Hello!
I recently got a new espresso machine (a Breville Barista Express if that helps at all), and I have no idea how to get started picking espresso beans. I think I’d like a milder, darker roast for either lattes / cappuccinos but also good for drinking straight.
Where do I even go about finding a good bag of beans? Are there any recommended sites? Do you just go to your grocery store?
Any other advice for a brand-new first timer?
Any help is greatly appreciated!
Check out a local roaster around you and grab a bag of whatever they use for their espressos. You probably won’t get the best of the best immediately, but it will help you start figuring out what you like and do not like.
What’s the difference between an espresso roast and a regular coffee roast?
I don’t roast coffee myself, but what I’ve been told is that espresso roasts run hotter and longer, which makes the coffee more soluble and less sour.
Interesting! One of the local hobby roasters from where I used to live, told me that his espresso roast is taken to much hotter temperatures and pushed to cool-down much sooner that standard coffee roasts, creating an internal bean level of about medium and an external bean leven of about dark. I just assumed that all espresso roasts were like that. I visited there a few years ago, and he had shut down. I asked around about him, and apparently his mom was having troubles and he wanted to devote all of his free time to her, as opposed to his hobby of coffee roasting. I have never been able to pull espressos like he pulled with his machine. I’m understanding, now, that maybe I just loved his espresso roast and others just don’t roast like that. Maybe I’ll start roasting to try to get to his flavor profile. Great… Another money pit hobby hahaha
Interesting, good to know, I’ll keep that in mind when I’m shopping and asking questions. Thanks!