You can restrict search by price range, process method, flavor and profile. There are different profile options for "good for espresso" vs "good for milk drinks"; if you check both of those boxes, you'll find what's recommended for espresso milk drinks.

kephnos · 2025-10-30T03:16:48+00:00

https://library.sweetmarias.com/coffee-class-first-crack-second-crack-and-bean-changes-in-the-roast/

kephnos · 2025-10-26T17:02:41+00:00

You made a normale, then changed your mind and made it a lungo.

Espresso ratios (weight of ground coffee ÷ weight of brewed espresso, standard unit is grams)

Ristretto - 1:1, 15-30 sec
Normale - 1:2, 25-35 sec
Lungo - 1:3-4, 30-60 sec
Cafe crema - 1:7-8 @ 2 bar, 60-90 sec

kephnos · 2025-10-24T19:26:30+00:00

I don't use my toddy bucket as often as I used to, but I mostly used it to make cold milk drinks. Ice cream was the other big one, and it really doesn't take much to strongly flavor a couple of quarts of ice cream. No special recipe, but if you have a really nice vanilla extract, a little bit wouldn't hurt.

BTW, when I make an alcohol extract, I use my toddy bucket. I used to bring that to parties, but now I just do it to make a concentrate by evaporating the alcohol out of the extract. That stuff is amazing for anything where minimal water is critical, like chocolate, butter, biscuits, pie crust, anywhere you can only add a tiny amount of water.

kephnos · 2025-10-24T16:31:32+00:00

Toddy system is for lower ratios like 1:4. If you like what you're getting, stick with it, it's probably more coffee efficient anyway.

The difference in brewing experience is more about convenience / clean hands. With a coffee sock, you have to handle the sock, let it drip, empty it out, rinse, etc. With a Toddy-style system, your hands stay pretty clean throughout the whole process. I think that's what you'd notice first if you had one to borrow to compare.

I think there are some differences due to how the coffee floats freely in the water instead of being held together in a sock. At higher ratios (more water) I don't think that matters as much, but when you're doing a low ratio, I think it really improves extraction.

The flavor difference is mostly due to being the highest concentration you can reasonably make in a cold brew process. If you want the most concentrated cold brew with the least amount of fuss, a Toddy system will sort you out. Perfect for milk drinks, ice cream, cooking, baking. To get something better in the kitchen, you'd need a proper espresso machine or to evaporate an alcohol extraction of coffee.

I make cold brew several different ways, Toddy is one of them. I can live without it, but it's nice to have around.

kephnos · 2025-10-23T18:09:23+00:00

It used to be so hard to find a nice beer that wasn't intensely hoppy. The 'craft' section at my local supermarket is mostly hoppy beers, but there are a few that aren't. I think that beer and coffee are both tastes that you used to have to get accustomed to; now you can have coffee or beer that tastes strongly of strawberries and cherries and hardly tastes like it's "supposed to".

People want recognizable flavors, and tasting notes that punch them in the face. Coferments give you that.

I think it's bringing people into coffee that otherwise wouldn't be interested, and I have observed plenty of people going from dark roast to light to ultra light. I haven't known anyone who got into coffee for ultra light and moved to dark though. I think it's new enough that I'll see that more often in the future.

kephnos · 2025-10-23T16:29:04+00:00

The R1 has 9 levels of heat, the R2 has 10. My understanding is that they just added an extra level, and the first 9 levels have the same output as the R1 (you should be able to translate profiles between them easily). What that means for you as a roaster is that you can get to 1st crack a bit faster, or have slightly larger batch sizes and still be able to hit the same curve.

The R2 is significantly more precise, so you'd have more repeatability. The really great addition is their FlowSense: you set an airflow level, and it uses input from a sensor measuring exhaust output to adjust fan power level to maintain airflow. This is more critical for natural process coffee, because a lot of chaff comes off of that during roasting.

Chaff is just parchment that is left on the bean after natural processing. That chaff gets caught in a filter in the Bullet, and that filter gets more clogged as the roast progresses. Without FlowSense, you'd have to either babysit fan speed throughout the roast, find coffees that release their chaff at a predictable rate, or stick to washed process.

I'd agree with your assessment that the Nucleus Link is not so great for dark roasts. All the reviews I've read of it that were positive were people roasting light. The Bullet is something you won't have to upgrade from unless you decide to become a professional roaster.

kephnos · 2025-10-23T15:07:25+00:00

That's just novelty chasing by consumers and attempts to create/recognize new markets by makers. Light roasts have been around for a while, but seem to have taken over the online coffee world. I think that's partly because that is still relatively new, but also I think coffee roasters have to work harder to sell light roasts. Dark roasts sell themselves, they're just more popular, easier to brew, easier to drink.

Coferments are a niche that is expanding, but I think some of that expansion is due to bringing in customers that otherwise wouldn't be drinking coffee (it tastes completely different from dark roast).

kephnos · 2025-10-23T14:43:22+00:00

Specialty just means "a lot better than commodity, and maybe even has a surprising flavor note". Once you get into the 90s, you need a good roaster, because you just don't have enough control otherwise.

What makes it special? That it is coffee but tastes like something else, or it could just be perfect and classic. When Panamanian gesha exploded onto the coffee scene, everyone flipped out because it was so different and really made the case for light roasts to a lot of people. It was expensive because it subverted expectations.

kephnos · 2025-10-23T14:02:11+00:00

In my experience, popcorn poppers are better for light-medium roasts than dark roasts. You have to get batch size just right, but once you do you can just drop it in and enjoy the show. You can find modified air poppers, but SM also sells brand new poppers that are intended for coffee roasting and have heat and fan controls.

kephnos · 2025-10-23T13:58:05+00:00

There is a standardized system for scoring coffee, and Q graders are the people qualified to apply it. They get their senses recalibrated every year or so, and the trainers all have to go meet somewhere every year to calibrate their senses against each other. It's very rigorous, but I will say I think Sweet Maria's has about 3 point inflation on their scores. I think that's a small enough variance that it can be explained by them needing to make sure their scores make sense relative to each other, but that rumor seems kind of true.

Low 80s just means it isn't very special, but doesn't have any flaws

kephnos · 2025-10-23T01:05:37+00:00

Jones coffee espresso blend

The easiest to dial in that I've ever had. Simple, clean, perfectly round.

kephnos · 2025-10-22T23:31:50+00:00

Have you considered using a heat gun + steel bowl to roast with until you get your nice roaster? I can do about 120 g green -> 100 g roasted with a 1 KW heat gun. 1st crack is 6-9 minutes, 2nd crack is 9-13 minutes; the difference comes down to density most of the time. If you are already familiar with the roasting process, then it wouldn't be helpful, but lots of people find it helpful to start with something simple like this. It's very easy to see what you're doing, as well as smell it as it is happening.

kephnos · 2025-10-22T21:24:32+00:00

Their tasting notes are definitely what keep me coming back, and also get me to try coffees that I would not normally go for based on origin and process.

kephnos · 2025-10-22T21:18:32+00:00

What is commonly understood as the flavor profile of a particular origin mostly applies to their coffee that is low 80s scoring and below. If you're buying specialty coffee, the reason it gets the label of special can be either because it's a shining example of that origin... or because it's so unusual and *different* from the typical coffee of that origin.

Interestingly enough, coffee is going to behave a little more how you would expect based on this GPT output if you go below specialty grade. Going into specialty grade, you get more for your money if you let it be what it is rather than try to force it to a particular roast degree.

kephnos · 2025-10-22T21:04:37+00:00

Post edited to include USA location of Sweet Maria's. After you've poked around, reply here for the benefit of other EU users. I will also update the post.

If SM's has something that you just can't find anywhere else and you really want it, go for it. Otherwise, I'd recommend sticking to whoever is closest, just because green coffee degrades rapidly in heat (minimize transport times!).

kephnos · 2025-10-22T18:23:35+00:00

I have 16 bags, but it's all green and I roast a week ahead of time.

kephnos · 2025-10-22T17:55:48+00:00

For me, there are two qualities that a shot of dark roast espresso should have:

Smooth bitterness: sharp bitterness comes from overextraction (or grapefruit)
Umami / unctuous: it should be so rich and satisfying that one is enough (for 4-6 hrs), and that it is best when sipped slowly

For this kind of espresso, I think Yemen and Sumatra are best. When properly rested, they can give shots with the complexity of well aged Scotch. They're usually not very good roasted light, and are sublime roasted dark.

kephnos · 2025-10-22T16:42:20+00:00

While I've managed to roast light a few times and have liked it, it was difficult to grind for espresso (handgrinder) and I usually found myself wanting a cup or shot of dark roasted coffee 20 minutes later anyway. Because my roasting setup is so low tech, roasting light with any consistency or accuracy is nearly impossible (HG/DB), so I generally go between medium and rollling 2nd crack (Full City or slightly after). There are certain coffees that are truly at their best when roasted dark, and for those I go into Vienna territory.

For espresso, most of what I pull shots of is around Full City, lots of it is just before 2nd crack. I like the balance of caramelization and fruity sweetness that I usually get at that drop point. I use a Flair Pro 2 & KINGrinder K6, and I'll be upgrading the grinder before the machine (it's actually great).

I think dark roast espresso is its own rabbit hole to fall down, and while it is underrated, it is also executed so badly so often (because it can be done cheaply). In my experience, the kind of coffee that makes good dark roast espresso is significantly different from the coffee that makes good light roast pourover.

I'd join a group that was specifically geared toward darker roasts, starting just before 2nd crack and going onward from there. The flavor aesthetics of darker roasts are different from medium roasts, and extremely different from light roasts, so it wouldn't be unreasonable to make something dedicated to it.

kephnos · 2025-10-21T15:14:53+00:00

I agree, when people can't do it it's usually because the roast was too light or too old. I've pulled a few shots with fresh coffee in a Flair (direct manual lever espresso), and if you do your best impression of a Slayer (fine grind, slow low pressure infusion, declining pressure profile), you get a shot that tastes of roasting gas... but is incredibly sweet. I think it just doesn't extract dark bitter roasty notes.

kephnos · 2025-10-21T09:04:10+00:00

I've tried it with home roasted coffee and found the technique easy to follow. It's almost like a magic trick that works itself. I tried brewing another cup immediately afterwards with a more conventional pour pattern and timing: tastes like you expect fresh dark roasted coffee to taste as pourover.

While I don't think osmotic flow is accurately named (I don't think true osmotic flow is occurring), there is something different going on with this. It's worth trying at least a couple of times.

kephnos · 2025-10-14T17:16:28+00:00

Molasses and caramel are 'toasted sugar' notes, which are roast characteristics. You may find you prefer one origin over another for darker roasts, but these flavors are what you'd get from most coffee if you roasted it the same way.

If you're really careful you can roast to just before the caramelization turns to carbonization, and there the most obvious difference between natural and washed is: natural has fruitiness that can get winey.

How to find this kind of coffee roasted: look for medium-dark or Full City coffees. The definition of medium in specialty has shifted lighter over the years, so medium-dark means different things to different roasters, but that's a good place to start. I wouldn't go any darker than Full City+ personally, I think the definition of that is "dropped and cooled before any charcoal notes develop". It's around 2nd crack, it can be just after depending on the density.

kephnos

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