How to Brew a High-Sweetness Aftertaste Dark Roast Coffee? What to Consider When Pour-Over Brewing Dark Roast Beans?

Following up on our previous article, if you want to brew a delicious cup of dark roast coffee, we need to extract all its characteristic flavors: the aroma of caramel and chocolate, the rich and smooth texture, the intense dark roast flavor, and the long, sweet aftertaste—these are all unique features of dark roast coffee. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will share how to brew out these "soulful" characteristics of dark roast coffee!

Extraction Parameters

First, we need to understand that dark roast coffee beans, after prolonged roasting, have a very loose internal structure. If we use the same brewing parameters as for light roast beans, we'll easily end up with a truly bitter coffee. Therefore, we need to adjust parameters that affect extraction efficiency, including both water temperature and grind size.

Lower Water Temperature

The reason high water temperatures are used for light roast beans is because their texture is harder, requiring high extraction efficiency to forcefully extract aromatic compounds! However, dark roast beans obviously don't need such "forceful" methods. Their loose structure can easily lead to over-extraction and negative flavors when brewed with high water temperatures. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee suggests that when brewing dark roast beans, lowering the water temperature to the range of 86-88°C is most appropriate, with specific adjustments based on the coffee bean's grind size. The finer the grind, the lower the water temperature!

Coarser Grind

In terms of grinding, dark roast beans require a coarser grind setting than light roast beans. The reason for a coarser grind isn't just because their loose characteristic makes them easier to extract, but also because dark roast beans are more brittle, and the ground particles will be finer than light roast beans at the same setting. Therefore, we need to adjust coarser to correct the deviation caused by these two factors combined. Taking Golden Mandheling as an example, FrontStreet Coffee typically uses setting 11 on an Ek43 to achieve a raw sugar particle size, which is a 70% pass-through rate on a #20 sieve.

Filter Selection

The rich, full-bodied texture of dark roast coffee is a characteristic that can only be obtained through sufficient extraction. If you use a filter with a fast drainage speed like the V60, the resulting texture will obviously be less than ideal, as the overall extraction efficiency is lower, and the fast flow rate cannot guarantee extraction of enough bitter compounds to support the rich mouthfeel. Therefore, when brewing medium-dark to dark roast coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using filters with slower flow rates, such as Kono or wedge-shaped filters. Slower flow rates can extend extraction time, making it easier to achieve a coffee with a rich, full-bodied texture.

Coffee-to-Water Ratio

The coffee-to-water ratio can be chosen according to your personal taste~ For example, FrontStreet Coffee uses a 1:15 ratio, under which the concentration of dark roast coffee is just right, and the flavors are well-expressed. However, if some friends prefer more flavor expression, they can increase the ratio to 1:16, diluting the coffee concentration to allow flavors to be better presented; if you prefer a stronger taste, you can decrease the ratio to around 1:14. But be careful not to decrease it too much, as overly concentrated coffee will prevent flavors from being properly expressed and can be uncomfortable to drink~

Brewing Recommendations

Pouring Method

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a three-stage pouring method: firstly, it extends the extraction time; secondly, it better extracts the flavors we want; and thirdly, it gives us a higher margin for error, which is something FrontStreet Coffee particularly appreciates~ If you choose a 1:15 ratio, we can divide the water into 30/100/95ml portions.

Dark roast coffee doesn't require excessive agitation to extract compounds from the coffee, as we mentioned earlier, they are quite easy to extract. Therefore, when brewing, we can appropriately slow down the circular pouring speed, reduce excessive water flow that causes too much turbulence in the coffee grounds, and minimize the production of negative flavors.

Specific Procedure

The specific procedure is as follows: First, use twice the amount of water as the coffee grounds to completely wet the coffee bed for blooming, for 30 seconds (for dark roast beans, you can judge the end time based on the wetness of the coffee bed, not necessarily 30 seconds); after blooming, use a smaller water flow (5ml/s) to slowly pour in large circles for the second 100ml of hot water; when the water level is about to bottom out, also use small water flow at the center, slowly pouring in small circles (coin-sized) the remaining 95ml of hot water; when the coffee liquid has completely finished dripping, you can remove the filter cup and enjoy your coffee!

Generally speaking, if the brewing is completed in about 2 minutes, this cup of dark roast coffee will most likely possess all the characteristics mentioned at the beginning. However, if the extraction time deviates too much from 2 minutes, for example, being shorter by more than 10 seconds, then although the entire cup of coffee will have good flavors, the texture and aftertaste will be relatively weak. It's best to make adjustments from the grind size or brewing technique, with the specific degree of adjustment depending on your own tasting experience. The same principle applies if it exceeds 2 minutes by too much~

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FrontStreet Coffee

No. 10, Bao'an Qianjie, Yandun Road, Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473