How to Brew Dark Roast Coffee Deliciously? Which Coffee Varieties Are Better for Dark Roasting? How to Brew Dark Roast Mandheling

Introduction

In today's world dominated by light roast coffee, the delightful floral aromas and fruit acidity have attracted many enthusiasts to specialty coffee. However, dark roast coffee with its original "coffee flavor" (sweet, bitter, aromatic, and rich) struggles to capture the hearts of newcomers. If light roast coffee is like a dancing maiden in the forest, then dark roast coffee is like a mature, steady, and profound gentleman. Today, let's peel back the layers to understand the heart of this "gentleman."

Deep Roast Coffee

When it comes to deep roast coffee, one inevitably associates it with keywords such as "oily black appearance, thick consistency, bitter taste, and rich aroma." In fact, it's not difficult to see that the biggest difference between deep roast and light roast coffee, in most people's minds, is "deep roast is bitter, bitter, bitter, while light roast is sour, sweet, and aromatic." This isn't entirely wrong. With the variety of light roast coffees available today, the first impression of deep roast coffee is indeed bitterness. However, in my opinion, bitterness is just its surface - only by looking beyond its bitterness can one truly appreciate its profound charm.

First and foremost, deep roast is simply a definition of roast degree. Due to the deep roasting (longer roasting time and higher temperature), caramelization and Maillard reactions are significant. The coffee fibers begin to carbonize, making the bitterness more pronounced, while flavors like floral and fruity notes transition toward nuts, chocolate, cream, and other characteristics.

Brewing Techniques

Bean Selection

Not all beans taste the same when roasted deeply. For example, deep roast Kenya AA exhibits almond, chocolate, mild acidity, and high clarity; deep roast Golden Mandheling displays pine, herbal, nutty, caramel, and rich characteristics. For this brewing, I've selected Indonesia Lintong Mandheling from FrontStreet Coffee, with the following specific information:

• Region: Lintong, Sumatra
• Altitude: 1100-1600m
• Variety: Typica
• Processing Method: Wet-hulled
• Flavor Profile: Toast, nuts, caramel, pine, herbal

Brewing Equipment

It's recommended to use a gooseneck kettle with a wider spout. For filtering, you can choose a Kono conical filter, Kalita trapezoidal filter, or flannel filter cloth, which helps produce a richer coffee. For this brewing, I'm using a Kalita trapezoidal filter.

Grind Size

Deep roast beans have a relatively loose structure, high water absorption efficiency, and the coffee bed easily expands when water is added, making it easier to extract flavor compounds. To prevent over-extraction, I'll choose a coarse grind (60% pass-through rate on a #20 standard sieve).

Coarse grinding reduces the contact area between coffee grounds and water, preventing the extraction of bitter, astringent flavors at the beginning of brewing due to high water temperature. Combined with slow pouring to extend extraction time, the water temperature decreases in the later stages, allowing the gradual extraction of flavors and texture compounds.

Water Temperature

I'll use water temperature around 86-88°C for brewing. Slightly lowering the water temperature reduces extraction efficiency, preventing the emergence of burnt bitterness and other undesirable flavors.

Coffee-to-Water Ratio

I'll use a 1:13 coffee-to-water ratio, with 20 grams of coffee grounds. Reducing the coffee-to-water ratio makes the coffee taste more concentrated. With a certain extraction rate, using less water to extract coffee results in a more concentrated brew.

Brewing Method

Preheat the filter, slowly pour in the coffee grounds, keeping them as level as possible during the process, and avoid shaking the filter (shaking would narrow the gaps between coffee grounds). For the first pour, create small circles in the center with 40g of water and let it bloom for 30 seconds. The coffee bed will gradually expand into a "hamburger" shape.

For the second pour, pour 120g in circles from the center outward. Keep the pouring height as close to the coffee bed as possible, with slow movements to avoid excessive agitation. For the final pour, add 100g of water, and finish the extraction when all the coffee liquid has flowed into the lower pot. Total extraction time: 2 minutes.

Flavor Profile

Aromas of herbal notes and pine resin greet the nose, while the taste reveals rich flavors of nuts and chocolate. The body is excellent - the initial bitterness quickly dissipates, giving way to a thick sweetness that's very comforting on the palate.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473