Chatting with a roaster in Portland shifted my view on light roasts

I was at a small shop there a few days ago and mentioned I always found light roasts too sour. The roaster, a woman named Lena, said "you're probably brewing it like a dark roast." She explained that for a specific Ethiopian bean she had, I needed to grind finer and use water just off a boil, around 205 degrees. I tried it her way when I got home and the fruit notes came through clean instead of sharp. Has anyone else had a roast type completely change for them after adjusting one small thing?

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3 Comments

sarah_harris6mo ago

My old coffee maker probably thought I was trying to punish it with my light roast experiments. Lena's advice was a total game changer for my morning cup.

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willows386mo ago

Light roast is the best though.

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claire9585mo ago

Tell that to sarah_harris's poor coffee maker.

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