As far as the need for dark roast beans in espresso goes… I think it is generally agreed that espresso should be the strongest and most bold coffee possible. Everything I have read, and all of my personal experience, leads me to the opinion that only a dark roast makes a good espresso. I suppose that one could use a medium roast bean, but I would not. Being strong and bold does not, by any means, mean bitter. But it does mean that it is a small, powerful, intense shot of coffee. There is, of course, absolutely nothing wrong with putting in some sugar if that is what one wishes. While I am a purist and only drink coffee black and unsweetened, it certainly does not suggest that there aren't very many people who enjoy excellent espresso with some sugar in it.
Fascinating, and I take your point.
However, in recent months, I have noticed that some of the uber-hip and seriously 'cool' places which either roast their own beans, or tend to have arrangements with small specialist roasters to supply freshly - or, very recently - roasted coffee beans, tend to make really strong, bitter espresso.
The sort that puckers your mouth, rather than just burning your tongue.
Now, these places don't have stale beans, - that is a point of pride - but they do seem to have absorbed the lesson that strong means overwhelming and exceedingly bitter (and, in a country where the coffee used to be tasteless and insipid, this probably counts as progress of a sort).
In this context, I am writing as someone who actually likes bitter and sour flavours; I start most days with a mix of freshly squeezed grapefruit, orange and lemon juice, but the current preference - or fashion - for overpowering and exceedingly bitter espresso does serve to lessen my pleasure.
Well, it is nothing that a spot of brown sugar won't cure.
As far as the beans go… there are some beans that take well to dark roasting, while others do not. It is my impression that the Ethiopian beans that you enjoy take best to a light, or possibly even medium roast. There are other beans (many Central and South American beans) which take very well to dark roasting and make excellent espresso.
Agreed.
So, then, a query: I understand perfectly that Ethiopian coffee (and both brothers have become aficionados of the Ethiopian coffee I serve) - indeed, it was our mutual friend,
@Kurwenal, who, on this very thread who helped to steer my tastes in that direction - does not take to a full roast readily.
However, what beans, when fully roasted - offer a smooth, and sweet taste? Strong and bold I still like, but only as long as it is smooth and somewhat sweet as well, smooth being the operative word above all. Strong, bold, bitter and 'harsh' is a combination I now realise that I have come to not much care for.
Nothing pleases me more than helping someone who wishes to learn about making espresso, but I think it is only fair to be honest and say that learning the skills necessary to make a really good espresso requires a certain insane passion and is not easy. Whether it is "extremely difficult" or not is, to me, a matter of definition. But to be fair, let's just say the process is time consuming and...ah... not easy.
Oh, dear.
'Insane passion'? These very words make me deeply uneasy.
I don't have the time, the capacity for concentration, or the energy to offer 'insane passion' to anything in the morning, not even saving the world, if that was on the agenda.
I suppose I am saying that if you - or anyone - makes it sound too difficult - a great many people will decide that life is too short to torture themselves in vain pursuit of impossible perfection.
Anyway, - as an aside - I will say that I am very glad you talked me out of even thinking of buying a La Pavoni (manual) machine over three years ago.
Attention to detail and taking genuine delight in the (partial and complete) mastery of new skills is one thing; 'insane passion' quite another.
Actually, I cannot think of a single area of my life that brings to mind that idea of 'insane passion' these days; for that matter, passion is so bloody exhausting, and the young (who have passion in abundance but can sometimes be said to lack perspective, taste and experience) are welcome to it.
... And potentially expensive!
But, well worth it, wouldn't you say,
@SandboxGeneral?
