Wasted $80 on a fancy single-origin, tasted like burned grass clippings

I bought this $80 bag of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe from a roastery in Denver because people rave about it, but it came out tasting like I was drinking a campfire. Did I get a bad batch or is this just the hype of light roasts that I'm missing? Anyone else get burned on an expensive bag?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_richard10d ago

Tasted like drinking a campfire" is pretty much how I'd describe most light roasts honestly. You gotta figure, those fancy single origins are roasted so light that the bean's natural flavors are supposed to shine, but when it's that light the roaster can screw it up real easy and all you get is that ashy, grassy mess. Ethiopian Yirgacheffe is known for being like floral and citrusy if done right, not like you licked a burnt log. Could be a bad batch where the roaster didn't give it enough development time, or maybe that particular roastery in Denver just has a lighter touch than you're used to. Either way, eighty bucks is a lot for some overpriced dirt juice that tastes like a lawnmower bag. You're not missing anything, light roasts are a gamble and sometimes the hype makes people pretend they taste something that ain't there.

troy_butler79d ago

I roasted coffee for about five years at a small shop, and that "campfire" taste usually means the roaster underdeveloped the bean, especially with a light roast like Yirgacheffe. Your point about the Denver roastery having a light touch is spot on, @the_richard, but that ashy flavor is more about them cutting the roast too short to chase those floral notes. You can salvage a bag like that by grinding it coarse and doing a cooler brew, like cold brew or a Chemex with a lower water temp, it won't fix it but it'll tone down the burnt mess.